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Could your next migraine hack be hiding in a fast-food bag?
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Discover the shocking science behind cola, fries, and the Mac migraine meal.
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Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers
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who've seen countless doctors with no results.
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Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without endless medications or constant sacrifices.
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Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped over 500 people break free from migraine,
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even after suffering for up to 60 years.
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My mission in life? To bring this relief to a million people
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using a unique blend of Eastern medicine and Western science.
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In this episode, you will learn why the combination of caffeine, cola leaves, sugar, and salt
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might actually interrupt a migraine attack.
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How fast-food ingredients impact your nervous system, for better or worse.
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And when quick fixes can be dangerous, and how to think instead for lasting relief.
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You know, whenever I talk about my work, I usually get two types of reactions.
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There's the first group, they nod politely, their eyes drifting off to the distance,
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silently praying I don't go on too long.
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And then there's the second group, the ones who lean in, lower their tone of voice actually,
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look me in the eye, ask questions, and get it.
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You can tell they know someone, or maybe they know exactly what I'm talking about.
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That's how I've come to spot male CEOs with migraines.
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You would never guess. No one knows. It's one of those tightly held secrets.
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These guys are often incredibly disciplined, but behind that, there's a constant fear,
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what if it hits me during a board meeting?
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One of them actually pulled me aside on a hockey field once, as we were watching our daughters play,
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reached into his pocket, and showed me a tiny closed plastic orange bottle,
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and said, Diane, I never leave home without these.
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These were migraine prescription medications.
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And just recently, while I'm in the US, one of them sent me this article
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about the TikTok trend called the Mac migraine meal.
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So I thought I'd bring it to you. What is it? Why are people talking about it?
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And most importantly, what does it tell us about the quick fixes and deeper truths,
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both from Western science and Eastern medicine perspectives?
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Stay with me till the end, because what you're going to learn today
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might just change how you respond to your next migraine attack.
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So what's the science between the so-called Mac migraine meal,
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a cola and salty fries, when all we're trying to do is be healthier?
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Coca-Cola was originally invented by a pharmacist as a medicinal tonic,
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marketed to relieve health issues such as headaches and fatigue.
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Its formula contains two major ingredients, coca leaf extract and cola nuts, hence the name Coca-Cola.
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Though its ingredients have evolved over time, the exact recipe remains
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one of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the world,
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locked in a vault unknown by only a few.
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Only two executives at any given time are said to know the full Coca-Cola recipe.
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Let's start breaking down what we know.
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First, the coca, the coca leaf.
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For thousands of years, people in South America have chewed coca leaves
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or brewed them into tea to fight fatigue, altitude sickness and, yes, headache.
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This humble green leaf is a natural stimulant,
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gently boosting energy and sharpening focus without the crash.
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It also helps ease pain and nausea, two symptoms migraine sufferers know all too well.
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With subtle vasoconstrictive effects, it's mere modern migraine medication, just in the plant form.
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Then we have the cola of the Coca-Cola.
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Cola nuts were traditionally used in West Africa.
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They are rich in natural stimulants, primarily caffeine and therobrine,
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which make them effective for increasing alertness, reducing fatigue and enhancing focus.
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They've also been valued for their digestive benefits,
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helping to stimulate gastric acid production and ease symptoms like bloating or sluggish digestion.
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The caffeine is, of course, a known vasoconstrictor.
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It can narrow blood vessels and reduce inflammation around the brain.
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A study published in the journal Cephalgia shows that caffeine,
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when used in combination with common analgesics,
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which the coca leaf can act as, can enhance their efficacy in treating migraines.
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This is also true that some medications contain caffeine.
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Additionally, therobrine provides a gentler, longer-lasting stimulant effect
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compared to caffeine, supporting sustained energy without a sharper crash.
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Then this is where we bring the Western naughtiness.
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You did not think I was going to sell you Coca-Cola, right? Did you?
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The sugar, particularly glucose, can affect brain function quickly.
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Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a known migraine trigger.
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A sugary drink, like cola, can rapidly raise blood glucose,
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potentially stabilizing a person who is in the early stages of an attack.
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The cold from the beverage also causes vasoconstriction and narrowing of blood vessels,
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which can momentarily speed up the blood flow and bring quick relief.
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But this effect is short-lived and may disrupt, like all of the above, the body's natural balance over time.
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Then the Mac migraine meal tops that up with fries.
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How does that help your migraine attack?
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Well, high-fat foods slow digestion and divert blood flow towards the stomach,
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which may temporarily reduce blood flow to pain-sensitive areas in the brain.
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Fries may trigger the release of dopamine, the brain's feel-good chemical,
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offering a brief mood boost and potentially dampening pain perception.
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The simple carbs in fries can quickly raise blood glucose,
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which might help if the migraine is triggered by low blood sugar.
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Stabilizing blood sugar can sometimes ease headache symptoms.
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Salty fries may help replenish sodium level,
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especially if a migraine is linked to dehydration or low blood pressure.
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Sodium helps maintain fluid balance and support nerve signaling,
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which could offer short-term relief in some people.
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I'm not trying to convince you to do this, by the way.
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I'm just explaining to you that people are not crazy.
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They say it can be a relief for some, and it is true,
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and that can actually be explained scientifically.
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Now, as you will have guessed, these effects are short-term and not a cure,
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and over-reliance can lead to rebound effects.
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In the West, we are very good at measuring and observing our short-term sensations
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without always fully appreciating or understanding the more holistic implications on the long run.
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So let's turn East for a moment.
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If the McMigraine meal had been available in ancient China,
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I am not sure it would have been recommended.
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In fact, I am sure of the opposite.
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Why? Because from a traditional Chinese medicine point of view,
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this combo is a classic setup for much deeper imbalances.
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When someone has migraines, they have excesses and deficiencies.
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First, you have the cola.
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It's cold, fizzy, sugary, and caffeinated.
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That's a quadruple whammy.
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The cold nature and the fizzy of the drink is going to weaken the stomach spin,
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and it's going to weaken its ability to transform the food and fluids,
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creating more forehead migraines over time.
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It's a weaker ability to extract food.
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That's going to have two massive implications.
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Number one, it's going to prevent you from extracting the nutrients
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that are there to nourish, for example, your kidney system
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and be more resilient to stress.
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It's going to prevent you from catching the nutrients
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that will nourish your blood to increase your blood volume.
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But it also will add more phlegm.
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The sugar is going to create phlegm.
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Think of it as a sticky residue that clouds your clarity and circulation. So
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that phlegm is going to be like a form of mucus and really poor barium
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inside of your small and large intestine.
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It's going to go all the way to your brain and make your brain more foggy.
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Caffeine is going to give you a temporary relief,
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but it's going to tax your kidney essence and overstimulate your liver yang,
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the kind of rising, surging energy that often explodes into a migraine.
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Then you have the fries.
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They're greasy and salty and fried,
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which in traditional Chinese medicine terms
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means they generate dampness, more dampness and more heat in the body.
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Dampness is like that heavy fog I was mentioning inside of you.
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It's going to block the free flow of qi.
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It's going to clog up your channels.
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It's going to go all the way from your vagus nerve to your brain,
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and it's going to start to have you more migraine hangovers.
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And it's going to add heat to that from fried oil and salty additives.
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And now you've got internal inflammation brewing.
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The heat rises, especially to the head, where migraines live.
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I'm brushing up here a bit faster because we've seen some of these concepts before,
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but the consequences are very serious,
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and you can get in a cycle that is really hard to come out of on your own.
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Now, I know you're saints, quietly battling through without much reward.
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If fries and cola help you once in a while, of course you should indulge and you should live.
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Migraine is brutal and it's life-ruining.
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Just bear in mind, for the long run, choose what brings you balance, not just relief.
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That is what we do every single day at Migraine Heroes
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because that is the only thing that truly and lastingly works.
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There are no shortcuts, no magic pill.
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Your brain is actually, in my view of all of the work that I've done, superior.
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It has a fire alarm, but the migraine is not the fire itself.
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The imbalances are.
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And remember, every small step you take moves you closer to freedom.
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You are powerful, you are resilient, and you are no longer alone.
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Keep rising, Migraine Hero.
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Found this episode helpful?
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