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August 18, 2006

Strange But True!

Q. What are we to make of someone who goes out to the vegetable garden and eats some of the soil instead?

A. Soil-eating, or “geophagia,” turns out to be common in many traditional societies, possibly an instinctive way of supplementing a diet deficient in trace minerals like iron and zinc, says “New Scientist” magazine. Canadian scientists who analyzed ingested soils from China, Zimbabwe and the U.S. found them to contain iron, calcium and potassium, and (in Zimbabwe) kaolinite, used for treating diarrhea. “Eating soil can be good for you,” said the researchers, but beware of parasitic infections. Expectant mothers in many sub-Saharan African cultures report that the rich smell of the soil drives them to eat it, perhaps related to their heightened sense of smell and taste. Cravings of clay and coal have also been reported.


 
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