With most of the country in the midst of the “Polar Vortex”, a cup of hot tea or cocoa is probably preferable to ice water for many Americans.

However, that did not stop a team at an Arkansas school from spending valuable research time and money in an attempt to identify the hazards of ice water beverages.

You thought water was good for you? Not necessarily, if you believe researchers at the University of Arkansas. According to a new study, if there’s ice in the water, it could pose a health risk.

That’s right. Now we have yet another “danger food” to be wary of. Let me be the first to warn you: Ice cubes are dangerous!

How could this be? Apparently, it’s because drinking cold drinks reduces your sensitivity to sweetness, leaving you less satisfied and craving more sugary foods. For instance, participants in the study who drank very cold beverages enjoyed chocolate less.

You might think enjoying sweets less would lead people to eat less. But that’s not the case. On the contrary, researchers said those who drink ice water frequently “may reduce their sensitivity to sweet-tasting stimuli, thereby leading to the preference for more highly sweetened foods.”

In other words, if you enjoy it less, you may be tempted to eat more…

and more…

and more…

And overindulging on sweets, researchers point out, could lead to obesity, diabetes, and early death.

Seems to me that what scientists are really saying here is that ice water makes self-control a little harder. And a lack of self-control, as we all know, is bad for you.

That tiny cube of ice in your freezer may seem innocent, but behind its shiny, frosty, deceptively calorie-free surface lies a grave dietary evil.

If you ate three pieces of pie at Christmas dinner, now you know who to blame!

So thank you, researchers at the University of Arkansas, for alerting us to the dangers of ice water.

Mark my words, next they are going to tell us that green beans can kill.