Excerpt from ASK ME ANYTHING!
by Marg Meikle
illustrated by Tina Holdcroft
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Why do I get an ice cream headache when I eat ice cream too fast?
— Haley F., Forth Worth, Texas and Genevieve N., Richmond, B.C.
Some people call an ice cream headache a “brain freeze.” Whatever you call it, about a third of the population gets this annoying blast of pain in the brain. It is what is called a referred pain, where you feel the pain somewhere apart from where you are receiving the pain. Why this happens isn’t conclusive, but when affected people eat really cold food or drink extremely cold drinks, the nerves that travel to the brain seem to be stimulated by the cold touching the top of the mouth. Then the blood vessels in the front of your head do a quick expansion/contraction dance to give you a sharp headache. (It’s not really your brain, but brain freeze sounds better.) The way it happens feels a bit like a migraine headache, but luckily an ice cream headache goes away just as fast as it comes on. And here is a fascinating tidbit: about 90% of people who get migraines also get ice cream headaches.
A brain freeze isn’t anything to be concerned about, but is a weird feeling nonetheless. Don’t like it? Slow down when you are eating or drinking anything really cold, or keep the food or drink far from the back of your palate, and you should avoid the whole phenomenon.
From Ask Me Anything! Copyright © 2003 by Marg Meikle.
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