Potatoes are one of many natural remedies that people have used for centuries for curing headaches. Read on to find out why and how it works.
What causes headaches?
Every day, millions of people around the world get headaches triggered by stress, tension, lack of sleep, eyestrain, dehydration, hangover or hunger. Even a change in the season or poor body posture can cause a headache to strike.
Long before there were drug stores, cultures across the globe used herbal remedies to tackle a throbbing head and folk have used food to banish the occasional headache, particularly the humble spud. Although there is no scientific research to show potatoes are effective, they remain a popular alternative treatment.
The power of potatoes
The Incas in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes in the Andes as far back as 8,000 BC. As well as satisfying their hunger, potatoes were used for all sorts of healing purposes from treating injuries to relieving the pain of childbirth. The ancient Greeks and Romans were also savvy about the super powers of potatoes and piled crushed raw potatoes on their foreheads to soothe the pain.
When the Spanish conquered Peru in the 16th century, they brought potatoes back to Europe. It’s said Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland, while another story suggests a potato was washed up on the Irish shores after the wreck of the Spanish Armada. Whatever the true version, the Irish fell in love with the flavour and potatoes soon became a dependant food source. Sadly, one of the main reasons of the Great Famine in Ireland, which cost the lives of around a million people, was a potato disease. An Irish country remedy to get rid of a pounding headache was to put slices of raw potatoes on the forehead and lie down for an hour. Another alternative was to rub rawpotato directly onto the temples to ease the pain.
How to cure a headache with a potato
Head to the kitchen and grab a large potato, peel it and cut it into slices. Go somewhere relaxing, shut the windows to block out distracting noises and close the curtains to keep it cool and dark. If you like, create atmosphere by playing soothing music or light scented candles, then lie down. Put the slices on your temples, tie them with a cloth to stop them sliding off and close your eyes.
Relax and let the potatoes work on the skin. After 30 minutes to an hour, the potatoes get quite warm and you should feel the pain disappearing, so you can remove them. This also doubles as a cheap beauty treatment because the starch from the potato hydrates the skin stimulating the formation of collagen to make the skin softer and smoother. Afterwards, why not crash on the sofa for some further R and R, become a “couch potato” and watch an episode of “MASH”
A good hangover cure
Bananas are known for containing high levels of potassium, but potatoes have more - about 21% of your recommended daily intake. Alcohol is a diuretic and can cause dehydration, also make you lose electrolytes such as potassium.
So if you have a hangover headache after a fun night out, a baked potato can work wonders by providing a 721 mg potassium supercharge compared to a banana’s 467 mg. But keep the skin on because most of the potassium is in the skin. Some fun potato facts
- * Potatoes are grown in more than 125 countries and are eaten by over a million people ever day
- * The world’s biggest potato was a whopping 8 lb 4 oz (the weight of a newborn baby) and was grown in the UK in 2010
- * Potatoes are loaded with vitamin C and were a staple on ships to prevent scurvy
- * President Thomas Jefferson served the first French fry at a White House in 1802
- * Potatoes are literally out of this world because they were the first food to be grown in space in 1996
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sneeze and that promoted “mucous discharge from the nostrils, and thence it [was] … occasionally of service in headachs [sic], and complaints in the eyes.” CBD & ADHD
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