My oldest son (16) has suffered from intermitten killer headaches for quite some time now.  Since my husband’s mother has a long history of migraines, I just assumed that my son had "inherited" the condition from my husband’s side of the family.

<!–adunit–> Within the past year, my son has also been struggling with acne.  So, I purchased Murad skin products, which included a multivitamin.

This morning, as I was reading the Sunday paper, there was an article about how vitamin B2 (riboflavin) can reduce or even eliminate severe headaches.  Come to think of it, my son hasn’t had a severe headache since he began taking his mulitvitamin.  I went to check the label and sure enough, the multivitamin sold by Dr. Murad contains 735% of the RDA for riboflavin. 

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center’s website:

Unlike other B vitamins, riboflavin is not found in many foods, so the most common cause of deficiency is lack of dietary intake, especially in the elderly. Symptoms of riboflavin deficiency include fatigue; slowed growth; digestive problems; cracks and sores around the corners of the mouth; swollen magenta tongue; eye fatigue; soreness of the lips, mouth and tongue; and sensitivity to light. Riboflavin is an important nutrient in the prevention of headache and some visual disturbances, particularly cataracts.

The web site goes on to state:

Precautions

Because of the potential for side effects and interactions with medications, dietary supplements should be taken only under the supervision of a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

Absorption of Vitamin B2 is best when it is taken with meals.

Riboflavin does not appear to cause any serious side effects. Possible reactions to very high doses may include itching, numbness, burning or prickling sensations, and sensitivity to light.

Taking any one of the B complex vitamins for a long period of time can result in an imbalance of other important B vitamins. For this reason, it is generally important to take a B complex vitamin with any single B vitamin.

So if you’re battling migraine type headaches, you might want to try taking a good multivitamin.