Headaches are a problem that almost everyone has to face at one point or another. Luckily, herbs can provide a great deal of relief. If you are like me, and either suffer from frequent headaches or just dislike taking lots of chemical medications, this is very good news.
Of course, there are many natural alternatives to relieve headaches aside from just herbs. Doing as little as drinking a glass of cold water or putting a cool compress on your head or neck when you feel a headache coming on can help. But the most important thing to do to help headaches, especially chronic ones, is to find the source of the headaches. Watch for food allergies, blood sugar problems like diabetes and hypoglycemia, strong scents or loud noises, causes of particular stress, and so on.
When going through possible headache remedies, keep in mind that not all remedies will work for all headaches; there are as many different possible remedies as there are possible sources of your headache. While this is hardly a comprehensive list, it contains the most popular or the most 'scientifically proven' methods of herbal headache treatment.
Probably the most common herbal treatment for general headache is Willow Bark. This is because Willow Bark is the source from which aspirin was originally derived. Anything you can treat with aspirin, you can also treat with Willow Bark, and without the stomach-irritating qualities of the isolated chemical.
For those with chronic headaches, you might try taking an Evening Primrose supplement daily. It has a high content of phenylalanine, a pain-relieving compound. It also has many other constituents that help with a number of problems.
There are also a number of herbs that you can include (or if you're like me, just increase) in your diet to help with headache relief. These include Garlic, Ginger, Red Pepper(Cayenne), and to a lesser extent Thyme and Turmeric.
My personal favorite remedy for headaches (and just about anything else that ails you) is Peppermint and Chamomile tea. Peppermint is excellent against migraines, Chamomile is wonderful for stress or tension, and between the two of them, they taste lovely and will help with just about any headache. Keep in mind however that this is a very gentle remedy and may not help with severe headaches, though they would probably make a wonderful addition to, say, Willow Bark tea.
And on the subject of migraines, there are two herbs that truly shine against this particular type of headache. They are Bay and Feverfew. A tea made from 2-8 leaves of Feverfew (depending on size) and 1-2 Bay leaves is perhaps the best treatment for a migraine headache. Peppermint likely wouldn't be out of place in this mixture, either.
There are dozens of other herbs also used for headache. Some of them include: Almonds, Cherries, Fennel, Gingko, Kudzu, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Pineapple, Purslane, Sunflower Seeds, and Tansy.
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