# Edible inorganic substances? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368 "2003-10-08T22:32:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/1 "2003-10-08T22:32:09Z")
What inorganic substances are eaten by (normal) people? The only two I can think of are salt and water, but there must be more. ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/2 "2003-10-08T22:38:54Z")
I imagine that there are many…like iron for instance. But I guess you mean not as result of a healthy, balanced diet. Don’t some women, during pregnancy, crave - and eat - coal? Or is that an old wives tale? ---
**Author:** ![Wahoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee59a6/32.png) [@Wahoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wahoo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/3 "2003-10-08T23:07:53Z")
First thing that I thought of was edible goldleaf. [http://www.goldleafcompany.com/goldleaf.html](http://www.goldleafcompany.com/goldleaf.html) Never eaten any myself. Always thought it was a silly way to use gold. ---
**Author:** ![Wahoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee59a6/32.png) [@Wahoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wahoo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/4 "2003-10-08T23:09:24Z")
Forgot say to scroll down a bit on that page to see the Edible Goldleaf. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/5 "2003-10-08T23:19:21Z")
There are several trace minerals your body needs, such as potassium and the iron mentioned above, that you normally get through consuming food, but which are sometimes taken as supplements. On the extreme side, check out all the weird stuff people have eaten to get in Guinness - lightbulbs, cars, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/6 "2003-10-08T23:49:49Z")
By ‘inorganic’, do you mean ‘not containing Carbon’, or do you mean ‘not arising as a by-product of living organisms’ ? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/7 "2003-10-09T00:00:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by legion \* > \*\*Don’t some women, during pregnancy, crave - and eat - coal? Or is that an old wives tale? \*\* Coal is organic, if I’m not mistaken. How about mineral water? Or does that come under the general salt+water heading. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/8 "2003-10-09T00:02:20Z")
Kaolin ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/9 "2003-10-09T00:02:32Z")
Do Fritos count? ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/10 "2003-10-09T00:35:42Z")
> [@](#): > > By ‘inorganic’, do you mean ‘not containing Carbon’, or do you mean ‘not arising as a by-product of living organisms’ ? The second. Also, stuff like light bulbs etc. doesn’t really count, as those people can hardly be considered “normal”. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/11 "2003-10-09T00:49:57Z")
I had heard once the calcium carbonate was officially designated inorganic, notwithstanding its carbonness, much like carbon dioxide. If that’s so, I’ve taken it as a calcium supplement for years. It’s only sometimes the ‘by-product of living organisms’, for whatever that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![psychomonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@psychomonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychomonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/12 "2003-10-09T02:39:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Kaolin \*\* I was reading an American Potter(I think) from the 80’s looking for a recipe using uranium oxide for a glaze, and there was an article about varieties of clay having different tastes. I believe it was Nepal that they were regularly eaten in. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/13 "2003-10-09T03:28:28Z")
Kaolinite (a water soluble clay) was used in at least one candy bar in the past. The idea, IIRC, was that a little bit of sugar on the outside and the swelling clay would give you an energy boost and a “full” stomach. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/14 "2003-10-09T03:48:14Z")
Isn’t kaolin also the active ingredient in Kaopectate? I imagine a candy bar with kaolin would plug you up something fierce! ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/15 "2003-10-09T04:00:04Z")
Doritos™ That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/16 "2003-10-09T04:09:24Z")
I don’t know, **bump** …, maybe “firm” you up? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/17 "2003-10-09T10:36:20Z")
don’t forget that the body could not function without many inorganic minerals, e.g. calcium, selenium, iron, chromium, zinc, magnesium etc. All of these are present in small doses in our food, but may not be in purely inorganic form, and many inorganic salts seem poorly aborbed by the intestines, but must be chelated or similar. If you are talking about pure inorganic substances that can be ingested whole or as part of others, others include sodium bicarbonate, epsom salts, silica, sodium silicate, barium salts (antiulcer). My sons used to have a regular diet of sand and mud when they were 1-2 y. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/18 "2003-10-09T10:42:50Z")
Acetic acid, or (in the UK) “non-brewed condiment”, or cheap vinegar, is commonly made by a chemical reaction from methane, and therefore not derived from living things (although proper vinegar is made by distilling food-based products). ([FDA regulations](http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg562-100.html)) Alcohol (ethanol) can be manufactured industrially rather than distilled from plant matter, but I don’t think this is ever done for drink use (for medical or hygiene products it’s different). ([UWisconsin site for more info](http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/ethanol/ethanol.html)) Many food additives used in small quantities as colours, perservatives, etc, are also derived by chemical processes. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edible-inorganic-substances/206368/19 "2003-10-09T10:43:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*By ‘inorganic’, do you mean ‘not containing Carbon’, or do you mean ‘not arising as a by-product of living organisms’ ? \*\* There are sevreal inorganic molecules that cotain carbon, for example both graphite, diamond, carbon dioxide are considered inorganic molecules. An organic molecule contains carbon and hydrogen.