[headstamp 2]

I recall someone telling me about a book written regarding how women ate certain types of dirt down south during the Civil War or something along those lines.

[aruanan]

I recall someone telling me about a book written regarding how women ate certain types of dirt down south during the Civil War or something along those lines.

They still do all over the world, but especially in Africa. There are African food stores here in the U.S. where you can buy chunks of this dirt, a kind of clay. It's not recommended because of the likelihood of containing heavy metals, pathogens, or toxic chemicals.

On the other hand, you could say that minerals as micronutrients are "dirt", but the amounts required for health in preventing deficiency diseases has been carefully worked out for optimum dose and avoiding toxicity.