Though I don’t remember everything that I learned in naturopathic medical school, one thing that I did learn for sure, is that headaches are “not” caused from a deficiency of excedrin, tylenol or ibuprofin.

There are a multitudes of common causes of headaches other than acute infection or cranial trauma; including muscle tension, fatigue, nerve stimulation, structural imbalance, sinus pressure, or dilation or contraction of blood vessel walls which stimulate nerve endings.

Headaches can most definitely be exacerbated by stress, however in today’s society, as well as in the life of a college student, stress is part of the program. Learning how to manage stress without the constant bombardment to the system of pharmaceutical agents is mandatory to prevent the long term side effects associated with their usage. The most serious of these side effects is dependency on the drug of choice.

Look at what happened to Michael Jackson. The innocent use of pain pills can lead to a situation where the body can no longer feel the effects desired, and then begins to increase dosages, mix medicines and create serious inability to sleep, eat, focus or relax.

All aspirin forms serve to shut down the part of the central nervous system which registers pain. Once the drug wears off, this nerve receptor is left empty waiting for another fix. The vasodilation and contraction of the local blood vessels create a pulsation, and the pressure builds.

Some simple questions that I often ask my headache patients are:

1) how much water do you drink and what is it’s source? Much of our tap water contains toxic heavy metals and doesn’t taste worthy of drinking and many of our bottled waters are basically filtered tap water that has been stored in plastic for goodness knows how long.

2) what kind of beverages do you consume? Do they contain sugar, aspartame, caffeine? These ingredients can be not only headache producing, but also harmful to your liver,pancreas, nervous system and brain receptors.

3) What did you eat today? Yesterday? Your food, or lack of nutrition will make you healthy, or cause you to feel unwell.

The best way to live a balanced healthy life, is always to live in accordance to nature. Drugs don’t heal you, doctors don’t heal you, your body will heal itself when given the proper nutrients and guidance. Foods from the earth are a good start. Fresh clean water with a slight alkaline charge will help to neutralize the acid waste in the body and promote cleansing.

To learn more about what is the best food for YOUR body; to relieve tight muscles, resolve structural imbalance, or to assist you in finding a non-toxic effective natural medicine to get you through the transition period until you no longer need the remedy, please consult a licensed expert in prevention and naturopathic medicine like myself.