If your head hurts, that’s probably the only thing you care about. Dealing with the pain is going to be higher up on your priority list than trying to discern the difference between a headache and a migraine.
Of course, it’s always a good idea to figure out what’s causing your pain before you try to come up with a solution. The best solutions are always the preventative kind. With the right adjustments in diet, nutrition, and habits, you could potentially ward off your next headache (or migraine) before they show up.
Difference between a headache and a migraine
Alright, first things first, let’s get our terms in order. Plenty of people assume a migraine is just a “big headache.” However, it’s more complex than that.
In fact, a headache isn’t even simply a headache. There are different kinds of headaches you can get, and all have their own unique causes.
Cluster headaches: This kind of headache is actually a migraine! So we’ll have to talk about it later. Warned you that this could be complex.
Injury headaches: If you’ve suffered a serious injury, particularly to the head, there could be damage to your brain or skull that causes headaches. This is the kind of problem a green drink won’t fix. If you have a serious head injury, get yourself to a hospital right away.
Sinus headaches: Sometimes, the cause of a headache is pressure building up inside your skull. If you’re stuffed up or have a sinus infection, a sinus headache is sure to follow. The pain often feels like it’s behind your cheeks, nose, or eyes.
Tension headaches: This is the most common kind of headache, with the widest array of causes. Generally, you’ll feel it at the sides of your head. As the name suggests, tension headaches are often caused by the muscles in your head tensing up.
There are a variety of ways you can get a tension headache. It could be because of stress, anxiety, or lack of sleep. Too much alcohol or not enough hydration are also causes — so keep that green drink handy. Sometimes, it could be because of too much strain on your eyes (looking at computer screens and phones), or because of too much caffeine.
Often, it can also be because of a lack of nutrition or food. If you aren’t getting enough of your leafy greens and other good stuff in your diet, your body could decide to punish you with a headache.
“Thunderclap” headaches: These kinds of headaches occur suddenly, and with extreme force. Normally, they are a sign of a much more serious problem. If your headache arrives without warning and is causing serious pain, contact a doctor immediately.
Migraines
A migraine is not just a “bad headache.” Rather than being related to tension or pressure in your head, they’re instead more of an actual disease caused by issues with your nerves and brain chemistry. These issues affect the blood flow around your brain, causing a variety of symptoms.
Migraines can arrive in different forms. Sometimes, they come in a cluster — those cluster headaches we mentioned. They can be long or short in duration. Like headaches, they often involve a lot of pain. However, they also come with some unique symptoms, such as sensitivity to light, fatigue, nausea, and dizziness.
And those are just the common symptoms. Like much of what goes on in our brains, migraines are inherently mysterious. People with migraines often report symptoms that pop up even before the migraine attack, including headache pain, stiffness, food cravings, vision issues, numbness, and difficulty with speech. Migraines can be frightening.
As to what causes migraines, there are a few possible culprits. Notably, women seem to suffer from migraines at a higher rate than men, suggesting a possible hormonal cause. Allergies and genetic predisposition have also been linked to migraines.
Avoiding headaches and migraines
In short, headaches are perfectly normal, but also perfectly manageable. Migraine pain, on the other hand, often is connected to medical issues. You should consider speaking to a doctor if you have a serious migraine and get prescription medication for it.
However, whether preventing headaches or preventing migraines, a surprising amount of the same tactics work. First and foremost is to make sure you’re cognizant of your diet and schedule. Essentially, this means you should be doing your best to detect if there’s a food or drink that’s causing your headaches. For example, if celery juice causes headaches for you every time you drink it, it’s a good idea to drop it from your diet.
In general, the two keys to avoiding headaches and migraines are going to be sleep and food. More specifically, you’re going to want to develop regular sleeping and eating habits. Skipping meals, or staying up too late on your phone are surefire ways to give yourself headaches.
Headaches, migraines, and green drink
Of course, it’s not just about eating at regular intervals. Making sure you’re eating the right stuff is also vital. As mentioned, headaches and migraines are often linked to a lack of proper nutrition. If you aren’t getting enough fruits and veggies in your diet, a side effect could be headaches and migraines. In fact, some foods high in ingredients like sodium can even cause headaches!
Sounds like a headache minefield, doesn’t it? Thankfully, you can help fight migraines and headaches by cutting down the sodium and sugar in your diet through juice cleanses. Of course, not all juice cleanses are going to be created equal. Just drinking celery juice could lead to a headache from loss of nutrition, remember?
Thankfully, Chef V’s green juice recipe is packed full of great nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. Better yet, our cleanses also come with detox smoothies and detox soups (filled with fresh ginger and turmeric!) to help you stay healthy and fit even as you detox out the sodium and sugar. Beating headaches and migraines can be a balancing act, but Chef V has the balance to beat most types of headaches.