1. What on Earth?

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. List of Illustrations xi
4. Preface xiii
5. Part I. All About Pica
6. 1. What on Earth? 3
7. 2. A Biocultural Approach: A Holistic Way to Study Pica 20
8. 3. Medicine You Can Walk On 32
9. 4. Religious Geophagy: Sacredness You Can Swallow 46
10. 5. Poisons and Pathogens 58
11. Part II. But Why?
12. 6 Dismissal and Damnation: A Historical Perspective on the Purported Causes of Pica 69
13. 7. Pica in Response to Food Shortage 88
14. 8. Pica as a Micronutrient Supplement 97
15. 9. Pica to Protect and Detoxify 119
16. 10. Putting the Pica Pieces Together 136
17. Appendix A: Notable Moments in the History of Pica 141
18. Appendix B: Prevalence of Pica Among Representative Populations of Pregnant Women 143
19. Appendix C: Prevalence of Pica Among Representative Populations of Children 147
20. Appendix D: Pica in Literature 149
21. Appendix E: Association Between Pica and Iron Defi ciency and/or Anemia in Cross-Sectional Studies 161
22. Appendix F: Association Between Pica with Zinc Defi ciency in Cross-Sectional Studies 167
23. Appendix G: Predictions 169
24. Notes 171
25. Glossary 183
26. Works Cited 187
27. Acknowledgments 215
28. Index 217