Breaking the ice code

The Claim
A craving for ice is a sign of anemia
The Facts
Fatigue and weakness are the familiar symptoms of the blood disorder anaemia,which afflicts millions of Americans. But a fixation for ice?
Oddly enough,in recent years,cravings for ice have emerged in the medical literature as a puzzling and increasingly documented sign of anaemia,especially its most common form,iron deficiency anaemia. Scientists don’t fully understand the link,but some suspect that compulsive consumption of ice — called pagophagia — relieves inflammation in the mouth brought on by iron deficiencies.

In extreme cases,people with undiagnosed anaemia and pagophagia have been known to go through multiple bags or trays of ice in a single day; the problem usually clears up after treatment with iron supplements. Another well-known anaemia,sickle cell,cannot be treated with these supplements.
Studies at Northwestern University have shown that ice cravings area a common side effect of a popular type of weight-loss surgery. The procedure,known as Roux-en-Y (pronounced ROO-on-why),involves bypassing the part of the intestine where iron and other minerals are most easily absorbed; about a third of patients develop a deficiency of iron or vitamin B12. One case was described in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 2008,involving a 33-year-old woman who had undergone bypass surgery.

“The patient’s husband frequently observed her in the middle of the night with her head in the freezer eating the frost off the ice-maker,” the report stated. “This craving resolved after transfusion and iron administration.”
The Bottom Line
Abnormal cravings for ice can be a sign of anaemia.
—NYT