Top Health Benefits of Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and Recommended Dosages

So I have posted previously of using Colloidal Silver as a cure for menstrual headaches. That still works great, for me. But once in a great moon I was still getting a residual ache - much less than before and I could work through them, but still annoying.

In doing more research into various products, I came across an old study about Riboflavin 25mg (also known as vitamin B2) versus a proprietary blend of a daily dose of riboflavin 400 mg, magnesium 300 mg, and feverfew 100 mg. That is on Pubmed if you care to look. Now this brand product alone did not help me much when I tried it years ago, so I personally don't recommend it for a few reasons.

BUT. Now I'm on CS so things may have changed. When I combined just the 25mg of Ribovflavin into the CS I'm already taking, (Not the mix! JUST THE RIBOFLAVIN) it has completely cleared my rare milder headaches. And it's a much safer dose than the brands contain with many of their ingredients, for example if you look at Migrelief+M's ingredient list you'll see they have these same ingredients plus a possibly toxic amount of B-6 that should NOT be taken daily if you read the negative reviews - yet that's how they want their product used.

So I skip the brand names and I've been taking both. The CS I take daily, but the riboflavin I only take a couple days before headaches would usually start and then throughout my period. Many times I get lazy and don't take it at all unless I feel mild pressure, since the CS usually fixes the headaches alone.

The study notes this dosage of riboflavin (25mg/day) helps roughly 40-44% of menstrual headaches. Very much worth a try! And the lower dosage worked the same or better than the high one so don't bother upping dosage and wasting money. You can try adding in some feverfew and magnesium but it did not seem to help the study members. (I have tried both of those in the far past and not had results but your mileage may vary.) The study did not include CS (colloidal silver) use at all, so this may be a good fit for those of you somewhat leery of using CS. Please note the study had DAILY use of riboflavin - although I don't use it that way it'd probably be best to start there if you're not also taking CS. Good luck to all my suffering friends out there.

My husband can tell when he runs out of Riboflavin in his supplement container. I've been giving him 400mg daily in 2 divided doses as suggested by a member of a FB group on ET. This is the only thing so far that he has been able to notice an improvement.

Regards, Col

http://www.google.com/patents/US7838526

It's possible that several of the B-Complex vitamins act synergistically for specific problems, like migraines. Niacin (straight nicotinic acid form of B3) has evidence of working, and there is also evidence that B2 riboflavin can effect the same relief from migraines, but possibly via a different pathway.
[URL=http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b2-000334.htm
Migraine Headache

Several studies indicate that people who get migraines may decrease the frequency and duration of the headache by taking riboflavin. One double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed that taking 400 mg of riboflavin a day cut the number of migraine attacks in half. The study did not compare riboflavin to conventional medications used to prevent migraines, however, so more research is needed.

The NIH US National Institute of Health has an entire Searchable huge database of studies done in institutes of all kinds from all over the world:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19649688

Studies on adults show the effectiveness and tolerability of riboflavin in migraine prevention, while data on children are scarce. This retrospective study reports on our experience of using riboflavin for migraine prophylaxis in 41 pediatric and adolescent patients, who received 200 or 400 mg/day single oral dose of riboflavin for 3, 4 or 6 months. Attack frequency and intensity decreased (P < 0.01) during treatment, and these results were confirmed during the follow-up. A large number of patients (77.1%) reported that abortive drugs were effective for controlling ictal(relating to seizure or convulsion) events. During the follow-up, 68.4% of cases had a 50% or greater reduction in frequency of attacks and 21.0% in intensity. Two patients had vomiting and increased appetite, respectively, most likely for causes unrelated to the use of riboflavin. In conclusion, riboflavin seems to be a well-tolerated, effective, and low-cost prophylactic treatment in children and adolescents suffering from migraine. On the linked NIH page at the top is the Search. Just use any string like 'migraines and Vitamin B2'.

I had to share my findings with the annoying discomfort that comes with cracks in the corners of the mouth that is often confused with Cold sores. I tell all my friends as soon as I see that they are suffering. They are always so thankful as they tried everything else. Just TAKE Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin containing foods and it will go away in days. As the cracks are usually caused from a Riboflavin Deficiency.

These foods will provide your body with B2 at an uptake rate of around 15%.
Beef liver, cooked 3 ounces 1.71mg
Mushrooms, cooked 1 cup 0.47mg
Raw, unpasteurized milk 1 cup 0.34mg
Mushrooms, raw 1 cup 0.29mg
Organic egg, cooked 1 large 0.27mg
Almonds, raw 1 ounce 0.24mg
Organic Beef, cooked 3 ounces 0.19mg
Broccoli, boiled or steamed 1 cup 0.18mg
Spinach, boiled or steamed 1 cup 0.18mg
Organic chicken, dark meat, roasted 3 ounces 0.18
Asparagus, boiled or steamed 6 spears 0.13
Salmon, broiled 3 ounces 0.13

Daily requirements:
Adults 19-years and over: Males 1.3mg Females 1.1mg

You can also just eat a Breakfast Cereal with fortified vitamins, take a multi B-Complex or source the foods. Good Luck!