Some People Have a Unique Craving to ‘Eat’ Soil, They’ve Been Called 'Earth Eaters' Through History - Here’s Why

We could never know the variety of lifestyles that humans led, as their preferences ranged from reliable to bizarre. This included a medical condition wherein people felt the craving to indulge in eating soil, mud, earth, and clay. This was referred to as geophagy, from the Greek “geo,” meaning earth, and “phagia,” meaning eating, according to IFLScience. It had a unique history and practice that predated an era of known human history. Environmental geochemist Peter Abrahams reviewed this history in 2013 and found that the oldest evidence of geophagy was at the “prehistoric site at Kalambo Falls on the border between Zambia and Tanzania.”

This habit continued down the human line with references in the fourth century BCE works of Hippocrates and in textbooks from Aulus Cornelius Celsus. There were also recommendations on how dirt could be consumed in specific recipes, such as mixed with porridge. Pliny stated that red clay had “a soothing effect” and recommended it as a remedy for ulcers in the humid parts of the body. It also “arrests diarrhea and checks menstruation.” However, it was not a practice that was widely condoned, and during the slavery years of America, slaves who ate soil were tied up to stop them. The deliberate consumption of soil could be an animalistic instinct in humans.

People were known to crave dirt as a result of nutritional deficiencies, pregnancy, or cultural traditions that dictated it. Famine conditions saw the consumption of dirt as a way to fill the requirements for minerals like iron and zinc. Though people consumed these nutrients in dirt, it also increased the risk of toxicity from heavy metals, according to Medical News Today. Apart from dietary benefits, pregnancy made people consume all kinds of bizarre substances from sheer cravings. This could be connected to the hormonal shifts, as purposeful eating of soil for nutrition in pregnancy was influenced by socio-economic factors that reduced proper nutrition.

Malawian science communicator Muza Gondwe stated that “For pregnant women in India and Africa, fine red clay may diminish nausea, possibly by coating the gut and absorbing toxins.” The idea of Earth as medicine was not bizarre or unheard of but had its selective usage and was not entirely condoned. Clay could be used to detoxify other ingredients, while calcium carbonate from chalk or limestone was a primary ingredient in most antacids, and activated charcoal was on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. However, the habit of eating soil was only considered a normal behavioral instinct and not promoted as something to indulge in.

The chances of this craving turning into an addiction were not something to be ignored, as it was severely concerning. Geophagia, beginning as a mental health lapse, could lead to health problems for people unable to stop. They also spent money to travel large distances to acquire the clay or soil of their choice, according to Healthline. If unable to afford their taste, the people were driven to huge extents of distress. Complications and negative side effects were not easily avoided with this habit, and people were diagnosed to experience this more than positive effects. So, as a population, humans were better off staying away from consuming the earth or dirt of any kind.