Beware, all ye Ice-Crunchers!!

March 31, 2004

Dear LOLIC (i.e,. " Ladies of the List Ice Cravers " )

The craving for ice (and the compulsion to crunch it)-- actually has a

medical name: " PAGOPHAGIA " . When your husband and/or friends accuse you of

being

deliberately annoying, tell those uninformed. unsympathetic souls --No, it's NOT

you being annoying.....It's just your PAGOPHAGIA " acting up " again.

Many (if not most) women with iron deficiency have this condition. I've read

that lowered iron contributes to mild to moderate inflammatory changes in the

mouth, tongue, and even esophagus. Which would kinda explain this type of

pica.

But without this explanation (i.e., ice soothing the inflamed tissues), if

you think about it, ice chewing is one of those human responses that proves no

benefit to the underlying condition. I mean, cravings usually are an internal

message, a signal to lead us toward satisfying a lack of something missing in

the diet. And as we all know, there ain't any iron in ice.

That said....

I hate to be the one to do this to you, to be a real killjoy--but, ladies,

ice-chewing is NOT an innocuous pastime. It's a problem.

Hey, I know, I know!!!!-- it's the simple pleasures in life that give us

joy--but, ladies.....do beware of this habit. Here's why:

Chewing on ice will really damage your teeth and break down the dental

enamel......It can wreak havoc on crowns and fillings. It can mean spending lots

of

$$$$$ correcting the damage, and lots of extra time in the dentist's chair.

If you don't believe me, ask your dentist about ice crunching. (It's paid for

many a dentist's kids' university tuition)

Unless you have the vivid imagination of a Pat, you really don't want to

spend extra time in the dentist's chair.

Is there a Pagophagia 12-step recovery program? I don't know.

But I know that iron crunching is a sign....... to TREAT THE UNDERLYING

CAUSE--i..e, iron deficiency, usually with iron simple oral supplementation.

A non-harmful substitute for ice are cold, fresh crunchy veggies. Try

it--replace a bad habit with a healthful one and crunch your hearts out! And

listen

to Ku and e, and Sonja, et. al.......and take your iron!!!!

Emphatically yours,

Roma

Recommended Posts