Friday, April 4, 2014

Pica: "mud mask for the gut"

"Eating dirt is not just some weird fetish in the South. Hundreds of thousands of people eat dirt around the world. Forrester, an assistant professor of photography at Troy University, says he has spoken with shop owners who receive orders from as far away as London."
Eating dirt has a unique history. For starters, it's not a recent phenomenon. There's evidence that our ancestors were eating dirt at least 2 million years ago, when Homo sapiens were still Homo habilis.

In her book, Craving Earth, Young says eating dirt is one component of a disorder known as pica, in which people compulsively crave things that aren't food, like starch, charcoal and ice.

"Cardiac arrest, threats of divorce, broken dentures, thousands of dollars in dental works — none of this deters people when they have these cravings," says Young. "I've talked to women throughout East Africa and the U.S., and they all talk about this stuff with this incredible fondness and enjoyment."...

Paul Schroeder, a geologist specializing in kaolin at the University of Georgia, says while the habit may have evolved as a protective measure, it may be harmful to our health.

Clay's amazing binding properties could backfire and absorb useful nutrients, which is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, he says.
I recall my stepmother had this condition during a couple of her pregnancies. Her sister's husband, Manuel, was a dirt dump truck hauler. He knew where to find the chalk dirt she craved.

13 comments:

AllenS said...

It's snowing like crazy. It'll be a while until I can get to the dirt.

deborah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
deborah said...

April snows bring...

Paddy O said...

Disorder!? Harmful to our health?!

If people want it, it's natural.

Paul Schroeder is a picaphobe. He should probably be fired from his job.

AllenS said...

My tree order will be here in 3 weeks. This snow has to go. The frost needs to be out of the ground.

Last year, I had to wait 2 weeks after I got the trees before the frost left the ground. When I planted the trees, the ground was very cold. Then, a week later we got about 8 inches of snow. Only 2 trees survived out of 25.

deborah said...

What kind of trees and where will you plant them? Are you a Christmas tree grower!?

ricpic said...

The piquant flavor of chalk dirt has a certain je ne sais pas.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Picaphobe... lol

ricpic said...

Screwed that up. Should be je ne sais quoi.

AllenS said...

I ordered Balsam Fir. I'm planting them on a steep hill where I removed a thick growth of box elders. I've been replanting the hill for 3 years now.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Chalk is composed of mostly calcium. She was probably sensing a need for this mineral. During pregnancy I craved lemonade (I drank gallons of it) and dried apricots. Probably a need for additional vitamin C. After a few months of cravings...it was gone. Snap.

Craving dirt (minerals) and food is one thing that is understandable. Craving eating glass, foam stuffing or safety pins....entirely another

Aridog said...

Allen ... sorry for the storm that is upon you. Us folk here in SE Michigan are hoping fervently that no vestiges of it reaches us...the ground is clear for the first time this winter, and thawing. I just covered the fenced yard with straw to prevent our lovely doggie from tracking gobs of mud in to the house.

We think it actually is "Spring" here, dang it.

deborah said...

Ah, erosion control. Are box elders a problem tree?