If you struggle with headaches or migraines, you are not imagining it, you are not being dramatic, and there may be more to the story than you’ve been told. So often women are handed pain medication without anyone asking why it’s happening. This article looks at minerals, blood sugar, hormones, histamine, stress, and thyroid — so you can start to understand what your body has been trying to tell you.
A sudden, severe headache, or one unlike your usual pattern, needs medical attention first.
When the foundation is running on empty
Clara (not her real name) was only 23 when she told me she had dealt with headaches for as long as she could remember — chronic ones that had become part of everyday life. She also struggled with depression managed with medication, seasonal allergies, afternoon energy crashes, a sensitive stomach, and getting seriously sick every winter.
Her HTMA was striking: every major mineral depleted — calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium. Magnesium (nervous system and blood vessel support) was extremely low. Potassium was severely depleted, suggesting her cells may have a harder time responding to thyroid hormone. Her metabolism was burning through minerals faster than it could replace them.
Blood work added another piece: ferritin was only 8, and serum copper and ceruloplasmin were below optimal. Without enough bioavailable copper, the body has a harder time using iron. History of childhood trauma, possible mold exposure, and years of stress on a body that hadn’t rebuilt its reserves all fit together.
Instead of chasing headaches alone, we rebuilt the foundation — a mineral program for her HTMA pattern, beef liver capsules for bioavailable iron/copper/vitamin A, lactoferrin, and digestive enzymes. Her body wasn’t broken. It was depleted.
Water alone doesn’t create hydration
Nearly everyone has been told to drink more water when they get a headache. Sometimes that’s excellent advice. But hydration is about absorbing water, moving it into cells, and keeping it there — and that process depends on electrolytes.
Electrolytes help regulate fluid balance, nerve communication, muscle contraction, blood pressure, and circulation. Without enough of them, pouring in more water is like filling a bucket with holes in the bottom.
Three minerals that matter
- Magnesium — helps relax blood vessels, supports the nervous system, and is one of the most researched nutrients for migraine prevention.
- Sodium — helps maintain healthy blood volume and retain the water you drink. Headaches often follow heavy sweating, illness, heat, or significant stress, all times when the body loses or uses more sodium.
- Potassium — works with sodium to regulate fluid inside the cell, nerve communication, muscle function, and energy production.
When these three become depleted together, the body often signals with fatigue, dizziness — or headaches.
Dorothy’s story
Dorothy came wanting her migraines to stop. As a teacher, she couldn’t simply stop working when one threatened. Her intake described blood sugar swings, afternoon crashes, thirst despite drinking water, dizziness on standing, caffeine dependence, and strong salt cravings — a familiar mineral-balance pattern.
Once her hair sample was on its way to the lab, we started mineral salt capsules, electrolytes, and magnesium. Less than two weeks later she had a busy, stressful day that normally would have meant a migraine — and the headache never came. One migraine-free day doesn’t prove healing. It does suggest we may be moving in the right direction.
Electrolytes aren’t the whole story
Headaches can also be driven by unstable blood sugar, hormone fluctuations, histamine intolerance, thyroid dysfunction, muscle tension, inflammation, or other medical conditions. Many of those also increase mineral demand. Stress burns magnesium; hormonal shifts change requirements; digestion problems reduce absorption; thyroid dysfunction affects how minerals are used inside the cell.
That’s why I prefer asking why a headache is occurring instead of only how to make it disappear. HTMA doesn’t tell us everything — but it often provides valuable long-term mineral clues.
Listening to what the body is saying
A headache doesn’t automatically mean you need another pain reliever. Sometimes your body is asking for better hydration, more stable blood sugar, or revealing a deeper imbalance that has been developing unnoticed for years. The goal isn’t simply to make the headache disappear — it’s to understand why it showed up in the first place.
How I can help
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is available for men, women, and families — from the comfort of home. I mail you a test kit; you collect a small hair sample and send it to the lab; I also send a lab order for your Functional Lab Panel, a fasting blood draw at a Quest Diagnostics location. Then your results are delivered by email, and I send your custom mineral plan along with a custom mineral blend made for you through Vykon.
The New Leaf Mineral Reset ($539) includes your HTMA test kit, the Functional Lab Panel, a written results report and review, your custom mineral plan, with a custom mineral blend made for you through Vykon, and six months of support and plan updates. Supplements and custom blends through Vykon Customs are separate from the package price (typically $200/month or less). I intentionally keep this personal and limited so I can walk closely with the people I work with.
If something in this article resonates and you’re wondering whether minerals could be part of the picture, reach out by email.
Barbie Fisher · Certified HTMA Practitioner · New Leaf Health
coachbarbwithnewleafhealth@gmail.com
This article is intended to provide helpful, informative material. Barbie Fisher is a certified HTMA practitioner and health coach, not a medical doctor; this content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider with questions regarding a medical condition, dietary changes, or health objectives. This article is educational and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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