Frostbite to the soft palate is the cause of the famous "brainfreeze".

We've all drank an ice-cold drinks or eaten ice cream a little too quickly and have that weird feeling of frostbite in our head. This phenomenon, commonly called brainfreeze, is more easily explained than you might have thought. In fact, everything starts from the nerves!

When the iced food is too quickly with in contact our soft palate, located at the back of the mouth, our body reacts by sending a signal to the brain to reject the cold substance ingested. This sudden surge will cause an abundant blood flow to the brain, resulting in a migraine sensation for a short period of time, from about few seconds to a couple  minutes.

For people with recurrent migraines, this reaction can cause a persistent migraine as a result of contact. This inconvenience would limit for some individuals their consumption of frozen products...

Solution?

Despite the excitement of eating our favorite frozen dessert, we must slow down our ingestion to not create the brainfreeze with each bite. The best strategy is not to systematically send the cold food to the bottom of the mouth, specifically in the soft palate area. You should favor small bites while taking the time to warm the ice cream, for example, to the front of the mouth under the hard palate or on the lips.

So, by eating more slowly and taking smaller bites, you limit the risks of brainfreeze, which will allow you to consume even more ice cream!

Source : www.canalvie.com