Patient Tips And Tricks Blog

Many people would describe themselves as "comfort eaters"--when they are stressed out they tend to eat junk food in order to temporarily feel better.  Research over the last few years has shown that food and mood are closely linked together, but not in the way that you would expect.  Studies have shown that healthier diets are clearly linked to better psychological...

A recent study evaluated patients over the age of 60, and found that patients who followed a Mediterranean diet had less evidence of "frailty."   They identified 5 benchmarks for frailty: unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, deterioration in grip strength, slowed gait, and decreased physical activity. The Mediterranean diet has shown a great number of health benefits including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, but this...

GRATITUDE In a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, researchers asked people to rate their levels of gratitude, physical health, and psychological health, as well as how likely they were to pursue healthy behaviors like exercise, healthy eating, and going to the doctor.  They found positive correlations between gratitude and each of these behaviors, suggesting that giving thanks helps people...

Don’t panic when you see the word diet!  SROSM's Neurologist Dr. Amy Howe does not recommend crash diets or ‘detox’ diets because the benefits are very short term and not sustainable.  When you are trying an elimination diet for pain relief, approach it with one food at a time.  For example: Week 1-3: remove all egg...

In recent years there has been some evidence that food sensitivities/intolerances can cause an inflammatory reaction in the gut.  This inflammation is theorized to cause increased permeability (leaky membranes) in the intestine, and can lead to the release of inflammatory chemicals causing widespread inflammation.  Food sensitivities can be much more subtle than food allergies, and have been linked to inflammatory arthritis,...

Vitamin D has been very closely studied over the last 5-10 years and the health effects are far ranging. Vitamin D plays a role in bone health, immune support, neurological function and even helps to regulate blood sugar levels.  Dr. Howe routinely evaluates Vitamin D levels through bloodwork in her patients.  Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to multiple pain syndromes including...

Magnesium is an electrolyte that knows how to multitask in the body.  Dr. Howe uses magnesium to help control migraine headaches by blocking pain transmitting chemicals in the brain and stabilizing the firing of brain neurons.  Magnesium is also helpful for muscle spasm and muscle cramps because it helps to stabilize the muscle membrane.  Magnesium can be taken as a supplement,...

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) taken on a daily basis has been shown in a number of studies to reduce migraine frequency by nearly 50%.  Vitamin B2 may work in the mitochondrial chain (the powerhouse of the cell) and improve cell metabolism.  Vitamin B2 can also be obtained from dietary sources such as mushrooms, spinach, almonds, salmon, eggs and sun-dried tomatoes.     Recipe: ...

Coenzyme Q10 is a component of the mitochondrial chain complex, which is basically the internal powerhouse of the cells in the body.  Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to be one possible contributor to migraine headaches.  Some studies have shown that the daily use of CoQ10 for migraine headache prevention can reduce the frequency and severity of headaches in up to 50% of patients. CoQ10...

Ginger contains more than 200 substances in its oils, so there are many health applications in its use. It is believed that ginger may block prostaglandins, which have an effect on muscle contraction and reduce inflammation. Ginger taken daily can be used as a preventive therapy for migraine, and can also be used to abort headache if taken in higher doses at the onset of...