I also would like pointers to more information for this topic. Dear Reader, It's good to see that you're actively helping your sister out. It appears that there may have been some misunderstanding or miscommunication between your sister and the first doctor she visited. In either case, the doctors are referring to pica, which is the practice of compulsively eating unusual substances with little or no nutritional value, such as ice. It is believed that this craving for ice could be a symptom of an existing iron deficiency in some individuals practicing pica.
Ice is frozen water, and water neither contains iron nor corrects an iron deficiency.
Dietary sources of iron and iron supplements do that task. If your sister has been diagnosed by a health care provider as being iron deficient, she will need to speak with her doctor and a registered dietitian about what she can do to improve her iron status. If she has been recommended to take iron supplements, then Alice thinks she can benefit from reading, Calcium and Iron Maiden , in Alice's Fitness and Nutrition archive for more specific information on iron supplements and dietary interactions. Otherwise, rich dietary sources of iron are an effective and safe way to improve your sister's iron levels. She needs to include more of these iron-rich sources in her diet.