Bircher-Benner 18 Manual for headache and migraine: Dietary instructions for the prevention and treatement of hedaches and migraines, with recipes, detailed advice and a treatment plan developed by a medical centre dedicated to the state-of-the-art healin

Only the lucky few have never had a headache, never experienced that agonising sensation – never felt their enjoyment of life and their capacities suddenly reduced – except maybe for short moments when they had a cold. Modern man is intimately familiar with the various types of headaches, which come from the internal and external stress relating to work and social obligations. These are the result of our habit of violating our own nature: from turning night into day, from eating artificial and luxurious food in excess, and from constantly endeavouring to overcome fatigue and the lack of willingness to work, restlessness and exhaustion by using stimulants such as sugar, alcohol and coffee. We then turn to one of the many headache remedies and, once inside the labyrinth of our attempts at pain relief, lose sight of the true path to recovery.

There are different types of headache, and each can have different underlying causes and possible illnesses. Genuine and sustainable help requires examination and understanding of the sufferer as a whole individual, their body and their personality.

A dull pressure spreading along the forehead and temples, causing the eyes to be heavy and the mind to be slow, appears upon waking up in the morning and will refuse to give way until the painkillers, which have become an unfortunate habit, take effect. Otherwise the pressure will increase throughout the day and turn into a real, torturous pain drilling into the skull and rendering focused work impossible. In mild cases, the pain may dissolve at breakfast or soon after work commences. Severe cases will become unbearable and force the patient to return to bed or to have recourse to medication.

This is the kind of headache caused by metabolic overload, sluggish circulation, habitual use of stimulants, and degenerate, overabundant nutrition. Some diseases that cause headaches as typical adverse effects or as warning signals can illustrate the close connection between headaches and the general health condition. As always with illness and health, we must consider the person rather than just the symptoms of the illness. Any complaint, including a headache, has a deeper cause in the sum total of the disturbances in the body and the emotions. Treatment and lifestyle must take these deeper causes into account.