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Geophagy: The Practice Of Eating Soil

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According to Online Dictionary, Geophagy is the practice of eating earth matter, especially clay or chalk. People think it’s damaging to health but people have been doing it for a long time without having negative reactions. Some might argue that that 's crazy but eating soil has many positive health benefits. Geophagy started over 2 million year ago with homo sapiens in Africa. Many people thought slaves introduced this idea but an evidence sight a Kalambo falls showed traces of soil in a homo sapien’s stomach. Geophagy has been documented around the world everywhere besides Japan and Korea. Africans used to use it as a band-aid to hold cuts together. Pliny, a Roman naturalist, noted the practice of eating soil in Greece. The textbook of Hippocrates also says something about geophagy. Although humans have been practicing geophagy since the beginning of time, scientists are unsure of why people do this We don’t know the exact reason why people started eating soil but there are some theories. Geophagy has been argued to just be a symptom of pica, an eating disorder where people crave …show more content…

Soil increases immunity. One study called the “hygiene hypothesis” states that humans might actually be too clean. Kids are never exposed to germs because their parents sanitize so much. Therefore, when the children are exposed to just a tiny amount of dirt, they get sick. Therefore, when children are allowed to play outside in the dirt, even if they eat a little, their immunities are boosted and the number of times they get sick may be minimized. Another health benefit of geophagy is that it eases stomach pain. Kaolin, a soft white clay, is found in different types of soil, and is an ingredient in Rolaids, Maalox, and Kaopectate, which are medications that help upset stomachs. Kaolin has a binding effect that helps the stomach. Another thing it helps is nausea and vomiting. Soil is a natural anti emetic, which helps nausea and

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