The Ice Cream That Could Cure Your Hangover

Sometimes, when you’re not feeling your best, it’s easy to just pop a couple of ibuprofen or Tylenol and hope that it’ll make your ailments go away. But maybe that’s not thinking creatively enough. What if we could get our pain relief from more interesting methods? No, I’m not talking about naturopathy. Of course, I’m talking about ice cream.

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Well, one ice cream shop in the Netherlands had the bright idea in 2016. And it caused quite a stir.

A Throwback Scandal

Ten years ago, in 2016, a small Dutch bakery in the Netherlands called IJssalon Nagelkerke released their Paracetamol Ice Cream during the Carnival festivities. Paracetamol is the European equivalent to the household Tylenol, or acetaminophen. They proportionately mixed in a dose of paracetamol per scoop of their vanilla ice cream. It was then advertised as a hangover cure and displayed in the front window to attract customers. The tongue-in-cheek flavor was not really ever actually intended to be sold to customers―it was just meant to attract customers and attention to the shop. And attract attention it did. It attracted attention all the way to the level of Dutch authorities in fact.

Despite having never sold any of the ice cream and only using it as a way to increase revenue, Dutch authorities didn’t like what was going on at the bakery. According to Dutch officials, mixing a drug into ice cream isn’t safe because its distribution and portion control cannot be properly regulated. It makes sense, especially when advertised as a hangover cure, that it could be easily abused as well. And even though the bakery only ever displayed the ice cream, it still wasn’t permitted to continue. Essentially, they were advertising food medicine.

Would It Even Work?

That’s a good question. After a long night with a bottle, many people reach for the Tylenol bottle the next day. But this hangover cure actually isn’t recommended by professionals. Acetaminophen and alcohol are processed by the same liver enzymes and combining the two substances could increase your risk of liver damage. According to the Mayo Clinic’s Hangover Guide―yes, it’s a real thing―anti-inflammatories like aspirin are better suited for the morning-after. So while this ice cream may have eased your headache, it wouldn’t have been the best hangover cure.

It’s been a decade since this scandal occurred, but it’s still referenced quite a bit on social media as a cheeky experience in the Netherlands. Unfortunately for anyone who thought this ice cream was a good idea for relieving discomfort, I’m sorry to say you’ll have to stick to your preferred “cure” and then maybe eat some ice cream as a treat.