(NewsNation) — The practice of eating dirt in search of perceived health benefits has been around for hundreds of years but has gained new attention thanks to taste tests being conducted on TikTok that are garnering millions of views.
According to advocates of nature’s dirty little secret, eating clumps of dirt or clay can lead to better gut health. The ancient practice, known as geophagia, has emerged recently on TikTok, the popular social media platform with millions of users. Geophagia is popular in many parts of the world, where earth-eaters believe that ingesting dirt, clay and other natural materials can soothe digestive issues.
Those pushing the organic initiative on TikTok claim that digesting different types of clay can also improve one’s skin and carry anti-aging benefits as well as unclog pores and cure certain types of allergies.
Edible forms of dirt, clay, and chalk are being sold on various online marketplaces like Amazon, with some of the products even coming with taste profiles such as “hint of grass” and “wet concrete” in addition to crunch levels for the enclosed portions of consumable clay.
However, not everyone is convinced that eating dirt and clay will produce the type of health improvements and benefits that are being pushed on the popular video platform. Health experts say that eating clay has been linked to iron deficiencies since the substance can absorb minerals that the human body requires.
Although there is no harm in digesting small amounts of dirt, one Ohio farmer told NewsNation that eating these types of substances should only happen on a limited basis.
“I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, don’t do it,’” Lee Jones of the Chef’s Garden told NewsNation. “But I’m saying that a safe way to do this is through plants. Know thy farmer, know where the crop is coming from, grow your own garden, and eat that dirt through the soil. It’s really not the dirt we are looking for. It’s the minerals that is in the dirt that they’re really try to strive for.”
