Today I Learned

Hopeful they did it far from outhouses.

Dirt is loaded with parasites even today, in countries with poor sanitation.

I've often heard some version of the suggestion that "kids should eat a pound of dirt by the time they're 5," to have healthy immune systems. The suggestion, as I've always understood it, is that kids should spend a lot of time outside, eating dirt incidentally from constantly being in nature, having dirty hands and dirt under their nails, tripping and falling in the dirt, breathing dirt kicked up while running around and rough housing, etc. Getting micro-exposure to lots of germs early through play to built up a strong immune response. I've never understood it to mean literal dirt eating, but now I wonder if that might be the origin.

I mean, I drink my urine for the sulphur qualities in alchemy, which are a different thing entirely than what sulphur is in chemistry. Makes my teeth hurt less, I find. Must be good Karma in a yellow spectrum of frequencies. Don't eat your poop though. That's a bad idea, kids.

I've learned about Medicinal clay from my wife. You can buy it in regular shops everywhere in Germany. She takes it dissolved in water if she has bad inflammation.

I have yet to try it.

My grandparents are from Yazoo city, and my mom used to talk about how her grandmother and aunts used to eat dirt, specifically red dirt from a hill on the farm. I've never seen it, and never even thought about it until seeing this post.

In Germany, clay is sold in drugstores to cure digestion issues or as mineral supply for hair and nails. I think they knew what they were doing and were shamed out of continuing.

To learn more about earth-eating in animals and humans, check out the Wikipedia page on geophagia.

At first I was imagining just a handful of dirt from a grassy patch - but it seems to be implied that they're actually eating clay - which I vaguely remember being told can help with a sore stomach.

However I'm also aware that clay can contain heavy metals, which baking can't remove, so I'm inclined to stay away and just have a bit of bread instead.

It's still common to eat clay to get the minerals, help with digestion or reduce hunger in parts of Africa see the Contemporary practices section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophagia

I remember reading this in a travel book from a danish author.

The person he asked about the custom was perplexed when he told him that he did not eat dirt.

Dirt (especially clay) is often rich in iron and magnesium. Humans used to use ceramic pottery extensively until recently. It wouldn't surprise me if there were some benefits.

Astrophage, eat your heart out.