Craving Earth: Understanding Pica, the Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice, and Chalk

245 Pages·2011·2.908 MB·English

by  Sera L. Young

Praise for Craving Earth Y “Fascinating! With wit and keen scien-
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Craving tific insight, Sera Young has written the
U
“Sera Young combines a detective’s intuition, a scholar’s diligence, and her own joyful, inde- N landmark study of pica. It is sure to be a
fatigable curiosity to unravel one of the oldest and oddest of human mysteries. I devoured this G classic in anthropology and nutrition for
book like an amylophage on a laundry starch bender.”
a long time to come.”
Mary roach, author of Stiff and Packing for Mars

Gretel H. Pelto, Cornell University

“Young brings a fascinating story from the musty cupboard of old wives’ tales into the bright

light of science. With fluid prose, a storyteller’s style, and a restless curiosity, she peels back C
the surface of a seemingly bizarre and idiosyncratic behavior to produce a marvelous study Ear th
of social biology with global reach. This is a book that will entertain as it educates, and it will r
a
educate everyone who reads it.”
v
Peter ellison, Harvard University and editor-in-chief, American Journal of Human Biology
i
n Hum AnS HAvE EATEn EArTH, on purpose,
“Craving Earth is compelling, encyclopedic, and distinctively quirky—an engaging account
g for more than 2,300 years. They also crave
of eating, soil chemistry, history, religion, ethnography, nutrition, and the social media. It is
starch, ice, chalk, and other unorthodox items.
a book to inspire students and capture the imagination of any reader of the mysteries of geo-
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phagia and the idiosyncracies of social life.” Some even claim they are addicted and “go
lenore Manderson, Monash University, Australia, and editor, Medical Anthropology a crazy” without these items, but why?
r
“This marvelous book takes the reader on a fascinating historical, literary, and scientific safari. t
Sifting through extensive historical, ethno-
h
Craving Earth is surely the most in-depth, revealing, and readable publication ever under-
graphic, and biomedical findings, Sera Young
taken on geophagia and other aspects of pica. A must read for experts, while also a most
enjoyable read for anyone else.” creates a portrait of pica, or nonfood cravings,
Michael lathaM, Cornell University TU from humans' earliest ingestions to current
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e trends and practices. In engaging detail, she
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“The human focus of Young’s book provides a welcome counterpoint to the strictly medical U
re describes the substances most frequently
focus currently available.” gr Understanding
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david l. BrowMan, Washington University in St. Louis tota consumed and the many methods (including
En the Internet) used to obtain them. She reveals
ad Pica
“A fascinating romp through the history of pica, an eye-opener for the geophagist, and an ti how pica is remarkably prevalent (it occurs in
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elegant piece of quantitative evolutionary analysis. Young has produced an engaging, fast- lg nearly every human culture and throughout
a
Photo by Heidi Ryder (http://heidiryder.net) mproevvainlegn cteex at carnocshs ohruemd atno priocphu laaptpioennsd iacneds stuhbapt odpoucluamtioennst , paincda iitns ahsisstoocriya tiaonnd wliittehr amtuicrero, nitus- y, S Pi The Urge to Eat the animal kingdom), identifies its most avid
tc partakers (pregnant women and young chil-
trient deficiencies.” aa
Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, University of California, Davis rch Clay, Starch, dren), and describes the potentially healthful
, and harmful effects. She evaluates the many
I
SEr A Young is a r eproductive and Infectious “Yfrooumn ga nwthrirtoeps olilkoeg ya, dhriesatomry. ,T phuisb lmica shteearfluthl ,w nourtkri tdiroanw, sa nudp omn eddaitcai,n ien stiog hotfsf,e ar nfda spceirnsapteincgti vaens- ce & Ice & Chalk hypotheses about the causes of pica, from the
Diseases Fellow in obstetrics and gynecology fantastical to the scientific, including hunger,
swers. A book you’ll never forget!” C
at the university of California, San Francisco, carole Browner, University of California, Los Angeles hal nutritional deficiencies, and protective capaci-
and a faculty member of the Division of nutri- k ties. never has a book examined the enigma
tional Sciences at Cornell university. of pica so thoroughly or accessibly. Young
Sera L.Young merges history with intimate case studies to
Columbia University Press / New York ISBN: 978-0-231-14608-1
www.cup.columbia.edu illuminate how pica is deeply entwined with
JacJkaectk deet spighno tboy b Ny oaauhth Aorrlow Printed in the U.S.A. 9 780231 146081 Columbia human biology and culture.
CRAVING EARTH
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Craving Earth
Understanding Pica
The Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice, and Chalk
Sera L. Young
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK
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Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2011 Sera L. Young
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Young, Sera L.
Craving earth : understanding pica : the urge to eat clay, starch,
ice, and chalk / Sera L. Young.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-14608-1 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-231-51789-8
(ebook)
1. Pica (Pathology) I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Pica—ethnology 2. Pica—history.
3. Food Habits—psychology. WM 175]
GN408.Y68 2011
613.2—dc22
2010031789

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable
acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may
have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
The image that appears on the title page and at each chapter heading is a
bendito , a sacred clay tablet imprinted with an image of the Virgin Mary.
Catholics and others have ascribed healing, fertility, and protective
powers to the ingestion of such tablets. This tablet was kindly provided
by Professor Louis Grivetti.
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For Stella, the fi rst young Lucks
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Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Preface xiii
PART I: ALL ABOUT PICA
1 What on Earth? 3
The Pica Substances 5
“A devouring passion” 14
Who Does Pica? 15
But Why ? 17
2 A Biocultural Approach: A Holistic Way to Study Pica 20
The Biocultural Perspective 21
Pica Data in This Book 28
3 Medicine You Can Walk On 32
The Amazing Properties of Clays 32
Early Pharmacopeia 35
Modern Medicine 42
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CONTENTS
4 Religious Geophagy: Sacredness You Can Swallow 46
Christianity 47
Islam 53
Hinduism 54
Hoodoo 54
5 Poisons and Pathogens 58
Anemia 58
Heavy Metal Poisoning 61
Geohelminths 62
Other Physical Damage 64
PART II: BUT WHY?
6 Dismissal and Damnation:
A Historical Perspective on the Purported Causes of Pica 69
“The natives” 71
Slaves 71
“The weaker sex” 76
Sandlappers 78
Children 81
The Mentally Disturbed 82
Concealment of Pica Today 83
Establishing Accurate Estimates of Pica Behavior 86
7 Pica in Response to Food Shortage 88
Earth as a Famine Food 90
Testing the Hunger Hypothesis 92
8 Pica as a Micronutrient Supplement 97
Testing the Micronutrient Supplement Hypothesis 99
Could Pica C ause a Micronutrient Defi ciency? 114
9 Pica to Protect and Detoxify 119
Toxins and Pathogens 120
The Protective Capacity of Clays 121
Testing the Protection Hypothesis 123
viii
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CONTENTS
10 Putting the Pica Pieces Together 136
What We Know 136
What We Don’t Know 138
Why We Need to Know It 139
Appendix A: Notable Moments in the History of Pica 141
Appendix B:
Prevalence of Pica Among Representative Populations
of Pregnant Women 143
Appendix C: Prevalence of Pica Among Representative
Populations of Children 147
Appendix D: Pica in Literature 149
Appendix E: Association Between Pica and Iron Defi ciency
and/or Anemia in Cross-Sectional Studies 161
Appendix F: Association Between Pica with Zinc Defi ciency
in Cross-Sectional Studies 167
Appendix G: Predictions 169
Notes 171
Glossary 183
Works Cited 187
Acknowledgments 215
Index 217
ix
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