Lately my girlfriend has been confessing to two cravings. Salt and Dirt. Now the salt is explainable easily… She just must not be getting enough salt in her diet.
But the dirt? WTF?
And she eats it too. She takes small handfuls of dirt and eats it.
Is she just insane or what?
She did just go through surgery to remove her colon (she had colitis) and is getting used to her new makeshift colon the doctors built for her (a J pouch for those in the know). She is also taking vicodin for the pain and just got off steroids that she was taking for the colitis.
IANADoctor, but it’s possible that it’s for iron deficiency. Go to medlineplus.gov and search for geophagia.
Seems doubtful for someone of her age but you could also look at pica.
Cravings for dirt, clay, ice chips, paint flakes and othe nonnutritive substances is called pica. It can be caused by anything from iron deficiency to social conditioning
(There are rural towns in Georgia where 1 lb bags of keiselguhr are sold in grocery stores, because pica has been a lifelong habit, especially among older female residents, passed from mother to daughter. Keiselguhr is a clean diatomaceous earth with the texture of clay, and chemically equivalent to powdered chalk with some added silicon and other minerals. It’s widely used as an inert porous material for everything from swimming pool filters to the original base for absorbing the nitroglycerin in dynamite)
Though mental problems can cause pica, that’s hardly the primary cause. Her craving should be investigated by a physician, it may have a medically significant cause. The GI specialist who did the procedure would know if this was a common after effect, and what it might specifically herald
Don’t be too sure that the salt is easy to explain away. Most of us get far more than the amount of salt we need to survive, simply by eating food. She should definitely tell her doctor about these cravings. They usually indicate a problem.
And, not to freak you out or anything, but pica is quite common during pregnancy, and should always be reported, as it can indicate a problem with the baby.
You’re right. I thought about going there and thought it might be snarky, so I didn’t. Actually, though, even if one is a conscientious whole foods granola lover who doesn’t eat a typical processed modern Western diet, it’s hard to become sodium deficient as long as one is not malnourished. There’s about 64 mg of sodium in a cup of frozen mixed vegetables, even before you add butter, cheese or table salt. There’s 122 mg of sodium in 8 oz. of milk, and a whopping 911 mg in one cup of cottage cheese. Wheat bread’s got over 100 mg per slice.
It’s so not a problem that I can’t even find a “minimum requirement” for sodium via google, just lots of info on how to reduce sodium. The RDA, of course is “under 2400 mg”.
And yet sodium deficiency is at least common enough to have it own name: hyponatremia
While it is rarely caused by not eating enough sodium, it serves to make the point that sodium is necessary for life, and is not a toxic substance, at least not any more than the hundreds of chemicals we need, in the right balance, to survive. If you are not already hypertensive, your body will excrete excess salt (within reason) without damaging your health. Salt does not cause high blood pressure.
Right. And the OP said, “Now the salt is explainable easily… She just must not be getting enough salt in her diet.” And I said no, that’s unlikely.
If she’s craving salt because she’s hyponatremic, it’s highly unlikely that it’s because she isn’t getting enough salt in her diet. It’s much more likely due to kidney problems, extreme overexertion like that seen in marathon runners or other serious medical conditions. Healthy people eating a varied Western diet, whether high-salt processed crap or not, are highly unlikely to be hyponatremic due to diet. Period.
It’s not common, but marathon runners can develop hyponatremia - and a few have died from it - from drinking too much water during a race.
Is overly salty food really just a “Western” diet thing? I think the love of salty food is found in many cultures all over the world.
That being said, the answer for the OP has already been given. Pica. Do a search on this and you’ll find out all about it (though I think it’s also the name of a small marmot-like animal and a type font).
My mom says she craved dirt desperately when she was pregnant with me. Her doctor gave her iron pills, which helped, but she felt a lot better after a big handful of Georgia clay. Never wanted it before or after.
Er, I turned out okay. Pretty much. What are you looking at?
I think most cultures have a natural affinity for salt and salty foods. The difference in in western countries is that the food processing industry has seized on this affinity and pump tremendous quantities of sodium into almost every prepared food item you buy. The more prepared the food item, generally the higher the sodium content. Soups, frozen dinners, & side dish mixes are real killers. For example, I just checked a frozen dinner (roasted chicken, mashed potato, and mixed veg) and it has a whopping 1270mg sodium (53% of max USRDA). That’s before you factor in Western (particularly American love of fast food and chips. (McDonald’s 1/4 with CHeese, large fries w/ ketchup and a Coke is 1600 mg sodium, according to the McD’s website.
Yes, many people avoid the nutrition problems (of which sodium is only one) of prepared foods, but as has already been pointed out, the natural saly content of most foods is enough for minimum salt requirements.
Another possibility (and this just a WAG) is that if she’s on any of the various extreme diets, she might be setting herself up for all sorts of nutritional deficiencies, of which salt is only one.
Actually, though, even if one is a conscientious whole foods granola lover who doesn’t eat a typical processed modern Western diet, it’s hard to become sodium deficient as long as one is not malnourished. There’s about 64 mg of sodium in a cup of frozen mixed vegetables, even before you add butter, cheese or table salt. There’s 122 mg of sodium in 8 oz. of milk, and a whopping 911 mg in one cup of cottage cheese. Wheat bread’s got over 100 mg per slice.