New Research Says Chewing on Ice Better Than s*x For Some People

In a latest study published in Medical Hypotheses, researchers asked both anemic  and healthy participants to consume either a cup of ice or a glass of lukewarm water before taking a 22-minute test designed to help diagnose ADHD. The researchers found that iron-deficient subjects who drank the water actually performed “far more sluggishly” than healthy subjects, but those who crunched on ice did as well as the controls. Newser reports more:

As the Post explains, pagophagia is a type of pica, a disorder that makes people crave and eat nonfoods (like dirt and clay, which the Learning Channel has turned into reality TV shows). Study author Melissa Hunt says this cognitive boost may be related to the “mammalian diving reflex,” a trigger that causes blood-flow to the brain when a vertebrate is exposed to cold water.

“We think it has to be the case that ice is triggering some response that is getting more blood—and more oxygen—to the brain,” she tellsPenn Current.

At least two hematologists say the study has possible flaws—having iron deficiency doesn’t necessarily mean you have anemia, for example—but at least one admits he can’t discount the power ice holds over his patients: “I had one patient tell me: ‘I love ice. It’s better than s*x,'” he says.