OK.  Quick disclaimer:  I am not a doctor.  I do not have all the answers to your headache needs.  I do not know what causes all headaches. 

I am only sharing what I have found to be a pattern in my life and what has worked, tremendously well to, if not prevent entirely, significantly reduce the amount and magnitude of my headaches!

I started getting headaches my first year of college.  Thinking back on that time, there were so many reasons I could have become prone to them.  Stress was an enormous part of my day-to-day life as a freshman in college. Can you imagine?!

• I was away from home for the first time in  my life, and had extreme homesickness.
• I was away from my high school boyfriend & therefore thought the world was ending.
• I was slow at making new friends.
• I hated the major my parents & I had decided I should sign up for, and thus hated my classes.
• Etc, etc, etc

And my diet changed completely.  When Mom is watching over what you put into your body, your body is usually the healthiest it’ll ever be.  When you’re left to your own devices, for the first time in your life, your choices are not always optimal.

I went from drinking a glass of milk with breakfast and water all day long, as well as healthy meals with veggies and fruits, to surviving on Slim Jims, pretzels, Fluffer-Nutters and the occasional salad.  The cafeteria food was so gross.  And because I was staying up super-late to catch up on homework and studying, I was going through Mountain Dew and French vanilla instant coffee like it was water.

I don’t think that the parties I attended, where I may have indulged in a few alcoholic beverages helped with the headaches either.

Since then, I have awoken on plenty of occasion with cotton-mouth and a screaming headache, worked outside all day while enjoying a couple of cold cokes & had a throbbing headache by day’s end, and taken dose upon dose of Tylenol on the day of my period trying to survive the intense jack-hammering in my temples.

All of these scenarios have the same thing in common.  They are prime examples of situations that potentially leave you dehydrated.  And dehydration is the number one culprit of headaches.

Start your day, every day, with a tall drink of water.  And have one going, by your side, all day.  Drink whatever you want in between, but be sure that you drink 2 times the amount of water than any other beverage and watch the amount of headaches you endure diminish, significantly.

Have it at the ready, at all times.  Have a thermos to go.  Bring some to hide in the shade of a tree while you work outside.  Have some on a long car ride.  In an airplane.  And teach your kids, young, to keep hydrated.

And the great thing about water is that not only does it ward off headaches, but it keeps your skin hydrated and youthful, helps ward off pimples, fills you up so that you don’t reach for that second piece of pie and is free of any calories!