Craving ice-cold water, or even chewing ice (pagophagia), often signals an iron deficiency (anemia), providing a temporary mental boost to combat fatigue. Other reasons include stress/anxiety, needing to cool down, oral fixation, or sometimes underlying conditions like diabetes or autism spectrum disorder. It's important to see a doctor to rule out deficiencies, especially iron, as it can be treated with supplements or diet changes.
Craving ice-cold water most often reflects heat, thirst, habit, or sensory preference and is harmless.
Enhances Hydration
The biggest win among all drinking cold water benefits is compliance; people simply drink more when it is cold. Better intake supports mood, concentration, and physical comfort. For teams, that adds up to fewer headaches, better meeting engagement, and improved output.
Symptoms of diabetes insipidus in adults include: Being very thirsty, often with a preference for cold water. Making large amounts of pale urine. Getting up to urinate and drink water often during the night.
This intense craving to chew ice even has a medical name. The health condition is called pagophagia. It is a specific type of pica, which is a condition where people feel compelled to eat items with no nutritional value like dirt, clay, or in this case, ice.
Craving and chewing ice, known as pagophagia, is often associated with iron deficiency, with or without anemia, although the reason is unclear.
Symptoms may include:
Symptoms of hyperglycaemia
According to its proponents, you use the pinch method by holding the thumb and index finger of one hand just above the wrist of the other hand and then exerting a little bit of pressure on the wrist. Doing this will supposedly cause the release of insulin and break down glucose.
Beverages like water, coffee drinks, shakes, juice and soda are obvious sources of liquid. Ice, sherbet, gelatin and soup also count as fluid. Generally, anything that is liquid at room temperature is counted as part of the daily fluid allowance.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), cold drinks are thought to disrupt the body's internal balance by weakening key organs like the spleen, kidney, and liver.
For most healthy people, cold water isn't harmful and is a good option for staying hydrated throughout the day. However, it can impact people with certain sensitivities or underlying conditions – particularly those related to digestion, circulation and headaches – by triggering or exacerbating symptoms.
The #1 healthiest water is often considered natural spring water for its essential minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium) and natural alkalinity, but filtered tap water is a top contender for convenience, cost, and safety, as it removes contaminants from municipal sources without losing beneficial minerals, making it a great all-around choice for most people. Ultimately, the best water is safe, tastes good, and encourages you to drink enough.
Anemia due to iron deficiency is a highly prevalent medical condition in women and children. Iron deficiency presents with fatigue, low mood, anxiety, restlessness, palpitations, and headache. Poor nutritional intake can be the reason of iron deficiency in underprivileged populations.
Cold water exposure triggers our bodies to release endorphins, which are natural painkillers. It also helps us with boosting our dopamine levels, which is the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure.
Golden Thread. Golden Thread is commonly used to treat diabetes in China. Berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloids and the active ingredient of Golden Thread. Berberine had a significant antihyperglycemic effect in both 36 patients newly diagnosed with T2DM and also in 48 poorly controlled patients with T2DM [23].
If you have diabetes, you can develop nerve problems at any time. Sometimes, neuropathy can be the first sign of diabetes. Significant nerve problems (clinical neuropathy) can develop within the first 10 years after a diabetes diagnosis. The risk of developing neuropathy increases the longer you have diabetes.
Physical symptoms: reduced activity, low energy, tiredness, decreased physical endurance, increased effort to do physical tasks, general weakness, heaviness, slowness or sluggishness, nonrestorative sleep, and sleepiness.
Drink more water
“Water helps your kidneys filter out excess sugar through urine,” says Khan. “So, the more hydrated you are, the more urine production you'll have, which flushes out sugar in the body.” Always opt for water instead of sugary drinks, like soda and juice.
A normal HbA1c is generally below 5.7% for all adults, but levels naturally tend to rise slightly with age, with upper limits increasing for older adults (e.g., around 6.0-6.5% for those 60+) to avoid hypoglycemia, though specific targets depend on individual health, with 5.7-6.4% indicating prediabetes and 6.5% or higher suggesting diabetes.
Iron is depleted by blood loss (heavy periods, bleeding ulcers, surgery), increased demand (pregnancy, growth spurts, intense exercise), poor dietary intake, and conditions that hinder iron absorption (celiac disease, gastric bypass, some medications, or certain foods/drinks like tea/coffee/dairy with meals). Exercise can cause loss through sweating, red blood cell damage (hemolysis), and increased needs, while poor absorption is a major factor, even with good intake.
Eyes and vision can be negatively impacted by iron deficiency anemia, leading to vision loss in extremely rare cases. When caught early, the condition is treatable with a daily intake of iron supplements, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Less common symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia (that are not usually connected to pregnancy) include: