McDonald's cures migraines? I'm doubtin' it.

A recent viral TikTok claim says that a simple McDonald's meal is all that's needed to cure a migraine. That this is being taken seriously is disconcerting, for many reasons.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch

Confession: I’ve never had a migraine. At least, as far as I know. And you’d assume I would know if I was having one, because they’re very noticeable. They tend to be very debilitating, last a long time, and have a very consistent progression (prodrome, aura, attack, and post-drome). If that had happened to me, you’d think I would have realised it at the time, and remember it now.

How come I’ve managed to avoid them? Well, when you consider that migraines affect around one in seven people, and three times as many women as men, me not experiencing them is just the luck of the draw, where the odds were in my favour. It’s certainly not due to some hack or ingenious lifestyle decisions I’ve made.

And it’s certainly not because I eat a lot of McDonald’s food. Because I don’t. But if I were a migraine sufferer, apparently I should be shovelling McDonald’s food into my increasingly headachy maw. Because McDonald’s prevents migraines.

That is, at least, according to the latest viral Tiktok phenomenon, which says that a specific order at McDonald’s, a large Coke and large fries, is all you need to prevent a migraine.

Now, as someone who not long ago had to research and write a long feature about migraines, I’d argue that, despite having not experienced one directly, I am at least well informed as to the mechanisms and workings of migraines, insofar as we know them. Which is probably why I was asked to do a last-minute appearance on Times Radio to discuss it. Which is how I found out about the phenomenon in the first place!

So, does this McDonald’s cure claim hold up to scrutiny? Let’s see.

McDonald’s cures migraines: The Good

Photo by Ron Lach

How, exactly, would a simple McDonald’s order prevent a headache? Well, assuming your headache isn’t caused by the stress of not having eaten at McDonald’s for too long, there are some legitimate scientific processes at work here.

Headaches can be caused by all manner of things, but a lot of the time they’re vascular in nature. They’re the result of blood vessels in the brain dilating too much, opening too widely, which mucks up cerebral pressure and all that, the result of which is a headache.

Caffeine, by contrast, is a vasoconstrictor. It narrows blood vessels. So, if you’re experiencing a vascular headache, a dose of caffeine, say from a large McDonald’s Coke, may well counteract the underlying causes.

Headaches are also often caused by an imbalance of electrolytes, essential substances our bodies need to perform vital functions. Sodium, potassium, things like that. Salts, basically. And a large portion of fries is one way to get a lot of salts into your system. So, yeah.

And also, there’s just the general fact that junk food is nice. It makes us feel good. Sugary and processed foods stimulate the reward system in the brain. And that could well make you feel better despite your headache, even if the pain-relief systems aren’t so stimulated.

So there we go, a McDonald’s meal can cure a migraine. Right?

No, obviously that’s not right.

McDonald’s cures migraines: The Bad

Photo by Mahdi Bafande

I’m guessing anyone who’s reading this who does suffer regular migraines has been repeatedly screaming the next point already, so let’s get to it.

A migraine is not a headache.

Even with the most generous interpretation of this TikTok claim, it seems very much like what they’re calling a migraine is just a headache. And not even a serious one. A mid one, the sort that can be alleviated with a swig of Coke.

People often conflate headaches and migraines, and they shouldn’t. A serious, debilitating headache is part of the migraine experience, yes. But similarly, ‘bleeding’ is part of both cutting yourself shaving, and inadvertently stepping into a bear trap. Nobody would contend that these experiences are equivalent.

A migraine involves clear, long drawn-out stages with various symptoms, including low mood, irritability, visual distortions, extreme light sensitivity, vomiting, severe fatigue, and yes, searing pain in the head.

The exact reasons they happen, are so drawn-out, and have such signature symptoms, are still being researched. Both neurological and vascular issues paly a role, and the occurrence of slowly-spreading waves of anomalous neural activity, along with hyperactive visual processes, seems to be a key feature, which ties in with the prolonged but predictable symptoms. For further details, check out that feature I wrote.

What I’m getting at is, it’s a very complex and deep-rooted process that affects multiple brain regions over a broad span of time, in confusing and uncertain ways.

So, the idea that it can be easily derailed by some caffeine, salt, and saturated fats? That seems… fanciful.

This isn’t to say the TikTokers insisting otherwise are lying, per se. Maybe they do have regular migraines. But migraines and more typical headaches aren’t mutually exclusive; you can still have a more generic headache that could be alleviated with some French Fries, and experience migraines on the regular¹.

On the other hand, someone who’s riding out the peak of a migraine in a darkened room, unable to endure daylight and in too much pain and discomfort to even contemplate eating? “Get a McDonald’s” is not an option for them. Even if it did work. Which, again, I doubt.

Of course, if you are a migraine endurer who has experiencing having this debilitating condition halted by some fizzy syrup and a handful of fried potato sticks, do get in touch. I’m happy to be proven wrong.

I’m just doubtful that I would be.

McDonald’s cures migraines: The Ugly

Image by cottonbro studio

People have been desperately searching for migraine treatments and preventions for many years, thus far without significant success.

So, the idea that the answer was so simple, and so easily accessible, for so long? While undeniably far fetched and, I contend, almost certainly wrong, it is very compelling. Which makes it ideal content for online output. Which, presumably, is a big part of why it’s gone viral on TikTok.

After all, it’s easy to understand. It’s easy to do. It offers hope, that the answer to a serious problem is right under your nose. And, let’s be honest, it offers a robust excuse for self-indulgence. After all, it’s not junk food if it’s good for your health, right?

One must assume that these factors are all contributing to the popularity of ‘The McMigraine Meal’.

Although, coke and fries² are the opposite of ‘rare foods’ in the modern world. And one must assume that, if there is any scientific basis for this method, it would work with any edible vehicle for caffeine, sugar, starch and fat.

But no. Many young influencer types seem to specify that it has to be a specific meal from McDonald’s, one of the most powerful, wealthy and ruthless companies on Earth. They’ve even created a quirky alliterative on-brand term for it. The result being, many young people are now thinking McDonald’s is genuienly medicinal.

As reluctant as I am to invoke conspiracy thinking, I wouldn’t be 100% shocked if this whole thing didn’t turn out to have happened 100% ‘organically’.

But even if it is, this is a recurring issue; whatever you think about TikTok, it is very popular, and a lot of people, especially younger people, rely on it as a source of credible information. But the nature of TikTok and similar social media platforms, means to succeed on them, and grow an audience, your material usually needs to be succinct, simple, engaging.

Do you know what isn’t succinct, simple, engaging? Actual scientific information. Particularly that concerning health and medicine. Trust me, I’ve made a career out of trying to turn it into something the typical person can get their head around without it losing all meaning or value. I wish that it were different. We’d all be better off. But it isn’t, so we aren’t.

But hey, why work to convey the nuance and complexity of scientific concepts when you can just… not? In fact, you’ll be rewarded and more likely to succeed if you just make up some interesting nonsense.

I’m not saying everyone on TikTok is doing that. As unlikely as it is, I’ll happily accept that everyone providing information and insight about health conditions is doing so with the best possible intentions. But intentions don’t make nonsense reality, and the reality is that misinformation about important, health-defining matters is a real problem on the platform.

Offering easy fixes for complex problems in return for likes and clicks doesn’t make them valid or useful. This McDonald’s Migraine concept seems like yet another example of this.

It’s a real concern. And it’ll take more than a portion of salty carbs to fix it.

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You should check out my books. They won’t cure migraines, but they’re probably better for you than McDonald’s food. And that’s true even if you do eat them.

1. Also, the earliest stages of a migraine involve irritability and low energy. Which can also be caused by hunger. So maybe some TikTokers are literally just hungry?

2. Every part of my British soul is desperately wanting to call them ‘chips’, because that is correct. However, the whole idea centres around McDonald’s items, and they don’t call them that. So, reluctantly, neither will I.