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The use of land for food is a fairly common phenomenon, while in some countries it is considered an eating disorder, and in others are even encouraged. But still, where do people come from strange desire?
Sera Young, an expert in geophagy (the so-called eating land) from Cornell University (New York, USA), says that this phenomenon has a very long history. His study of Young engaged in almost a quarter century. With the help of colleagues she spent large-scale study, during which analyzed more five hundred written sources from different eras. Scientists concluded that geophagy, or lithophagy, is common throughout the world and especially in the tropics. Mostly, it manifests itself in pregnant women and children.
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An example of this is the story of a famous opera singer from New York. Being pregnant, she greedily ate the earth, however, kept this fact secret since western medicine considers geophagy a pathology. It equates to intentional eating. glass, bleach and other forms of perverse food behavior.
People prefer to eat clay and kaolin
But in Cameroon and Kenya there is no taboo on this subject. exist. Young was very surprised to learn that Kenyans were calm buy land with different food additives, for example, with cardamom and black pepper.
… Georgia produces high quality white clay that can be ordered online. And although the mark on packaging suggests that clay is not intended for food goals, everyone knows why they buy it.
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… In the south of London you can find shops selling African products. You can go into any and ask for clay for a pregnant woman. She will certainly be there. Why so many people experiencing such addiction?
For what reasons do people eat land
There are three explanations for this. Kaolin belongs to a special type clay rocks, the most popular among lovers of mineral cuisine. Clay has good binding properties and can quench pain because it can block or bind toxins and various pathogens in the digestive system.
As a result of experiments on rats and observations of monkeys it was found that poisoning animals can eat inedible substances. As for people, in a number of countries it is customary to mix food and clay in order to remove toxins, and to make food more appetizing.
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The second hypothesis is that clay contains nutritious substances that are not found in conventional foods. In particular, anemia is often associated with lithophagy, therefore eating the soil, rich in iron can be seen as an attempt to make up lack of this metal. It is also possible (and this is the third assumption) that geophagy develops as a result of strong hunger or lack of trace elements, why inedible begins seem attractive.
But here’s what is interesting: if primates, elephants, large cattle, bats and parrots, this is considered not only normal but also helpful. And if a person does the same, he attributed an eating disorder. At least so come in a “civilized world.”
Whether or not there is land, that’s the question
Eating land, of course, has its drawbacks. Main reason for concern are diseases that are transmitted through the soil, as well as toxins present in clay. In addition, it is possible that eating earth and clay does not eliminate the lack of trace elements, but, on the contrary, calls her. Further, geophagy can become a habit, become impulsive behavior, and then it will have to hide from the rest …
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And yet, what is geophagy? Disgusting childhood habit, quirk of pregnant women or exotic addiction of residents of distant countries? .. Hardly at least one of the data The explanation is true. Moreover, such beliefs are dangerous, because a person prone to lithophagy can feel like an outcast in the power of the “unnaturalness” of their desires. Everything else, science is so and she didn’t prove that eating the land is not good. Rather vice versa …
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