Temperatures have dropped drastically this week. However, there are people who do not give up ‘ice drinks’ even in cold weather. The word ‘Eoljukah’, which means eating only ice even if frozen to death, represents them. However, drinking only iced beverages may actually be a sign of a disease beyond personal preference.
IceㅣSource: Getty Image Bank
If you look for ‘ice drinks’ too much, you should suspect iron deficiency
The recommended daily intake of iron is 10 mg for adult men, 14 mg for women, and 24 mg for pregnant women. However, 25% of the world’s 8 billion people are deficient in iron. Anemia is a typical disease that occurs when there is a lack of iron in the body. The amount of iron required for red blood cell production is low, and blood circulation is not smooth, resulting in anemia.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota in the United States have published a study showing that about 60.5% of patients with iron deficiency anemia have ice addiction. Iron deficiency causes symptoms such as tongue needles, dry mouth, taste change, and stomatitis. In fact, when iron supplements were given to anemic patients, the symptoms of ice poisoning stopped.
Iron deficiency can also cause pica. Pica is an eating disorder characterized by an unusual craving for non-nutritious foods such as chalk, hair, and ice. When there is a lack of nutrients in our body, there is a reaction to fill it. It may be that the craving for cold drinks is due to pica due to iron deficiency.
Do you insist on saying “Ah” because of excessive stress?
Due to the effects of stress, you may insist on cold drinks only. This is because eating cold or spicy food stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and relieves stress. The sympathetic nerve is a nerve that breaks down glucose and oxygen, which are energy sources stored in each tissue in the body, and sends them to various parts of the body so that the body can respond quickly in an emergency.
However, if the sympathetic nerve is overly activated, problems may arise such as enlarged pupils and rapid heartbeat. The enlarged pupil causes excessive glare, which can cause diseases such as glaucoma or cataract, and increases heart rate, cardiac output, and blood pressure, which can cause acute myocardial infarction or hypertension. In cold weather, the sympathetic nerve is activated, and if you drink a cold drink and activate the sympathetic nerve too much, the above problems can occur.
The temperature keeps dropping… It’s bad if you insist on cold drinks
Water has a high thermal conductivity, so when you drink cold water, your body temperature drops much faster. Even if you wear layers of clothes and turn on the heater to keep warm, drinking an iced drink will easily lower your body temperature. In the cold winter, your basal body temperature drops. In addition, even if the temperature drops by 1 degree, immunity decreases by 30%, and systolic blood pressure rises by 1.3 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 0.6 mmHg. If you drink an iced beverage when your physical condition is poor due to the cold, it can stimulate the stomach and cause indigestion, abdominal pain, stomach upset, etc.
Rather than insisting on ‘Eoljugi’, it is good for health to raise your body temperature by drinking warm water or a warm drink when it is cold. Drinking warm water not only speeds up the metabolism in the body, but also helps boost immunity.
Finally, if you are experiencing symptoms of iron deficiency, such as dizziness, chronic headaches, tingling in your hands and feet, loss of appetite, constipation, or nausea, and you keep thinking about cold drinks, it’s a good idea to get an iron test. As a result of the test, if you have iron deficiency, you can take oral iron supplements or improve your eating habits. Take iron supplements or supplements, or eat iron-rich foods such as spinach, peanuts, almonds, and red meat. It is common for iron levels to return to normal within 1-2 months when taking iron supplements, but it is necessary to take them continuously for 3-4 months to continue producing the necessary amount of red blood cells.
If you keep looking for cold drinks due to stress, drinking warm herbal teas such as chamomile tea and lavender tea that reduce excitement and anxiety and relieve tension rather than cold coffee or cold drinks will help relieve stress.
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