NATURA
- Aug 23
- 4 min read

The science behind why eating ice cream gives you a headache

This time,

I researched the science behind why eating ice cream 🍨 can cause headaches✨✨.

Most of you reading this article have probably experienced a sharp headache after eating ice cream 🍨 at least once. I investigated why this happens by reading scientific papers👍.

I gathered information from a meta-analysis on ice cream and headaches.

First, in an experiment conducted in Taiwan involving 4,436 middle school students aged 13-15 (2,096 boys and 2,143 girls), the researchers surveyed how often headaches occurred after eating ice cream. The results showed that 3,394 students (40.6%) reported experiencing ice cream headaches✨.

Interestingly, people with migraines or head injuries were more likely to experience headaches after eating ice cream✨.

Those with migraines tended to experience more severe ice cream headaches compared to those without migraines. Additionally, boys were more likely to get ice cream headaches than girls.

Researchers believe that boys eat ice cream 🍨 faster, which stimulates the central nervous system and reduces the blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery, causing the headaches✨✨.

They found that the faster you ingest crushed ice 🧊, the more likely you are to trigger an ice cream headache. In Taiwan 🇹🇼, the warm climate leads to the sale of cold ice cream and ice pops, making ice cream headaches more common✨✨.

Moreover, it is suggested that the medications commonly taken by people with migraines 💊 may trigger ice cream headaches, though this is not yet fully understood.

Interestingly, there is no reported correlation between the temperature of the ice cream and the occurrence of ice cream headaches✨✨.

Most people reported feeling a sharp pain for 30-60 seconds (84%), with 65.5% describing the pain as mild, 31.1% as moderate, 20.7% experiencing pain on both sides of the head, and 13.2% feeling pain only on the migraine-affected side. The frequency of ice cream headaches was occasional for 37.8%, rare for 56.6%, and frequent for 4.3%.

Out of the 1,744 respondents (41.9%) who experienced ice cream headaches, only 1.3% said they would avoid eating ice cream, 36.8% would reduce their intake, and 61.8% would continue eating it😂.

Another study involved 77 participants holding either ice 🧊 or ice water in their mouths. Nine participants (12%) experienced headaches with ice, while 39 participants (51%) experienced headaches with ice water. This suggests that drinking cold liquids quickly is more likely to cause ice cream headaches than just holding ice in the mouth✨✨.

Researchers explained that ice water more easily stimulates the trigeminal nerve and the vagus nerve in the mouth✨✨.

Ice cream headaches were most common during childhood and adolescence, and their incidence decreased as people reached adulthood✨✨.

What did you think?✨✨

I also experienced ice cream headaches when I ate ice cream quickly as a child, but I haven’t had one recently as an adult😂😂.

Thank you for reading✨✨.

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