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Chewing on ice boosts focus in those who are anemic. Women often become anemic, and doctors have known for some time that this iron deficiency can lead to a strange desire to eat ice. While the phenomenon, called pica, is well known, the reason for the desire is not. “A new study proposes that, like a strong cup of coffee, ice may give those with insufficient iron a much-needed mental boost. Fatigue is the most common symptom of iron-deficiency anemia, which occurs when the body can’t produce enough oxygen-carrying hemoglobin because of low iron.” The study subjected healthy and anemic participants to an attention test and looked to see how drinking water or eating ice might change performance. “Iron-deficient subjects who had sipped on water performed far more sluggishly on the test than controls, as expected. But those who ate ice beforehand did just as well as their healthy counterparts. For healthy subjects, having a cup of ice instead of water appeared to make no difference in test performance.” As per one of the researchers, “It’s not like craving a dessert. It’s more like needing a cup of coffee or that cigarette.”
