chewing ice cubes

[bklyn og]

I had a heart attack in June of this year and now doing ok, from the time I have been home I have a habit of chewing ice cubes.
Someone informed me it was a sign I needed more "Iron" in my body ?

[mariazeyn]

Chewing ice cubes is a sign of having iron deficiency. Do you also crave chewing lettuce? That's another sign.

Perhaps you should consider going to a doctor for a check-up and increase your iron take.

[SireneB]

Yes, it can be, have your iron levels checked!

My experience - for a number of years I chewed ice, would come home from work and the first thing I'd do would be to get a big glass of ice to chew. Gradually, I developed other symptoms of anemia (that I didn't know were symptoms at the time): deep fatigue and dizziness, always cold, even shortness of breath. I thought the shortness of breath might be a heart problem, which is what got me to the doctor, the first thing he did was check iron levels, and when the results came back he marched me straight into the infusion room and had a nurse hook me up and infuse iron into my blood. Took only a couple of days to begin to feel better, and then for several years I had to go in 4 times a year for infusions. Turned out I have a problem absorbing iron taken orally, never thought I would be anemic because I had been ingesting 2x the recommended daily allowance between my diet and supplements. But having it treated made all the difference in the world in terms of having enough energy to be active.

[forexpreneur]

It is possibly a sign of anemia but not necessarily. Here is a great article from the Mayo Clinic Craving and chewing ice: A sign of anemia? - MayoClinic.com

Hope that helps.

[Johnny Metal]

Take those ice cubes, put them into a blender, add two oranges, one green apple, and a handful of spinach. Blend.

Spinach is rich in iron, if you drink this every morning and still crave ice then there's a very big chance that you're the divine cow Auðumbla.

[Clint Cora]

I heard that dentists actually do not like people to chew on ice cubes.

[SireneB]

Dentists don't like their patients to chew ice cubes with reason. 20 years ago my dentist warned me I would have no more teeth by the time I was 40 unless I stopped. Well, I'm way over 40 now, and still *have* teeth, but they are breaking apart and I can see implants ($$$) in my future. And he is saying "I told you so".