Clear, freshly made round ice cubes or other types of ice cubes offer a great way to cool down your favorite drinks. These cubes will allow you to enjoy a variety of cocktails and other beverages.
Applying ice pack or cold compress is also great to have on hand as a first-aid treatment to reduce swelling after life’s bumps and bruises.
More and more athletes also turn to cold therapy (also known as ice therapy) to relieve muscle pain and improve blood flow in order to have optimal performance.
Still, questions remain about other ways it could be useful. Let’s take a look at common questions about round ice cubes or other types of ice, and see what we can find out.
Does Ice Have Nutritional Value?
Round ice cubes have the same nutritional value as the water you make them from. That means if the water you use to make your cubes are high in minerals such as iron and magnesium then your ice will be as well.
Of course, this isn’t going to be a reliable substitute for a healthy diet. Instead, consider any added nutrition to your drinks as an extra perk of enjoying a cold beverage.
Can Round Ice Cubes or Other Types of Ice Cubes Help With Hydration?
The most effective form of body hydration will always be drinking cold water. However, chewing and swallowing cubes does provide our body with certain levels of hydration.
This is a hydration technique, which is useful for medical patients who are having trouble swallowing mouthfuls of water or those who are experiencing nausea.
By slowing down the rate at which water enters the stomach, a patient with nausea can be hydrated without further upsetting their digestive system.
In order to receive a half cup of water, a person will need to chew and swallow about 1 cup of crushed ice. This means that chewing a cube isn’t the most efficient way to hydrate a person, but it can certainly help under adverse circumstances!
Will I Dilute The Nutrients In 100% Juice By Adding Ice?
Some people may worry that adding ice cubes directly to their juice will dilute the nutrients in their drink. However, this does not take away the nutrients from a drink.
This will only give you a colder beverage or cocktails, which makes your drink even more enjoyable. The only way that adding a few round ice cubes or other types of ice could lower your nutrient intake is if you do not drink all of the liquid in your glass.
If you drink all of the juice in the glass, plus the cube as it melts you may even end up with slightly more nutrients than the drink alone. Small deposits of iron, magnesium, and calcium will melt into the rest of your beverage.
Some people are under the misconception that adding ice will reduce the calories of the drink. This is untrue. However, as it melts you will have more liquid in your glass.
If you pour 5 ounces of juice in a glass and then add round ice cubes, by the time these melt you may have drank 6-7 ounces of liquid. This means that you do get more sipping for your caloric buck.
Can Drinking Beverages With Ice Relieve Dry Lips?
Dry lips can be both a cosmetic and physical struggle. Not only do dry lips not look appealing, but they can also often crack and bleed, making day to day speech and smiling a painful experience.
Ice applied regularly to the lips has been shown to reduce swelling, lower the pain of cracked dry lips, and keep the lips properly hydrated.
If you don’t want to sit around with an ice cube directly applied to your lips, try regularly sipping a glass of water filled with cubes. The cube will press against your lips as you drink, hydrating your lips as you go.
Other Uses Of Round Ice Cubes or Other Types of Ice
The usefulness of ice isn’t limited to its position in a great drink. It can be used in a variety of other helpful ways.
- It can be applied to the neck to help treat muscle tension and migraine headaches by constricting the blood vessels.
- It can be placed against the cheek to relieve tooth and gum pain. Gently massage the ice pack or soft cloth with ice cubes into the affected area to numb the pain.
- It can soothe facial blemishes. Skin icing reduces swelling and redness in human tissues. Holding round ice cubes on marked parts of the skin can help reduce the appearance of unwanted marks by improving blood circulation.
Getting The Most Use From Ice
If you have a countertop or under counter ice maker, you can be sure to have ice ready for use at any time.
When round ice cubes or or other types of ice cubes are readily available you can use it in all of your drinks and start benefiting from its perks right away. By adding a few cubes to your drinks you can stay better hydrated, receive small doses of extra nutrients, and truly enjoy the best drinking experience of water and your favorite beverages.