Addicted to Ice? Why You Should Kick the Habit!

It was quite unbelievable to find out that there was actually such a
thing as "ice addiction". Pagophagia is a term that refers to being
addicted to eating ice cubes or taking iced drinks.

I've been an "ice chewer" for quite a while though I had a long break
off it. My friends and I used to have our preferences; ice cubes,
crushed ice, frost from the freezer... Different kinds of ice appealed
to me at different times.

But if there was anything I noticed it was having a craving for ice
whenever I was pregnant. I would have been off ice but once I was
pregnant I would start craving ice.

Then recently I picked it up again... Soft ice preferred...Then I
decided to research this eating ice thing and found out tons of people
were also chewing ice. What?! Ice addiction?! Pagophagia?!
So I've made up my mind to kick the habit, don't want to pass it on to
my kids and I certainly don't like the "addiction" part.

You're probably wondering "ice?" or you're thinking "a soul mate in
ice chewing!" Well I've made up my mind to stop before my husband
locks the freezer on me.

But seriously let me share some facts I discovered:

1) Chewing ice may be a sign of stress, anemia or iron deficiency;
check with your doctor.

2)Chewing ice may just be a habit developed from boredom and not
necessarily as a result of an underlying medical condition.

3) A number of women actually say they have this craving for ice when pregnant.

4)Chewing ice doesn't help your teeth one bit:
It puts pressure on your teeth and can wear down and even crack your enamel.
It could also harm your gums.

5)Pica is a medical condition where people have the compulsive desire
to eat things that have no nutritional value whatsoever. These things
are not food at all; clay, dust, chalk, paint chips, pencil erasers,
ice...

6) Pregnant women can develop iron deficiency anaemia because of high
iron demands.

7)Ice chewing will NOT dilute your stomach acid, intefer with
digestion or give you stomach cancer.

8) Some people have "Burning mouth syndrome" and eating ice relieves
their mouth dryness or tingling.

So what do you have to say about this? As for me, I'm done!