Iced Americano in winter? What Koreans’ habit may reveal about their health

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Even as temperatures plunge, many people still reach for iced Americanos or chew on ice cubes. In South Korea, the phrase “iced coffee no matter how cold it gets” has become so common that it is often shortened to a popular slang term. But health experts warn that an intense preference for ice-cold drinks in winter may be less about taste and more about what the body lacks. If you find yourself craving ice even in the depths of winter or habitually chewing on it, iron deficiency may be the underlying cause. This behavior is especially common among people with anemia or those who consume iron-poor diets. Anemia occurs when the body lacks sufficient iron to produce red blood cells efficiently. According to a paper published in PubMed, a U.S. medical database, 88 percent of patients with iron-deficiency anemia experience pagophagia, a condition marked by compulsive ice chewing. Researchers say iron deficiency can cause symptoms such as tongue pain, dry mouth and mouth ulcers, and chewing ice may temporarily relieve these discomforts, reinfor