Ice Chewing
From today's Wall Street Journal:
"Ice isn't just for chilling drinks anymore, or for packing fish and treating sprains. It's a hot snack. Some Sonic Drive-In franchises sell it in cups and in bags to go. Ice-machine makers are competing to make the best chewable ice, with names like Chewblet, Nugget Ice and Pearl Ice. One manufacturer calls the ice-loving South the "Chew Belt."
Sooooo -- any of y'all wanna fess up to being ice chewers? Have you ever shelled out for your habit? Got a favorite, uh, brand?
READ: Chew This Over: Munchable Ice Sells Like Hot Cakes
Filed Under: Guilty Pleasures, Drinks
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2-01-2008 @8:34PM wow said... wow so i would definitely be an ice chewer...gotta love sonic ice! : ) haha
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2-04-2008 @2:12PM Shabutah said... I thought I was alone. I just started chewing ice and I can't stop. I was worried about my teeth but I started getting it crushed and letting it sit in the water for awhile to soften it up some. WOW!!!! Iam going to show this to my husband he thinks I am weird. Thanks
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2-04-2008 @10:26PM sue said... You may be anemic if you chew ice alot. Have a simple blood test to be sure. Anemia isn't pretty.
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2-05-2008 @5:50PM sheila said... Hello I am an ice chewer and I find that the best ice is in some of the hospitals there is nothing wrong with chewing ice it keeps your mind off snacking and also helps people who don't like to drink water and if you want a little flavor put a little lemon juice on it. lemon juice helps burn fat.
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2-06-2008 @4:43PM suz said... I am anemic and when my blood count is down I find myself reaching for the ice. Crushed or not. I continue to chew ice until My iron pills kick in. Then the craving stops. I believe it may be called "pica".
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2-08-2008 @5:09PM Gina said... #3 and 5 are right about the anemia thing. I'm an RN and should have realized it a lot sooner than I did. I started the ice crunching thing one day after having a sonic drink, and then just couldn't stop. I started buying it by the bag (at Sonic), and just couldn't seem to get enough. After eating my body weight in ice (and that's a substantial amount)I had a routine visit with my doctor. My CBC showed that I was hovering right at the disaster point. Just a little lower and I would have had to get a blood transfusion. So, even though we got my levels back up to normal with treatment, I'm still crunching away and taking the iron suppliments.
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2-14-2008 @9:59PM NICKI said... I'VE BEEN CHEWING ICE SINCE I WAS LITTLE. NOW I'M ALMOST 30. MY KIDS EVEN CHEW ICE. THEY'RE 7,5,3 AND 2. I DIDN'T KNOW THIS UNTIL RECENTLY, BUT I READ A WHILE BACK THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE ANEMIC CHEW ICE. I'D BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH BEING HIGHLY ANEMIC SINCE PROBABLY AROUND THE SAME TIME I STARTED CHEWING ICE. I THOUGHT THAT THE ONLY REASON MY KIDS CHEWED ICE WAS 'CAUSE I DID, (YA KNOW MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO)BUT ABOUT A YEAR OR SO AFTER THEY STARTED CHEWING ICE, THEY WERE ALSO DIAGNOSED WITH BEING ANEMIC.
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2-15-2008 @9:25AM Ruth said... I certainly hope this ice-chewing phenomenon doesn't become a national trend unless it is performed in private. I and many others find the sound of someone chewing ice is most annoying and very rude. The person chewing the ice doesn't realize how much noise he or she is making or how it can grate on someones' nerves. Hope all the ice chewers will show some consideration!
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2-17-2008 @5:24PM shareiah banks said... I Think u should come up with better idea's.
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2-18-2008 @6:06PM Leasa said... I like the ice from Subway. I chew ice because water gets warm way to fast.
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2-20-2008 @10:13PM Loveen said... Im 15 and my mom is an RN.she chew ice a LOT! we'll be in the movies and duckin cuz her ice crunching is so loud.....could she be anemic? I like ice, if its small like sonics. . . how do you find out if you ARE anemic? what should you do if you are? thats kinda scary
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2-23-2008 @4:57AM Bobbie said... I have been told by a sonic manager tht they put sugar in their ice, thus the addition to it is greater. They also dip their onion rings in ice cream before fring them, more sugar.
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2-23-2008 @6:10AM Diane T. from South Carolina said... My kids and husband used to tease me because my desire/addiction to ice was so extreme, that I would make my own thin sheets of ice to have on hand and in mouth all my waking hours. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with severe anemia. My body could not absorb iron supplements. Finally my oncologist and neurologist brought me in for IV treatment. Within hours my desire for ice chewing was gone. So every couple of years when I feel that need for ice, they bring me back in for the iron/ferritin IV treatment. And I feel so much better. For some ice chewing may be habit, but for the vast majority, it is sign of a anemic syndrome, which in some cases ( such as mine) it can be a true medical crisis. P.S. cravings for non food items such and ice, dirt (yes, dirt!!) clay etc... is known as pica and you might need to ask your doctor for a full blood analysis to see if you need further follow up.
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2-25-2008 @4:39PM kevin said... I don't understand something about AOL. They post something on the main page that says, "Beer Most Popular Drink"? and then it says "Actually it came in 2nd to this." But when you click on it you don't get the answer. This happens a lot.
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2-25-2008 @7:03PM debbie janczewski said...
i am such a snowball addict,yet i must add this note to all of you.........!!there is a condition caused by low iron which causes all kind of cravings the biggest of all is- ice- a few years ago i had to eat ice so much that my fingers would bleed getting to my point i was told to take a good quality iron suppliment(feosol spansuls) cravings gone in 3 days like a miracle
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2-26-2008 @3:30PM little dee said... mmmmmmmmmmm gotta love that good sconic ice:}
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3-03-2008 @2:44PM ASHMASH2006 said... I used to work at sonic for over 5 years and almost a quarter of the profit for the month would be ice. I myself chew ice like there is no tommorrow. When I was pregnant with my son, that is all i wanted. No kidding. I don't care for water too much, because it actually makes me feel empty, unless i gulp it down and then i feel horrible. I understand where everyone who has this addicting habit, is coming from.
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3-09-2008 @5:16PM bj51sf said... I have been chewing ice for years. A couple of my former director's chew it incessantly like I do. I take 16 oz. plastic cups to work at my clinic and chew at least four full cups of ice a day. A doctor and a nurse are also into this "habit."
Everytime I shop at the grocery store I get a craving for ice and end up buying a cupful for 25 cents to chew while I walk the aisles.
I prefer the square flat ice or crushed ice to chew. I don't like the small cubes served by some fast food places because they are too big and I can't chew them until they melt down smaller.
I know we sound nuts but there's no calories and we are hydrating and not substituting ice for and of the food groups so what's the harm?
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3-15-2008 @12:07PM image415 said... I have a coworker that chews ice constantly. For her, it was a non snacking thing. For me, it's an all day marathon of crunch, crunch, crunch. I hope this doesn't catch on.
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3-17-2008 @2:09AM K. Hill said... Oh my gosh, I thought i was some kind of in the closet ice freak, but now I know I'm not alone! When I was pregnant i would dream about Sonic ice, would scrap change to get a bag. If they said they didn't have any bags of ice, I would take it personaly and insist that my husband try to get me some. As soon as I had my son 5 mos. ago it immediatly went away, must be an Anemia thing like the others said.
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