Why do we get brain freeze when we eat ice cream? Research suggests it's all to do with blood flow

It's thought the rush of chilled blood causes blood vessels to dilate, producing that sudden, intense pain

Experts have come up with a possible reason for why we get 'brain freeze' when we eat or drink cold substances (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Experts have come up with a possible reason for why that most hated of afflictions, "brain freeze", is caused, along with a way to get rid of it.

The news should please those who dread the curse of the ice cream headache even more than wasps or hay fever as summer approaches.

The International Headache Society (yes, that’s a thing), officially recognises the condition, caused by the consumption of cold food and drink.

A draft of the third edition of the International Headache Classification, drawn up earlier this year, has dedicated an entire section to the various known causes of "Cold Stimulus Headaches".

It explains how some are caused by diving into cold water, while others come from eating ice cream, the Daily Mail reported.

Known scientifically as sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, brain freeze is thought to be caused by cold solids or liquids passing over the upper palate of the mouth or back wall of the pharynx.

Dr Jorge Serrador, a cardiovascular researcher at Harvard Medical School, conducted research which revealed that the pain was brought on by a rapid increase in blood flow through the anterior cerebral artery, a major blood vessel into the brain.

It is thought the rush of cold blood causes the blood vessels to dilate, producing that sudden, intense pain as their blood vessels first open and then close.

So how do you stop the pain? The pain subsides when the blood vessells return to normal, so some scientists have suggested putting your tongue against the roof of your mouth to help warm the blood passing through.

Others think drinking warm water could help increase the temperature of your mouth.

Sadly the general consensus to stop the pain is simply to stop eating the ice cream. Easier said than done.