Migraine Mythbusting

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Migraine is a severe and painful long-term neurological health condition, with genetic factors implicated.

  • While severe headaches are synonymous with migraine in popular culture (and indeed, they are a common symptom), they’re neither a required diagnostic criterion, nor the only symptom.

  • Management of the condition can be tricky, but there are established triggers to note and avoid, as well as a variety of treatment options to try.

• Cooking at home gives great health benefits—we know exactly what we’re eating and how it was prepared!

  • If you’d like that but don’t have time for meal prep, you can save time on both meal prep and shopping by taking advantage of today’s sponsor, Trifecta Nutrition, who will deliver ready-prepped nutrition-optimized meals (the plans are customizable!) to your door.

Read on to learn about these things and more…

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Skinny recipes | No milk, no sugar, no eggs, no cream (6:26)

Because abstinence doesn't have to look/taste/feel abstemious:

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Ice cream menu:

• 0:00 | basics

• 0:25 | chocolate ice cream recipe

• 3:45 | almond ice cream recipe

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

🤯 MAIN FEATURE

Migraine: When Headaches Are The Tip Of The Neurological Iceberg

Yesterday, we asked you “What is a migraine?” and got the above-depicted, below-described spread of responses:

• Just under 46% said “a headache, but above a certain level of severity”

• Just under 23% said “a headache, but caused by a neurological disorder”

• Just over 21% said “a neurological disorder that can cause headaches”

• Just under 10% said “a headache, but with an attention-grabbing name”

So… What does the science say?

A migraine is a headache, but above a certain level of severity: True or False?

While that’s usually a very noticeable part of it… That’s only one part of it, and not a required diagnostic criterion. So, in terms of defining what a migraine is, False.

Indeed, migraine may occur without any headache, let alone a severe one, for example: Abdominal Migraine—though this is much less well-researched than the more common with-headache varieties.

Here are the defining characteristics of a migraine, with the handy mnemonic 5-4-3-2-1:

• 5 or more attacks

• 4 hours to 3 days in duration

• 2 or more of the following:

  • Unilateral (affects only one side of the head)

  • Pulsating

  • Moderate or severe pain intensity

  • Worsened by or causing avoidance of routine physical activity

• 1 or more of the following:

  • Nausea and/or vomiting

  • Sensitivity to both light and sound

Source: Cephalalgia | ICHD-II Classification: Parts 1–3: Primary, Secondary and Other

As one of our subscribers wrote:

Migraine is a neurological disorder: True or False?

True! While the underlying causes aren’t known, what is known is that there are genetic and neurological factors at play.

Source: JHP | Mechanisms of migraine as a chronic evolutive condition

Migraine is just a headache with a more attention-grabbing name: True or False?

Clearly, False.

As we’ve already covered why above, we’ll just close today with a nod to an old joke amongst people with chronic illnesses in general:

“Are you just saying that because you want attention?”

“Yes… Medical attention!”

Want to learn more?

You can find a lot of resources at…

NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke | Migraine

and…

The Migraine Trust ← helpfully, this one has a “Calm mode” to tone down the colorscheme of the website!

Particularly useful from the above site are its pages:

• Common migraine attack triggers

• Treatment options

Take care!

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Trifecta: Unwind, Recharge, and Reach Your Goals

We’ve written before about how cooking our own food at home means plenty of health benefits. Knowing all the ingredients and the process, we can be assured that what we’re eating is healthy. But what if we don’t have the time or inclination for a mountain of kitchen prep each day?

Trifecta Nutrition focus on delivering, well, nutrition. Tasty, chef-crafted meals, built around a nutritional plan to suit you (the meal plans are customizable).

But where they really excel is in how their expertly portioned, macro-balanced meals take the guesswork (and mathematics!) out of healthy eating.

It’s often said that the best way to “buy happiness” is with purchases that save us time—because what’s more precious than that?

Please do check out our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

🌏 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• Effectiveness of the new omicron booster confirmed

• Memory research: breathing in sleep impacts memory processes

• Research reveals how a malfunctioning mechanism can lead to Parkinson's disease

• Check out these self-care tips for a happier holiday season

• Can your body’s "bleach" fight a common fungal pathogen?

• Maintaining optimal immune function while getting fit in the new year

• Psilocybin found to reduce chronic pain

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States – Edited by Dr. Tim Read & Maria Papaspyrou

A quick note on authorship, first: this book is edited by the psychiatrist and psychotherapist credited above, but after the introductory section, the rest of the chapters are written by experts on the individual topics. As such, the style will vary somewhat, from chapter to chapter.

What this book isn't: "try drugs and feel better!"

Rather, the book explores the various ways in which assorted drugs can help people to—even if just briefly—shed things they didn't know they were carrying, or otherwise couldn't put down, and access parts of themselves they otherwise couldn't.

We also get to read a lot about the different roles the facilitator can play in guiding the therapeutic process, and what can be expected out of each kind of experience. This varies a lot from one drug to another, so it makes for very worthwhile reading, if that's something you might consider pursuing. Knowledge makes for much more informed choices!

Bottom line: if you're curious about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, and want a reference that's more personal than dry clinical studies, but still more "safe and removed" than diving in by yourself, this is the book for you.

Click here to check out Psychedelics and Psychotherapy, and expand your understanding!

Wishing you a very happy Solstice,

The 10almonds Team