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Is Ginger, your migraine, a lie or your hidden trigger?
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Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers who've seen countless doctors with
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Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without endless medications or constant sacrifices.
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Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme.
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I've helped over 500 people break free from migraine, even after suffering for up to 60
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My mission in life?
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To bring this relief to a million people, using a unique blend of Eastern medicine and
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In this episode, you will learn the surprising science behind ginger's anti-inflammatory
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and antioxidant powers and how it can reduce migraine symptoms in some profiles.
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Why ginger, despite its benefits, can worsen migraines in people with certain constitution.
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How to safely use ginger or avoid it based on your migraine profile, age, body type,
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emotional patterns, and even fertility status.
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To help you determine whether ginger is the right fit for managing your migraines, we'll
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explore both Western science and Eastern medicine, then break down what it means for you and
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Let's look at Western science first.
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According to the West, what makes ginger so potent?
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Ginger contains over 100 bioactive compounds.
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These compounds are known for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and pain-relieving effects.
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Ginger inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, reducing inflammation
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Ginger scavenges free radicals, protecting cells from oxidative stress.
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Ginger modulates pain pathways, offering relief from various types of pain, including migraines.
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Several studies have indeed explored ginger's efficacy in migraine treatment.
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A 2014 study found that 250 mg of ginger powder was as effective as sumatriptam, a common
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migraine medication in reducing migraine symptoms.
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The study involved 100 adult participants who experienced acute migraines without aura.
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The participants were randomly assigned to receive either 250 mg of ginger powder or
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50 mg of sumatriptam at the onset of a migraine attack.
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Note that the people in the study were people responding well to sumatriptam by design.
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The study found that both treatments significantly reduced headache severity within 2 hours.
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Now obviously, ginger does not come with migraine overuse headache issues, even though.
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Please wait till the end of the podcast so I clarify what it means for you so we avoid
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further pain with you tinkering in your kitchen.
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You have to do it right.
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A 2022 study on ginger for migraine prevention assessed the prophylactic effect of ginger
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in 103 participants with episodic migraines.
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The participants received 500 mg of ginger extract or a placebo twice daily for 3 months.
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The ginger group showed significant reductions in migraine severity, duration and disability
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scores compared to the placebo group.
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However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of migraine episodes between
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So here, a different selection process or less selection process and also less but some
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outcome for some people.
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Most books on migraine management will mention ginger as a food to help reduce migraines.
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But and the but is huge, I cannot insist enough.
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This is not true or not helpful for everyone.
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Sometimes ginger can act as a slow trigger and accentuate migraines over time.
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To understand that notion, we need to explore what the East says as well.
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Now before we do that, I'm still keen to explain ginger's pain relieving role in migraine
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Ginger's properties do make it a promising adjunct in migraine management.
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It reduces inflammation by inhibiting inflammatory pathways.
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Ginger may decrease migraine frequency and severity.
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It alleviates nausea.
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Common in migraines, nausea can be mitigated by ginger's antiemic effects, especially
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when consumed in a certain way that I will mention at the end.
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It enhances blood circulation.
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Improved blood flow may prevent migraine onset.
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Now let's take an Eastern perspective and analyze ginger in traditional Chinese medicine
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In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger is considered warming and is used to dispel cold.
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Ginger is beneficial for individuals with cold constitution.
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Ginger warms the body and improves circulation.
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It is used to aid digestion.
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Ginger harmonizes the stomach and alleviates nausea.
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It is used to promote sweating.
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It helps release exterior pathogens.
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However, for individuals with heat patterns, characterized by symptoms like red face, irritability
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and inflammation, ginger can exacerbate these conditions.
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Even more importantly, individuals with what traditional Chinese medicine calls empty heat
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patterns should avoid ginger entirely.
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So what exactly is empty heat?
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Think of your body like a nuclear power plant.
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The plant runs hot, but it's designed to stay safe because it has a cooling water circuit
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that continuously flows to regulate the temperature.
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That coolant represents your yin, the nourishing, cooling, hydrating fluids in your body and
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Now imagine what happens when that cooling circuit starts to dry up.
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The core stays hot, but the lack of water makes the heat rise out of control.
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That's empty heat.
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You appear to be overheating, hot flashes, night sweats, irritability.
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But the problem isn't an excess of heat.
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It's a lack of coolant.
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In traditional Chinese medicine, yin is what nourishes and cools the body.
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Without enough of it, heat flares up in a false or empty way.
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Ginger, being a warming herb, acts like throwing more fuel on that already overheating system.
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It doesn't replenish your coolant.
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It just makes the reactor run hotter.
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That's why it can make symptoms worse for people who are yin deficient.
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People with empty heat often look flushed, feel agitated or restless, experience dry
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mouth, have night sweats, feel thirsty often, can have in particular vertigo or dizziness.
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For them, ginger's heating nature can be harmful, not helpful.
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In the same way, Ayurveda classifies ginger as heating and pungent, influencing the pitta
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Ginger is going to balance avatar and kapha doshas.
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Ginger's warmth is going to contract cold and sluggishness constitution, and it's going
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to aggravate pitta.
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So in individuals with high pitta, marked by heat, inflammation or irritability, ginger
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can identify these issues.
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And so that brings us to the most important part of this podcast.
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When to use ginger, how to use ginger, or when to avoid it altogether.
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Consider ginger if you are under 40 and in your fertility years, if you still have sufficient
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collagen, if you have cold extremities, if you tend to remain calm in most situations
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and rarely experience anger, if you have not had years of medications leading to excess
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heat in your liver, if you tend to have migraines without aura, if tryptals work well for you,
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if you have no dizziness, no vertigo.
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Avoid ginger if you are over 40, have signs of aging like wrinkles or joint issues, if
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you experience hot flashes regardless of your age, night sweats or inflammatory conditions,
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if you have a fiery temperament and frequent anger, if you have migraines with aura, if
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you have dizziness and vertigo.
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Consume ginger with a cooling herb, like chamomile, if you love it, but you shouldn't have it
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Consume dried ginger if ginger really works for you and it's good for you, you just wish
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If you are pregnant and experiencing nausea, opt for candied ginger, chewing small amounts
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can alleviate nausea.
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If you are pregnant, avoid ginger infusions or decoction, these can stimulate blood flow
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and potentially, in extreme cases, lead to miscarriage.
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And remember, every small step you take moves you closer to freedom.
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You are powerful, you are resilient and you are never alone.
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Keep rising, Migraine Hero.
