Why do I often crave eating clay?

Caribbean clay lover wrote:

That's so true. Whenever the mind is not at ease, it looks for things to comfort or distract it. But why these non food items tho. I never hear people talking about chasing chocolate the way we do clay. Buying it in bulks, baking it and all that. The yearning for it is even greater than for a partner lol. By the way, have never tried cornstarch. Do you get the same earthy sensation from it as one would get from clay or even chalk? <quoted text>

ackee wrote:

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I notice that you are from the Caribbean. Is is hard to get clay there or is it a common everyday thing.

Caribbean clay lover wrote:

Haven't seen it sold commercially to eat nywhere out here. But yeah, if you mention u eat clay they'll think u're an alien. Am pretty sure there are many ppl that have the cravings tho. Put it this way, you can get the Aztec facial clay here and it virtually flies off the shelf and I don't think its all for facial purposes lol. Been tryin to buy edible clay online but it is expensive to ship.<quoted text>

All things clay wrote:

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Same here, nobody sells clay marketed as edible or white dirt or anything like that and it is so expensive to ship. It's not part of the culture here to eat clay either, or at least it isn't something that people talk about. But as you say there must be many people that have the cravings.
It must be so nice to live in a country where this isn't considered abnormal or something to hide, and where you can just go out and either dig it yourself or buy it in a store or at market.

ClayLover wrote:

Anyone ever eat external use indian calium bentonite clay? Just curious as to why it is external use only- I am anemic and dry out clay for edible use.addict!

Caribbean clay lover wrote:

All Things Clay, as I type this to you I am trying to think of areas here where I could go and get some fresh clean clay to munch on. Am concerned about the aluminum content of it so must be careful. Probably why I havent dug up the backyard yet. Chalkstone/marl is available too. But I satisfy my urge with raw oats altho that only last for a very short while. Have to find a way to get the DE and clay mixes here much cheaper. The healing clay is absolutely creamy when wetted and dried but its harmful to the body so cant eat that. What do you do for clay?
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All things clay wrote:

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I travel quite a lot, so stock up supplies where and when I can. I have also ordered online, but the shipping is so expensive.
I have a variety of things, not just clay itself. For now my main things are DE and cornstarch. I have never tried raw oats, will have to give that a try. I also sometimes have clay that isn't marketed as edible but prefer not to do this and do not recommend it just in case.
There is supposed to be red clay here, but I do not have a source for it - I will have to try harder to locate it (if I knew there was some in my back yard I would be digging for sure lol!)

Caribbean clay lover wrote:

Heard that about the shipping cost. That can run well over US$300 to get some here. Seems there's really something to this cornstarch. Have to try it. Does it make good chunks and do u get even a slight earthy satisfaction from it? <quoted text>

Caribbean clay lover wrote:

Heard that about the shipping cost. That can run well over US$300 to get some here. Seems there's really something to this cornstarch. Have to try it. Does it make good chunks and do u get even a slight earthy satisfaction from it? <quoted text>

Ayilo eater wrote:

Just finished eating the egglike shaped clay from ghana, wow.. Amazing. Got it from the African market.. It was soooooo smooth and creamy. Gosh i cant describe it.but i eat it once or twice in amonth and i drink lots of water too..please dont over eat it, can cause health problems.. But i love it. Enjoy your clay

flyy girl wrote:

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i get my clay from an indian supermarket called brue grove supermarket take the bus 243, w4 or 123 dendng on where u live i live in wood green so 243 is thebest bus to take.get back to me on darcy303@homail.com

ackee wrote:

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How much clay do you buy that the shipping is so much ? Is that like a years supply? That is alot of money.

All things clay wrote:

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Wow, that is a lot for shipping. I thought it was expensive to get stuff here.
Try cornstarch at your own risk lol! Seriously, though, it can be very addictive. You may find that you do not like it though, not all of us do.
I used to be a fairly big cornstarch addict, on average about half a box a day but sometimes a whole box. Back then I just ate it straight from the box (had tried making chunks, but they didn't come out good). I don't think it's healthy to eat cornstarch like that, and I was worried too about all that processed corn and whether it was genetically modified. It's also full of calories, although I didn't seem to gain much from it (probably because I wasn't eating a lot of real food, I preferred the starch).
Got myself off cornstarch, but I'm now back on it but don't eat anywhere near as much - I can go a week or more without it now. I've tried a couple of 'recipes' that people have put on here for making it better and for making chunks - adding a little water and putting it in the freezer (or just in the freezer without water) is good. Someone had a recipe on here about a week or so ago giving details for baking it, if you go back you should find it. I tried it, had a hard time mixing it, maybe I did something wrong, but after baking the chunks came out fine.
Cornstarch isn't earthy, at least I don't find it to be, but for some people it does satisfy the craving and I guess the good things going for it are that it is meant to be eaten (although not the way we do), is available in stores, and is cheap. I suggest you read up as much as possible before trying it. When I was on it heavy I wished I'd never tried the stuff (I supposed I had a love-hate relationship with it).