Chinese Woman Eats Dirt For 11 Years

Anybody up for some of that yellow mud?
-Apparently it tastes something in between chockolate and dried meat; an instant favorite!

A young Chinese woman is undergoing medical tests in Beijing after dining on dirt for 11 years.

The 18-year-old from Inner Mongolia was taken to Beijing by her parents, who wanted to know why she finds dirt appetizing.
link

I don't know if I should have put this under the "Food & Cooking" section.
But if you're in lack of a cheap dinner tip, why not try a nice chunk of the good old "mother earth"

When thinking hard about this, I can faintly remember the taste of fresh spring soil from my childhood years. Nothing like that bar of precious milk chockolate.....

Vaak

I believe the term "pica" applies here. The craving for non-food items. Here in the south, you will find that eating "white clay" among certain groups, is widespread. Can't say as I would enjoy it, but, hey...to each his/her own.

White clay= Kaolin
Kaolin is the "kao" in Kaopectate.

she's just a "REGULAR" kinda girl, I bet

I wonder if the yellow dirt is just white clay with some staining.

LOL, a regular kind of girl

as for the yellow staining, well let's just hope the dogs aren't loose

I thought she'd be a cheap date untill I read this.

Her eating habits have caused problems for the family's next-door neighbor, who has a mud roof.Chinese television reported that the woman can't help herself and keeps eating the roof.

Now that's what I call being eaten out of house and home.

A Traditional Practice Which Provides Nutrients to the Body
People around the world eat clay, dirt or other pieces of the lithosphere for a variety of reasons. Commonly, it is a traditional cultural activity which takes place during pregnancy, religious ceremonies, or as a remedy for disease. Most people who eat dirt live in Central Africa and the Southern United States. While it is a cultural practice, it also fills a physiological need for nutrients.

In Africa, pregnant and lactating women are able to satisfy the very different nutritional needs of their bodies by eating clay. Often, the clay comes from favored clay pits and it is sold at market in a variety of sizes and with differing content of minerals. After purchase, the clays are stored in a belt-like cloth around the waist and eaten as desired and often without water. The "cravings" in pregnancy for a varied nutritional intake (during pregnancy, the body requires 20% more nutrients and 50% more during lactation) are solved by geophagy.

The clay commonly ingested in Africa contains important nutrients such as: phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, and iron.
geography.about.com...

After a Google search and doing a bit of reading I found out this is a pretty common thing that goes on all over the world. I'd heard of pregnant woman craving drywall board because of a mineral deficiency or something, but it still seems strange to me.

You'd think this girl could find another source for dirt other than her neighbor's roof.

eeeewwwwwwww! All this dirt eating is making me sick!!!

Originally posted by CelticMist
I believe the term "pica" applies here. The craving for non-food items. Here in the south, you will find that eating "white clay" among certain groups, is widespread. Can't say as I would enjoy it, but, hey...to each his/her own.

Yes I agree. Here is a link to a site about pica. It is considered an eating dosorder and like so many others it has a link to mental dysfunction.

kidshealth.org...

I think this is very sad!! Why did the parents wait until she had been doing it for 11 years before they took her to the doctor?