Food taboos oftentimes make sense. Sometime ago someone mentioned traditional, cyanogen-rich varieties of cassava, which are pest-resistant but require boiling for hours in an open pot. If you omit that you end up with motor neuron disease, konzo as they call it, but only after several years. So it's not surprising that superstitions sprang up around the plant, some of which are actually protective.
Anybody have the details on that effect?
Not a doctor, but it happened to my wife and it was a little scary.
Say what? Do tell.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/05/is-this-g...
It's interesting the article didn't mentioned suicide, which I've seen mentioned before as a cause of the myth. The story goes that papers popularised the concept as a way to avoid specifically naming suicide as a cause of death, as a kind of shared understanding while preserving the honour of the families. But a lot of people took it seriously so the idea gained traction.
Secondly, I’ve seen many ice machines throughout my prior work and would strongly recommend avoiding ice cubes as most kitchens don’t clean these properly.
The root of the habit in this case is Chinese medicinal beliefs. Here is a bit of a summary.
https://www.cheng-tsui.com/blog/hot-water-in-chinese-culture
"In traditional Chinese medicine (中医, zhōng yī), hot water is used to expel excess cold and humidity from the body, and it is believed to promote blood circulation. This helps detoxify the body and relax the muscles. Cold water supposedly has the opposite effect, slowing organ function and causing painful muscle contractions. Thus, hot water is often touted as the cure for everything from sore throats to stiffness to cramps to fatigue."
Of course, modern people also know that untreated water is not safe. That doesn't explain an aversion to cold bottled water or other drinks though, which while far from absolute is more common than it is in Western countries.