07-07-2025
Vitamins and Supplements: When Little Things Go a Long Way
I was always a little curious about vitamins and supplements. I didn't fear them because my dad carried (and still does) a little plastic baggie of vitamins and supplements of various colors around with him. I have my list of things I take now, and I'm far from the two-a-day Flintstones vitamins we all took growing up in the '80s. Did you even have a responsible parent if they didn't give you Flintstones vitamins? Those crunchy, chalky, colored cartoon shapes sure did keep us young and vibrant!
Then, as I got older, I matured to once-daily multivitamins, and when sick, of course, was told to take some vitamin C, which I promptly did. Back then, life was "supplement simple."
Things have changed, and I have a robust list of things I take to keep my migraine triggers at bay. These are taken at different times of the day, and some rotate in and out depending on what I'm going through at the time. I wish I could throw caution to the wind and just live my life supplement-free, but … as the cool experts say, " We don't get what we need from our food, unfortunately." That's always both bummed me out and – since we have an option like vitamins – given me hope.
Then, around my college years, my dad and hippie-esque friends started encouraging me to go to vitamin and natural food stores. Walking into those places was often like walking into an office of a mad scientist. They always seemed overcrowded to me. Colors, smells, tinctures, pills, droplets, ear waxing, and more! I was overwhelmed! Everyone in there looked and sounded so different from me. I didn't think I was with my people at all.
They had no-named brand bottles of equally weird names – Ashwagandha, what? St. John's Wort, who!? These were nowhere in my vocabulary. Yet, I remained curious. I tried a thing or two, for this or that, but would give up without determining if they did any good. I found I was more comfortable with processes than products, so I did my share of ear candling, foot soaks, cleanses, and such. I felt much more comfortable tossing things out of my body than putting things in!
But as time went on and my migraine attacks got worse, I got desperate for some solutions to complement and (in some cases) replace my traditional (or Western) medication options. Through trial and error and a few lovely natural doctors, nutritionists, acupuncturists, and those same hippie-esque friends, I started introducing things one at a time to help.
First, melatonin to help me sleep. If I don't get a good night's sleep, I'm destined for a migraine the next morning. Because I travel a lot for work and business, my sleep schedule was and still can get thrown all the way off. This was perhaps the first supplement I tried that I actually felt worked for me. I still take it more than 10 years later.
Next, I wish I had known that migraine bashing and magnesium go together. I take a powder in my water before bed, and it also aids with sleep, calms me, and has even helped with muscle tension – a key migraine trigger for me.
Rounding out my daily routine is vitamin D. I take drops daily to help with my immune system. If I'm sick, I'm getting a migraine. It's not even a question. It also helps with other things. I've experienced an increase in energy as my vitamin D levels have stabilized. More energy for me means a greater likelihood that I'll exercise, that I'll plan healthy meals, and I'll do things that keep my stress down – all actions that help keep my migraine attacks at bay.
I also take a few things here and there that help my overall health and that I count as migraine busters. Taurine pairs well (I sound like a supplement sommelier!) with magnesium to beef up calming effects and a really, really good night's sleep.
I'm still trying to figure out if a daily probiotic is for me. Until then, I take them on and off – while on any antibiotics to counter the decrease of "good" gut bacteria. I take them when I'm traveling abroad to help avoid any travel tummy bugs, and I take them when I'm getting over a bad cold. I'm not entirely sure of the connection, but when my digestion is off, my migraines seem to be on.
There are a few supplements (and teas) I'm still experimenting with to help with calming. Stress is such a huge migraine trigger for me that whatever I can do to limit it, I want to. As I've gotten older, the stressors have only deepened – aging parents, crumbling economies, questions about future career and financial plans, my own health, and more. I've tried theanine and it has helped. Still, there are many more I'm interested in, like vitamin B complex and lemon balm.
