Craving Earth Understanding Pica--The Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice, and Chalk

Name: Craving Earth Understanding Pica--The Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice, and Chalk
Price: 5.53 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780231146098

ISBN-10: 0231146094

ISBN-13: 9780231146098

Edition: 2012

Authors: Sera Young

List price: $22.00

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Description:

Humans have eaten earth, on purpose, for more than 2,300 years. They also crave starch, ice, chalk, and other unorthodox items of food. Some even claim they are addicted and "go crazy" without these items, but why?Sifting through extensive historical, ethnographic, and biomedical findings, Sera Young creates a portrait of pica, or nonfood cravings, from humans' earliest ingestions to current trends and practices. In engaging detail, she describes the substances most frequently consumed and the many methods (including the Internet) used to obtain them. She reveals how pica is remarkably prevalent (it occurs in nearly every human culture and throughout the animal kingdom), identifies its most…

Book details

List price: $22.00
Copyright year: 2012
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication date: 9/14/2012
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 240
Size: 6.06" wide x 8.98" long x 0.52" tall
Weight: 0.748



List of Illustrations


Preface



All About Pica



What on Earth?


The Pica Substances


"A devouring passion"


Who Does Pica?


But Why?



A Biocultural Approach: A Holistic Way to Study Pica


The Biocultural Perspective


Pica Data in This Book



Medicine You Can Walk On


The Amazing Properties of Clays


Early Pharmacopeia


Modern Medicine



Religious Geophagy: Sacredness You Can Swallow


Christianity


Islam


Hinduism


Hoodoo



Poisons and Pathogens


Anemia


Heavy Metal Poisoning


Geohelminths


Other Physical Damage



But Why?



Dismissal and Damnation: A Historical Perspective on the Purported Causes of Pica


"The natives"


Slaves


"The weaker sex"


Sandlappers


Children


The Mentally Disturbed


Concealment of Pica Today


Establishing Accurate Estimates of Pica Behavior



Pica in Response to Food Shortage


Earth as a Famine Food


Testing the Hunger Hypothesis



Pica as a Micronutrient Supplement


Testing the Micronutrient Supplement Hypothesis


Could Pica Cause a Micronutrient Deficiency?



Pica to Protect and Detoxify


Toxins and Pathogens


The Protective Capacity of Clays


Testing the Protection Hypothesis



Putting the Pica Pieces Together


What We Know


What We Don't Know


Why We Need to Know It



Notable Moments in the History of Pica



Prevalence of Pica Among Representative Populations of Pregnant Women



Prevalence of Pica Among Representative Populations of Children



Pica in Literature



Association Between Pica and Iron Deficiency and/or Anemia in Cross-Sectional Studies



Association Between Pica with Zinc Deficiency in Cross-Sectional Studies



Predictions


Notes


Glossary


Works Cited


Acknowledgments


Index