 Headaches suck especially if you get migraines those can be completely debilitating. Luckily there's a lot of great herbs that can help you thwart these nasty brain crunching problems. You can take them as pills, powders or essential oils but if you're a tea lover or just looking for another option these are the top 10 herbs that can help stop those headaches and more specifically migraines. Number 10 green tea yep good old green tea because it contains oodles of egcg that thing and other great antioxidants green tea is thought to help with headaches by improving overall health and improving mental acuity this is backed up by the national center for complementary and integrative medicine this respected organization recognizes green tea's ability to help with headaches and mental alertness the downside of green tea is that it does have caffeine which for certain migraine and headache sufferers is a big trigger but luckily it also just depends on who you're talking about as a 2001 study found that caffeine was effective at reducing pain as much as ibuprofen in 58 percent of participants when combined with ibuprofen that number bumped up to 71 percent as such green tea might just be the headache helping tea you need number nine clove tea cloves have been well documented as a pain fighter throughout history however that historical and anecdotal evidence is really the bulk of what we have regarding cloves and headaches that said researchers firmly believe that cloves and clove tea can help with migraines because of its ability to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow now cloves have been known not to mesh with certain blood thinner medications so if you're on something like that it's best to check with your doctor before you try clove tea number eight lavender tea no doubt some of you saw this one coming as lavender is one of the top teas for relaxing both your body and your mind there have been various studies on lavender oil and aromatherapy for headaches unfortunately there aren't any specific ones on lavender tea why do i even try well luckily the studies that are out there show a significant reduction in headache and migraine severity so hopefully they'll do a more specific tea study soon researchers get on it number seven turmeric tea this one again is lower on the list because there aren't that many direct studies on the benefits of turmeric as a tea but there are lots of studies on turmeric and it's active agent curcumin that document turmeric as a massive pain reliever watch the top 10 herbs and spices for pain to find out more turmeric's ability as an anti-inflammatory and its neuroprotective effects really backs up turmeric tea as a big fighter of migraines and headaches now for some people you know just some long-term use of turmeric has been known to cause indigestion so if you get this side effect you know you're just gonna need to ease up on your use a little bit number six capsaicin or chili pepper tea what chili pepper for headaches well i guess if anything i'll make you forget about pain that well actually in a way capsaicin works just like that capsaicin depletes a compound called substance p sounds like code for the virus that starts the zombie apocalypse well substance p conveys the pain sensation from the peripheral to the central nervous system and so being able to dull these direct pathways goes a long way from stopping those migraines and headaches from occurring now the easiest way to make cayenne tea just grab a pinch of cayenne pepper drop it right on into your tea or even put a dab of hot sauce in the same way now i've got quite a big cayenne in here number five peppermint tea peppermint tea is another well-known fighter of pain inflammation and upset stomach its ability to not only fight the headache itself but also many of its side effects is what gets peppermint so high on this list now typically for most people according to studies typically applying a peppermint oil solution to your forehead or temples is said to get rid of your migraines and headaches faster but if this kind of application doesn't work for you then just stick with the peppermint tea number four willow bark tea willow bark for those in the know is the grandparent of aspirin and many people actually call willow bark nature's aspirin and it's no wonder is this herbs been used for pain and inflammation for many centuries now a study in phyto therapy research looked at the various studies on willow barks ability to stop headaches and confirmed yes willow bark can do the trick for headaches and even things like back pain and osteoarthritis the one thing to be careful of is like aspirin you'll want to avoid it if you're on blood thinners or even possibly if you're on certain blood sugar disorder medications experts also say that even though willow bark is aspirin's granddaddy mixing the two at the same time isn't really advisable number three chamomile tea the colossus known as chamomile tea has lots of research when it comes to its ability to help you relax and either evade or relieve those nasty headaches one study found that chamomile not only helped headache pain but also nausea vomiting as well as light and sound sensitivity and when it comes to migraines there might not be another tea that can equal it as chamomile tea has the best research showing how it can thwart migraine headaches without aura or warning signs another study documented how it's awesome at working as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to stop inflammation and migraines number two feverfew tea now when it comes to various types of headaches feverfew might very well be the number one herb on this list no other tea is listed at being able to fight such a wide variety of headaches including things like menstrual or cluster headaches now the trick with feverfew tea is it works amazingly well for some and others not at all and because of this the american headache society only lists it as probably effective but the studies that are out there are very compelling a review of dozens of studies on feverfew found that it not only helps with the severity and frequency of headaches but it also lessens the side effects feverfew tea works by inhibiting the release of compounds that trigger headaches like serotonin now in some people feverfew can cause oral irritation in large amounts if you know one of those all right feverfew up honorable mentions i'm starting off this section with butter burr because while it's really effective at helping with migraines according to some studies there is also lots of evidence that shows that it can cause liver damage and as such it's actually been banned by numerous countries so it has that big knock against it as well now there are lots of other herbal buddies that might be good for your headaches but really there isn't much research or discernible evidence for most of them yet so i gotta put them here they include rhodiola chrysanthemum rosemary nettle or stinging nettle tea skullcap moringa linden otherwise known as basswood or lime tree tea coriander citron otherwise known as yuzu tea basil shishwan loveage aniseed dried cherry stems and cost merry and now the number one overspice for headaches ginger tea now i kid you not i actually tried pretty darn hard trying to disprove this as the number one tea on this list because i couldn't believe just how many people were saying oh yeah it's the best usually it's because of lots of promotion and companies trying to pump it up when they see stuff like that turns out though according to current research it really does earn the title in addition to helping with headaches ginger tea is renowned for helping with side effects like upset stomach cramps and nausea a study of 100 people who suffer from acute migraines found that ginger was just as effective as the migraine drug suma triptan and had less side effects to boot yeah go ginger take down those nasty drugs that's what i'm talking about oh i gotta strain something so how do you drink tea for headaches whatever your herbal tea of choice there's two main ways to use tea when stopping headaches one is to try and head them off at the pass and have one or two cups of tea early in the day to stop the onset of headaches the other is that as soon as you feel that headache coming on start that water boiling and get that cup ready oh my gosh that's strong now while some people notice the effects immediately others find that it's just a little bit more gradual either way hopefully one of these herbs or spices can help you get rid of those headaches and stay pain-free and happy please be kind take care of each other and watch out for that noggin with a little bit of tea oh my god there's so much cayenne in there