Researchers say those who eat dirt do not do so to satisfy hunger or to meet a biochemical urge to acquire certain metals or minerals that might be missing from the diet. Rather, they do so because the practice has been learned culturally. Links Are Traced to West Africa
Dr. Frate said dirt eating is one of the few customs surviving among some Southern blacks that can be directly traced to ancestral origins in West Africa. Dirt-eating is common among some tribes in Nigeria today.
According to his research, Dr. Frate said it was not uncommon for slave owners to put masks over the mouths of slaves to keep them from eating dirt. The owners thought the practice was a cause of death and illness among slaves, when they were more likely dying from malnutrition.
Instead of eating dirt, some women use packaged raw corn starch or baking soda as a substitute. Dr. Frate says these materials have a similar paste-like texture to the fine hill clays that have traditionally been eaten.
But not everyone makes that switch. ''I don't hold with either baking soda or starch,'' said Mrs. Glass. ''Starch just don't take the place of dirt.''
