Chalk?

It's been 2 months since my takedown surgery for my j pouch and I'm desperately craving chalk/dirt/ash. Before having my colon removed I always ate chalk and volcanic ash. I just craved it. Is it safe to eat it with a j pouch? Does any one else have a craving for non food products?

Some have speculated that some mineral deficiencies cause pica cravings. For example chalk from calcium deficiency and chocolate for lack of magnesium. But I haven't heard anything definitive.

You could get your blood check for nutritional deficiencies. It wouldn't hurt to know the status of your vitamin D, B12, folate, iron, and if possible, calcium.

Could be a deficiency causing pica, a disorder that makes you crave odd things. I think wanting to eat chalk, clay, ash, rocks, etc, is called geophagy. It happened to me and I subsequently was diagnosed with iron deficiency via blood test. I used to eat ashes of wood and other things. The ashes actually came from a religious ritual. Hindus call it vibhuti (sacred ash). Kind of doubled up on embarrassment since the ash was used for religious reasons, haha. I still use the ash but in a different way. Once you treat any deficiencies, the cravings will go away. If no deficiency is found then you are probably just like eating clay for the sake of eating clay! That would need some other type of treatment.

I think wanting to eat clay could also signal deficiency in Silica - which is what's contained in clay or DE at least.

Soystud,

normal freak vs. uc freak - very funny, lol

DE has so many great health benefits, that's the reason I started it.

Anecdotally it seems to help with, d or constipation (both), dry skin, hair loss (that's the reason I am taking it), as a natural expeller of bacteria including candida, blood pressure controller, cholesterol controller, blah blah blah - you have to do your own due diligence on it ( I did).

I am up to 3 heaping tablespoons of it per day - gotta love my glass of dirt, haha!! Giving it to my 15 year old dog too, whose hair is slowly growing back in ( I'm hoping it's a sign of hair growth to come to me too, haha).

Soystud,

Yes DE can also be used very effectively to kill insects... but it's got a different acting mechanism on them - something to do with their exoskeletons...

For human consumption, you need to get Food Grade DE.

That's the only kind to use ( btw, there is another type DE which is toxic and used in resurfacing pools). If you want to shoot me an email, I can share the link where I got mine from.

cute video, although i hate to give the cereal maker any more press than it already gets ;(