Online Reporter
LONDON. — A Coke and chips as a way of fending off migranes?
It’s called the McMigraine Meal and it has gone viral.
A simple offering of a full-fat cola and a portion of salty chips seems to be doing the trick for hundreds who’ve been extolling its virtues on TikTok.
If there is any science behind these hacks — what do they do to the body?
Nick Cook, from Oxfordshire, carries “a wallet full of drugs” around in case of a migraine attack. He will “try anything” to make the pain go away, he says.
He stresses that drinking cola doesn’t replace his amitriptyline tablets — the daily pain medication he takes to try to prevent migraines — but it does sometimes help him “last until the end of the day”.
For Kayleigh Webster, a 27-year-old who has had chronic migraines all her life, it’s the salt on the chips that might slow down a migraine attack.
“It can help,” she says cautiously, “but it’s certainly not a cure.
“Migraine is a complex neurological condition — and it can’t be cured by a bit of caffeine, salt and sugar in a fast food meal.”
Kayleigh’s tried cocktails of different medications, putting her feet in hot water, a flannel at the back of the head, acupuncture, cupping — but they’ve had little effect.
A migraine — which can last days — is very different to a headache, which tend to be short-lived and can be treated more easily with painkillers like paracetamol.
Migraines can cause head pain, neck pain, numbness, blurred vision, and even affect speech and movement.
Dr Kay Kennis, a trustee for the Migraine Trust and a GP who specialises in migraines, says while there are elements of the McMigraine Meal that can help stave off an attack, these aren’t innate to “a McDonald’s”.
“The caffeine in the coke can act as a nerve disruptor, it is a substance that affects nerve activity. For some, that disturbance works in a positive way,” Dr Kennis says.
“There are some painkillers that people take for migraines that have caffeine — and some do respond well to that — but we don’t fully know why.”
But she warns against using caffeinated fizzy drinks like cola as a way of regularly managing migraines.
“Too much caffeine can be a trigger too — and you can end up in a worse situation in the long run,” Dr Kennis says.
Other ingredients in a fast food meal, like the salt on the chips, can affect nerve activity, she explains, but adds the effects of sodium on migraines have not been tested.
She also warns that not only is fast food often ultra-processed and not conducive to a healthy diet, it can contain high levels of Tyramine, a natural compound commonly found in many foods, which can actually cause severe migraines. — BBC
