What’s Behind China’s Viral Ice Eating Trend?

March 19, 2018

  •  People online are just straight up eating ice now to entertain you. Yes — ice.  The latest social media trend in China is ice eating. Regular ice, colored ice, ice shaped like stuff. You name it, they’ve iced it. The trend started on the Chinese video-sharing app Kwai. They’re shared with the hashtag chi-bing which means “eat ice.” But eating ice is probably not something you should do all that often.  Evidently chewing ice makes it really easy for you to crack your teeth and ruin your gums. It can also be a sign of a more serious health issue. If you’re addicted to chewing ice, it might be a sign of an iron deficiency.  In fact, Cosmo featured an essay from a woman in 2014 who had Pagophagia — an addiction to eating and chewing on ice. She wrote: “At the height of my addiction, I was buying large bags of ice at the store. Eventually, I bought an ice-making machine, which I kept running all day.”  Even if you’re not addicted to ice, eating it a lot can’t be too good for you. I mean just watch this clip —

  • Source: www.youtube.com / Via: www.youtube.com

  •  How can that not be bad for your teeth? That ice looked like it was 3 inches thick! So, glass — she was basically biting into glass.  Anyway, the Instagrammers in on this trend are not just chewing regular old ice from your freezer — they eat these specialty ice balls filled with liquid, frozen chocolate or juice.  Some people are calling this the Ice Eating Challenge, but is it a challenge, or just a weird thing that people are doing? Maybe it’s just supposed to be aesthetically pleasing to watch and listen to.  But, what about those who think these people might not be eating enough ice? That’s the theory of Dr. Brian Weiner whose free e-book, “The Ice Diet” suggests you should eat one liter of ice every day. It can apparently burn up to 160 calories a day and keep you hydrated — though might I suggest walking around the block and drinking some water?  What do you think? Are cracked teeth even worth it? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.