Pagophagia

Pagophagia is the compulsive eating of ice or iced drinks, from the Greek words for frost and to eat. It is a form of pica, the persistent eating of nonnutritive substances for at least a month. Studies define it differently, for example as daily consumption of two to eleven full glasses of ice. It is associated with iron-deficiency anemia and often eases with iron supplementation, which has led some investigators to suggest that certain forms of pica reflect a nutritional deficiency, though the substances eaten usually do not supply the missing nutrient. A 2014 study proposed that chewing ice raises blood flow to the brain and speeds thinking in people with iron deficiency, but the exact mechanism remains unknown and debated. The American Dental Association advises against chewing ice because it can injure teeth.