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
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
#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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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?
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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