The health benefits of dirt

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world eat dirt. Here, in southeastern states such as Georgia, a white clay called kaolin is the dirt of choice (not just any dirt will do). Apparently, it’s mostly women who crave dirt, especially pregnant women. "Every time I get pregnant, I get a craving -- I have to eat it," says one woman who has given birth to four healthy babies. Some medical professionals believe that minerals in certain clays are especially beneficial for pregnant women. As one said, "Mineral demand goes up substantially during pregnancy. Soil is nature’s multi-mineral supply."  Other researchers believe that eating dirt while pregnant strengthens both the mother’s and child's immune systems. It can also have a calming effect on the mother’s gastrointestinal system, since the clay (also found in Maalox and Rolaids) contains antacid compounds. Because clay absorbs toxins, people in traditional cultures cook food such as potatoes and acorns in clay as a way of protecting against the toxic alkaloids and tannic acids that would otherwise make these food inedible.

You may now be hankering for some dirt. You can get kaolin clay on the internet. Just look it up.

There’s a clay deposit in Canada that has been found to contain powerful antibiotics. In fact, solutions of the clay can kill 16 different strains of multi-drug-resistant bacteria—such as Staphylococcus aurea—that commonly infect hospital patients. As one scientist noted, the antimicrobial clay provides “new hope in a battle that the medical community is currently not winning.” Actually, the find is not new. Natives of the region, the Heiltsuk, have used the clay for medicinal purposes for generations.

You can get some dirt-inhabiting bacteria to spray on yourself. A company called AOBiome sells a tonic that contains billions of cultivated Nitrosomonas eutropha, an ammonia-oxidizing bacteria that is most commonly found in dirt. It once lived happily on us too before we started washing it away with soap and shampoo. The AOBiome spray re-introduces these critters as nature intended. They act as a built-in cleanser, deodorant, anti-inflammatory and immune booster. 

Recent studies have shown that farm children who are exposed to animal manures have significantly less asthma than farm children who do not.

Something for everyone in dirt!

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