I was doing some research on GLA (Gamma Linoleic Acid – the active ingredient in Evening Primrose Oil which is found in our Balanced Omega fish oil blend) and came across this article about Evening Primrose on an herbal website:

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-evening-primrose.html

The article does a great job of outlining the many benefits of GLA for everything from headache relief to improved memory.  GLA works by keeping inflammation in check, so if some of the benefits listed in the article seem unconnected, remember that they all originate as problems of inflammation.  Balanced Omega is a great way to get GLA and fish oil (another anti-inflammatory) in a low-dose daily supplement to help combat the many sources of inflammation present in our daily lives (poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, need I go on?).  I like to take a few capsules if I feel a headache coming on and my husband has found that taking GLA helps him get rid of the daily aches and pains associated with having an active job (and surfing, which he does often now that we live in Hawaii!).

Last night on the news I saw a report saying that this is one of the worst years on record for pollen count due to the weather patterns that happened over the winter.  Having moved to Hawaii last fall, I have to admit I’m a little bit out of it but we did have some frigid winter nights when the temperature here got down to a frosty 60 degrees.  But enough of my talk of tropical weather…let’s talk about how to prevent the headaches that are all too common when pollen counts get high.  Here is what I do when I feel a springtime headache coming on:

• Drink lots and lots of water.  This is good if you are still in preventive mode, but if you feel the headache is starting to take root, I suggest stepping it up and putting a scoop or two of Essential Electrolyte into your water.  This product helps your body hold onto water and distribute it to where it’s needed (in the case of allergy headaches, dry and irritated sinuses can use extra hydration).
• Use a neti pot filled with salt water and, if desired, a few drops of Sinus Allergy Formula.  This can be repeated as often as desired during allergy season.  When I lived in Iowa and pollen counts were really bad I would actually take a neti pot to work with me and rinse my nasal passages a couple of times a day.  Luckily I worked in an alternative health clinic so the other ladies in the bathroom didn’t think I was too crazy!
• Take Pain Formula orally, 2-4 droppersful daily in a little bit of water or juice.  This formula contains herbs that naturally relieve pain…hence the name!

If the headache is getting intense, the following drink always worked wonders for me.  It has a lot of ingredients that work well together but there have been times that I couldn’t get every single ingredient and just used what I had off the list and still got relief.  You put everything together in a blender and blend.  Easy!  Here’s the recipe:
     – ½ cup juice (I used orange juice but any kind will do)
     – ½ cup water
     – ½ cup ice
     – 1” piece of ginger
     – 2 crushed Mag Calm tablets
     – 1 tsp Vitamin C powder
     – 1 Tbsp BodyBio oil
     – 3-5 drops of Cayenne Formula