Wellness article index >> Herbal Remedy for Migraines Feverfew: Powerful migraine suppressor fast facts: prevents migraine headaches, relieves arthritis, eases menstrual cramps Despite its name, feverfew won't get rid of a fever. In fact, if today's scientists could rename this plant, they might want to dub it migraine-few. In the 1980s, several studies done in the United Kingdom showed that people who regularly suffer from migraine headaches often find relief with feverfew. In the studies, migraine sufferers who chewed fresh feverfew leaves or took capsules of dried, ground leaves experienced fewer and less severe headaches. The key to this effect, researchers believe, is parthenolide, a compound in feverfew that helps control the expansion and contraction of blood vessels in the brain. The unpleasant symptoms of migraine -- nausea, throbbing head pain and sensitivity to light -- apparently occur when blood vessels in the brain overreact, contracting and expanding abnormally. This doesn't mean, though, that you can reach for feverfew to relieve a migraine. "Feverfew has no beneficial effect on migraine attacks once they're in gear," says Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University School of Pharmacy in West Lafayette, Indiana, and author of The Honest Herbal. "It works as a preventive, and that means taking it regularly over a long period." Researchers suspect that feverfew may also help combat menstrual cramps and arthritic inflammation, although these uses are not as well substantiated. Wellness article index >> News I Health I Wellness I Exercise I Profiles I Business I Links I Women ROCK! Product Review I To the Point I Contact I Home Created by: Art Street Design Studio. © Concerning Women Communications, Inc. all rights reserved.