Why Suck on ice for Anemia?
Most recent answer: 08/18/2012
Q:
Many people crave ice and a friend in high school realized that whenever she craved ice she also felt weaker than usual, and when she went to her family doctor he told her she was anemic again.
What explanation could there by regarding how water changes when frozen into ice that could explain why someone with anemia would chew ice instead of just drinking more water?
Could it make the minerals in the water more available? Change the ph? Make it easier for our bodies to extract either hydrogen - or more probably - oxygen?
I also submitted a question regarding ice spikes and realized I did not include these additional questions:
Could an external electro-magnetic field be affecting the direction and formation of these ice spikes? They do not ALWAYS form - only intermittently - even though the water is from the same water system source.
The plumbing and water supply pipes in this area are all PVC and the plumbing to the RO filter is Quest. Only a bathroom sink (and possibly the shower) which are nowhere near the kitchen where the RO filter is has old metal plumbing inside the house.The plumbing under this 100+ year old house should all be Quest.
Thank you for your time. When I went to high school we did not have even have chemistry much less physics - not that I would probably know the answers to these questions even if we did.
I appreciate your time and sharing your expertise with you. Thank you.
- Gail Gardner (age 55)
Dallas, Texas, USA
- Gail Gardner (age 55)
Dallas, Texas, USA
A:
Gail- We aren't real biologists here, but I think out physics can help answer your first question. There really aren't any significant ways in which the ice provides better chemical input for someone with anemia than pure water would. The only real difference with ice is that it will cool you down more and that it doesn't allow you to gulp down the water too quickly. (That's important for patients with limited water intake, say after intestinal surgery, but not for your friend.)
Getting outside our area of expertise, there are lots of ways in which our biological reactions aren't exactly selected for optimum function. We're very complicated systems, with lots of hard-to-explain glitches. Just as a guess, maybe something about the anemia experience felt similar to how you feel tired after intense exercise, and that reminded your friend subconsciously of wanting some ice to cool down.
On your other question, I'll have to look around to find the original part. If you have a copy, perhaps you could resubmit it with the various parts combined. Otherwise maybe you could give us the approximate submission date. We're swamped with questions we haven't been able to get to.
Mike W.
Getting outside our area of expertise, there are lots of ways in which our biological reactions aren't exactly selected for optimum function. We're very complicated systems, with lots of hard-to-explain glitches. Just as a guess, maybe something about the anemia experience felt similar to how you feel tired after intense exercise, and that reminded your friend subconsciously of wanting some ice to cool down.
On your other question, I'll have to look around to find the original part. If you have a copy, perhaps you could resubmit it with the various parts combined. Otherwise maybe you could give us the approximate submission date. We're swamped with questions we haven't been able to get to.
Mike W.
(published on 08/18/2012)