Experts Claim the Habit of Eating Clay May Be Beneficial for Pregnant Women
By MARC LALLANILLA
Oct. 3, 2005 — It melts in your mouth like chocolate, says Ruth Anne T. Joiner, describing her favorite treat.
"The good stuff is real smooth," she adds. "It's just like a piece of candy."
Joiner is describing the delectable taste of dirt — specifically, clay from the region around her home in Montezuma,
Ga.
While most people would recoil at the thought of eating mud or clay, some medical experts say it may be beneficial, especially
for pregnant women.
"Every time I get pregnant, I get a craving — I have to eat it," says Joiner, 40, who has given birth to four healthy
babies.
"If I could get just one little bitty piece, that would stop the craving," she says. "It has a fresh, natural-feeling taste,
like the rain or something."
The habit of eating clay, mud or dirt is known as geophagy. Some experts lump it into the same category as pica, which
is the abnormal urge to eat coins, paint, soap or other non-food items.
Cultures worldwide have practiced geophagy for centuries, from the ancient Greeks to Native Americans. In most places the
habit is limited to women, especially women who are pregnant or of childbearing age.
