Health Benefits of Almonds

Getting up in the morning with a headache is the worst feeling in the world. For many of us headache is a stark reality. When it strikes everything comes to a halt. You can not put your mind into any thing until you are relieved from it. Also you have no idea when, where or why it strikes.

Worse, unlike migraine it is not a documented disease. People do not go to doctor for treatment of a headache, even if it causes them as much distress and handicap as say, a migraine.

Don't we all just take an over the counter drug and get on with it? While it gives immediate relief, taking un-prescribed drugs frequently has its pitfalls.The danger also lies in the fact that popping the pill too frequently might make you resistant to it.

Lot of theories go around regarding the reasons of headache. Some of them are:

• Poor diet
• Stress and anxiety
• Lack of sleep
• Poor posture
• Not drinking enough water
• Depression
• Eyestrain
• Excessive caffeine consumption
• Artificial sweeteners
• Consuming something that one is allergic to Etc.

None of them made any sense to me. Then a friend recommended almonds, which according to her helped. But she recommended that they needed to be eaten slowly. Using your teeth to slowly shave the surface and digesting with your saliva.

After getting relief from this perennial problem I decided to find out the reason behind the almond's pain relieving properties.

To my surprise I found ample material online that substantiates my belief in almond's ability to relieve headache. Following are some important facts about almond's pain relieving qualities:

Health Benefits of Almonds:
• Almonds contain a natural pain-killing agent called salicin. This agent is also contained in over the counter pain killers like asprin.
• Almonds offer other health benefits such as the ability to lower blood cholesterol levels and to regulate blood pressure.
• Almonds contain high level of magnesium, that helps in muscle relaxation and minimizing nerve excitability therefore, it helps to reduce headaches due to stress and anxiety.

Almond is used as a pain reliever in traditional medicines because of these qualities. They can be eaten in any way. They can be soaked overnight, or just popped during meals, or munched as a between meals heath snack. 10-12 almonds should be eaten daily for general health benefit.

Apart from this some life style changes like good sleep, healthy diet, regular exercise, and drinking 8-10 glasses of water every day are important for a healthy and fulfilling life.