89. What Most People Don't Know About Scents (And Why They Trigger Your Migraines)

Why can't you walk down the detergent aisle without triggering a migraine?

In this follow-up episode, I break down the hidden connection between odor sensitivity and chronic migraines, and why it's not just "how you're wired."

Here's what most people don't know: when you smell something, you're inhaling molecules that enter your bloodstream. For migraine sufferers, whose "toxin buckets" are already near the top, even small exposures, a candle, ground beef cooking, the coffee aisle, can tip you into a full migraine.

I also share the shocking Bath & Body Works story: how they pumped 20-30 pounds of fragrance into Grand Central Station, turning unsuspecting commuters into walking migraine triggers.

In this episode, you'll learn why there are two levels of odor sensitivity, one that only happens during migraines, and another that's constant, even when you feel fine. I explain why smelling something means absorbing toxins into your bloodstream, and how the "toxin bucket" concept changes everything once you understand it. You'll discover why odor sensitivity isn't genetic or hardwired, it's actually a symptom that can improve over time. And I'll show you how to build margin in your system so that wildfire smoke, perfume, or holiday candles don't automatically ruin your day.

This episode is for you if you avoid certain grocery store aisles because the smell is overwhelming, if your family thinks you're making it up when you complain about odors, if you've been told you're just sensitive to smells and that's how you are, or if you want to stop living in fear of triggers and rebuild trust in your body.

If you're having 8+ migraine days per month and you're ready to drain your toxin bucket and reclaim your life, I can help.

Schedule your free consultation here:
https://www.drlesliecisar.com/apply

Free Training: 5 Proven Steps to Being Migraine Free (Even if you think you've already tried everything.)

https://www.drlesliecisar.com/5SHMN

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Ready to try something radically different that actually works? Read more about my approach here: https://www.drlesliecisar.com/map

Episode Transcript

hi there
welcome to the Healing Migraines Naturally podcast
I'm your host Doctor Leslie Caesar
and I am a licensed naturopathic doctor
former chronic migraine sufferer
and I have dedicated my life to helping
other women with chronic migraines
restore their health
so that their body stops generating their migraines
so this is sort of like a follow up episode
so before the holidays
I did a podcast on
odor sensitivity amongst migraine sufferers right
a really notorious topic I knew that going in
but boy did we get a response to this podcast
so I want to do a follow up
and go a little bit deeper into it
because obviously this is such a big problem with
you know amongst migraine sufferers
you know what are we talking about here
this is the notorious
odor sensitivity that migraine sufferers are prone to
right so this can take two main forms
once that migraine kicks off okay
once we're in the throes of a migraine
many many migraine sufferers
are going to notice that they're hypersensitive
to sort of normal odors in the environment
you know I've had many clients where
when they're in the middle of a migraine
the thought of cooking say like ground beef right
like you're gonna cook some ground beef on the stove
the smell of that is like disgusting right
so there's particular like
food odors that people will find like repulsive
whereas normally
when you're cooking ground beef on the stove
do you really even think that there's an odor to it
I mean not right
it doesn't really
it's not a food where you're thinking like oh
this is
this has a big odor to it
but like when you're in that migraine
just like getting the ground beef cooking in the pan
you're like oh
this is disgusting this is repulsive
right or putting something in the trash can
you know maybe
there's a little odor in your trash can all the time
but you really don't notice it right
but oh boy
you're in the middle of a migraine
you flip the lid on the trash can
and
it smells like it's been rotting in there for a week
typically
what happens then is people start asking their family
like oh
do you smell that
oh this smells horrible
and their family their husband
their kids are like I don't
I don't smell anything it's not that big of a deal
what are you talking about right
it can be this hypersensitivity to
things in the environment
that other people would smell
but they just wouldn't find it extreme or repulsive
and then sometimes
people will have so much hypersensitivity
that they are able to perceive odors
that other people don't perceive
now this is different than olfactory hallucinations
which is
another phenomenon that happens to
a tiny fraction of migraine sufferers
um what I'm talking about here is not a hallucination
but the hypersensitivity is so advanced that
they can detect
almost like a hound dog
dogs they're detecting real odors in the environment
that we don't have the ability to perceive right
so when some people get into that migraine state
they can perceive odors
that a normal person wouldn't be able to perceive
so that's sort of the hypersensitivity of odors
that can occur in the middle of a migraine flare
and then more
sort of symptomatic
or more extreme manifestations of this is someone who
even when they're not in the migraine state
they're super sensitive they're hypersensitive to odors
and so this is where you know
I may not be having a migraine
but I know that I can't go down the coffee aisle
in the grocery store
or I can't go down the detergent aisle
in the grocery store
because it's just going to be so overwhelming to me
it's gonna be so unpleasant
and then many people who have this
even heightened hypersensitivity
many of them will actually quote unquote
get a migraine from the exposure to those odors right
so it's not just
I can't go down the detergent
aisle in the grocery store
because it's gonna be just overpowering and unpleasant
I'm gonna get a migraine
if I go down the detergent aisle
in the grocery store right
or if I go over to my great aunt's house
who loves to have all the Glade air fresheners
and the perfumes and you know
the candles and everything
because it's gonna be a guaranteed migraine
so
those are the
kind of the two common levels of odor sensitivity
it's only occurring during the migraine flare itself
and then sort of the more severe manifestation
or sort of like later progression stage is
it's occurring all the time
even without a migraine
and can actually set someone into that migraine state
so
I talked about this a little bit before the holidays
because the holiday season is notorious for this
because everybody breaks out the pumpkin spice candles
and you know
all all this kind of stuff you go in
so I was talking about this
and like I say
such a response to this it obviously hit a nerve
hi there it's Doctor Leslie
if you're a woman
having eight or more migraine days a month
let's talk
I'll show you how to drop them to near zero in 90 days
and that's without adding more medication
in fact you can even lower
or possibly even completely
wean off of your medication within 90 days
and that's without any agonizing
cold Turkey withdrawals
so let me tell you about one of my clients Judy
she was nearly bedridden
because she was having to take such strong medications
for her migraines and she could barely function
in fact
she had to close the doors of her small retail business
and she was feeling like a failure
she wondered every day
why was she doomed to suffer from migraines
but just like you
she found this Healing Migraines Naturally podcast
and a spark ignited she knew that
if she could just figure out why these migraines
started in the first place
she could restore and recover her health again
so she booked a free consult call
and the rest is history now
she reports months in between migraines
and runs her small business full time again
she followed the 12 week plan
and got incredible results
and she's completely
weaned off of all of those preventative medications
that were leaving her feeling doped up
and committing her to being bedridden
I have worked with women just like Judy
from all over the United States
overcome migraines naturally
so if you're serious about healing your migraines
then tap the link in the description
and book a free consult call with me
just like Judy did we do cap new clients monthly
so if the calendar's full
the doors are closed for now
so don't wait to reclaim the life you deserve to live
no matter how hopeless things seem now
with expert guidance your body can heal and recover
so I look forward to chatting with you
click the link now to schedule your call
and someone uh
reached out and told me that bath and Body Works
last year
they started this advertising campaign
where they're bringing in the sense 2 spaces
and they're like
unleashing the bath and Body Works sense
into these different spaces to promote their products
right so I was unaware of the campaign
but when I heard this like a chill went down my spine
I was like oh
my goodness
because what they did over the holiday season
is
they took over Grand Central Station in New York City
and apparently they brought in
like 20 to 30 pounds
of the fragrance that they use in their products
and disperse this through Grand Central Station
to create sort of
like an olfactory holiday experience for people
like you're walking through a Pine Forest or
you know something like that
as you're going through Grand Central Station
oh my goodness
unsuspecting woman who's prone to migraines
trying to commute to work
and walks into Grand Central Station
and is hit with all of these odor molecules right
I mean what a nightmare
absolute nightmare for a migraine sufferer right
so I kind of checked it out
this is being touted in like the advertising community
like I found some articles in like
advertising trade magazines
where they're applauding bath and Body Works for this
like innovative marketing approach
and they are doing this like concerts events
you know it wasn't just sort of like a one time thing
this is like the thing that they're gonna be doing now
bath and Body Works wants to sell their soaps
so you're gonna be hit with all of this fragrance right
a lot of people in the natural medicine space
the wellness industry
they've been raising the alarm on this right
because you didn't consent to this right
haha
the general public doesn't realize
a very critical factor
around the molecules that we smell
I don't know if I've actually explicitly
said this on any of my podcast
because I was actually talking with a client about this
just this week
and she didn't know this
and she was shocked when I told her this
so I was like you know what
we really need to address this on the podcast
because it really affects migraine sufferers so much
you know when we smell something okay
when we perceive a smell
an odor
that's because we have inhaled air
that contains molecules suspended in the air right
and we're breathing those in all the time
so those molecules they are going into our nose
and they are hitting
the exposed nerves of our olfactory
nerves
and so those little molecules
when they hit the tip of the nerve
they stimulate
the nerve molecules have a three dimensional shape
and so
different shaped molecules are going to stimulate
and so when you are breathing in say um
little molecules of bacon that you made in the morning
right that smells pretty good to most people
they like the smell of that
you're inhaling little
suspended molecules that off gassed
from the cooking bacon
and then those little molecules and those shapes
it's almost like a lock and key
if you think of it like that
those are gonna hit different olfactory nerves
that are sensitive to those particular shapes
and then the nerve is going to fire
that signal is gonna go into your brain
and the little
unique combination will translate in your brain bacon
there's bacon right
so if you're in the middle of like a Phoenix monsoon
those molecules that you see as dust in the air
those are very very big molecules
and they're not going to very readily get absorbed
into your body the big ones
your nasal cavity is going to be able to
keep outside of your body right
it's the the molecule is too big to get absorbed
and you're gonna blow it out of your nose right
and your body is gonna help you do that
by making you sneeze
and it's gonna start generating mucus
and you're gonna blow your nose
and it's gonna have all of this orange dust in there
from the Phoenix
Monsoon
but the small molecules
you're going to absorb into your bloodstream
so when you are smelling something
when you are perceiving an odor
you are you have inhaled toxin molecules
anything that comes into your body
from the external environment
becomes a toxin molecule
that your body now has to eliminate
your organs of detoxification have to be up to the job
your liver is the main organ of detoxification
that does a biochemical process called detoxification
you can read about this in the physiology textbook
the biochemistry textbook
and then
you're going to have to eliminate those molecules
from your body via the skin
which is your largest organ of elimination
your breath we exhale uh
detoxified uh toxins
we urinate them out we defecate them out
and for us women
we will actually pass them in our menstrual flow
as well so
women actually
have one more avenue of elimination than men have
and this is what my client this week
she was like you're kidding me
what I
I didn't know this right
are there toxins right
so why is this so pertinent to migraine sufferers
so like I've talked about on the podcast
migraines themselves headaches are a major symptom
that your body has an overload of metabolic waste
material and toxins
this is what I call the second principle
the second thing that's required
to recover your health and stop getting migraines
you have to clear the overload of metabolic waste
material and toxins from your body
so when you have headaches and migraines
it's a symptom that indicates your toxin bucket
your trash can is overflowing
if my trash can is pretty much up to the top
I may not have a migraine right
feeling pretty good
but
little do I know
that my bucket is all the way up to the top
and then I go through Union Station
and get overloaded with 20 to 30 pounds of
of odor toxin molecules
those are gonna come into my bloodstream
and they're gonna overspill my toxin bucket
my trash can
okay
now I've got a big problem
when that bucket over spills I'm gonna get a migraine
so migraine suffers right there
we already know that that bucket is towards the top
and then any little addition to that bucket
can definitely be enough
to tip you over into a migraine state
so that's why you can't go down the coffee aisle
you can't go down the detergent aisle
you're already nearly toppling that bucket over
and any little additional exposure is really going to
tip you over into that migraine state
so this is why it's so critical
if you have chronic migraines
that we have to work on
what I call this second principle
we've got to get your bucket drained
your bucket is never going to be empty
let me clarify this
because our body is continuously making
metabolic waste material
everything that your cells do generates waste material
even beneficial products from the cell
like our hormones
our ovaries right
pre menopause
our ovaries are making estrogen every month
that estrogen serves a useful purpose
but once it serves that purpose
to stimulate those estrogen sensitive cells
so that they can get the stimulation they need
get the instructions they need
to do what they're supposed to do
once that estrogen molecule does that
it's now a metabolic waste material
that has to be detoxified and eliminated from the body
even if we were living in a pristine environment
with no man made toxins
we would still have a toxin bucket
or a trash can that has waste material in it
because we make the waste material
so you know
a lot of people within the natural medicine industry
they kind of
are always sounding the alarm on environmental toxins
and frankly kind of making people overly paranoid
I think about avoiding environmental toxins
but we've always had environmental toxins
even before humans had the technology to make
the man made toxins that they're making now
we have never been living in a toxin free environment
your body is designed to remove these things
to detoxify them
when you listen to a lot of people
within the natural medicine space
they only talk about avoiding exposure
and certainly
we want to avoid exposure to these types of things
you know
it's not illegal for bath and Body Works to do this
but I do think it's unethical to do this
if you wanna walk into a bath and body work store
that's your choice right
but just to have unsuspecting people
trying to get to work
getting exposed to this type of thing
I don't think it's ethical
but I guess it's not
they didn't break a law
you only have so much
control over what's in our environment right
like we can be conscientious and we can um
do our best within what's within our capacity
what's within our budget
to avoid man made toxins in the environment
but what's happening to people is
they're becoming overly paranoid about this
and we're forgetting
that we actually have the capacity to detoxify
and eliminate these molecules from our body
so that's what I focus on
because what I see over and over again is
you have a chronic migraine sufferer
that's hypersensitive to odors
you know once they're in the migraine
you know they can't walk by the trash can
they can't you know
be in the kitchen when someone's cooking food right
everything's bothering them
their
their lotion that normally smells nice to them smells
you know makes them feel nauseous right
we gotta get that bucket drained
it's never gonna be empty
but can we get it at 50%
can we can we get it halfway drained
now I've got a lot of margin and this is what we want
we want more margin
if there's a wildfire in Canada
and it blows into Chicago
what am I gonna do
again when this hit last summer
a lot of people were posting
oh my goodness
I can't leave the house
I'm having migraines and headaches
from this Canadian wildfire smoke
absolutely I
I hear you but I wasn't getting a migraine last summer
because my toxin bucket has some margin
that's what we want
I'm gonna absorb some of the molecules that are in that
smoke
but I've got room I've got margin
I can handle it I'm not gonna get overloaded from that
I have a client that's super sensitive to odors
and as we get that toxin bucket drain
what do you know I went through the grocery store
and I forgot that I was in the detergent aisle
because I didn't have a problem
it didn't even seem that noticeable to me
oh my goodness I I
I'm having a migraine the migraine isn't severe
and my husband you know
grilled some steaks and it really didn't bother me
so this is where we wanna get to
if we get that toxin bucket drained
as we're exposed to these odor toxin molecules
and as we absorb them into our body
we're not going to have the extreme symptoms
and people don't believe that this is possible
you know when I start working with a client
who's very sensitive to odors
this is what they'll tell me nine times out of ten
well I'm just someone who's sensitive to odors
you know that's how I'm wired
I guess that's just me right I'm
they think that this is something
like genetic or hardwired right
that's just their personality or something like that
it's not it's a symptom
this is something that I'm looking for to improve
and so when I meet with my clients
and they have this odor sensitivity symptom
I ask them
alright sensitivity to odors this week
little bit better little bit worse
exactly the same we see that change over time right
the first few times that I asked that question
usually the answer is yeah
it's the same exactly the same
no change right
I got a migraine my husband was making ground beef
it smelled terrible I couldn't stand it
I got irritated right the whole whole business
but then over as the weeks go by
and we're getting that bucket drained
what do you know I asked the same question
different answer huh
you know what that's funny you asked me that
I don't remember noticing any odors
cause this is a symptom once it goes away
you forget about it
right so then the response is like huh
yeah that's so weird um
yeah I don't remember
smelling anything I don't remember
and then it like dawns on you
oh my goodness right I
have the same husband that cooks the same steaks
that normally you know
annoy me are
are disgusting smell right
I have the same trash can
my Aunt Winnie has the same perfume
but nothing happened right
that's when it starts to dawn on you
that this isn't genetic
this isn't something that's hardwired
this isn't just you know
how you were made this is actually a symptom
and it's a toxicity symptom
and if we get that bucket drained
you are going to be able to tolerate odors
much much better
so I applaud the people in the natural medicine space
who are working on raising awareness
trying to you know
get legislation change or
you know at a minimum
trying to put public
pressure on companies to not do stuff like this okay
but my focus is a different focus
working with people to get that bucket drained
they can continue to function
and their body doesn't generate these toxicity symptoms
also for migraine suffers
what's important is we kind of get out of that
paranoid state right
because the migraine phenomenon itself
generates a lot of anxiety
paranoia within us right
because migraines are so insidious
you can wake up in the morning feeling fine
and by four PM
you're pulled over in a parking lot vomiting
ask me how I know right
already there's a lot of anxiety
what if what if something happens
I got a big thing going on
how am I gonna feel right
so part of the recovery process from chronic migraines
is to come out of this state of anxiety and paranoia
and start to rebuild trust in your body
so um
I hope this was helpful to you
to do a little bit deeper dive
into what's going on with these odors
I think you can relate
to the anxiety and paranoia that is generated
with chronic migraines and the
the paranoia that
any little thing is going to tip us into a migraine
and we're not going to feel good
and we've got to avoid things and bubble wrap ourselves
to protect ourselves from all of these triggers
right and you can't live like that
I know this from personal experience
and well
there are man made toxins in the environment right
I mean again it's not ideal
but it's still a wonderful
wonderful world that we live in
that we can enjoy and flourish in
and live into our full potential
and that's really what I want to focus on with you
and with my clients
so thanks again for joining me today
we'll talk to you soon