Quantcast

Why do so many black women eat cornstarch?

Arionone

Starter
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Messages
179
Reaction score
Reactions
2,014 113 2
2,423
Alleybux
45,817
When I was anemic, I used to crave and chew crushed ice like crazy. I also loved, I mean loved the smell of Comet and Tide Clean Breeze detergent. But once my Dr. made me take iron, it went away completely. Never craved starch but knew a lot women with anemia who did.

I used to watch cornstarch videos not because I craved it but because it was fascinating to me. Ladies, they have drama and beef even in that sector. People reporting videos and striking channels left in right because they didn't was competition for subs and views. It was hilarious.
 

gogurl

General Manager
Joined
Dec 14, 2016
Messages
4,160
Reaction score
Reactions
37,779 3,052 247
40,657
Alleybux
425,359
My friends grandmother and his little brother eat cornstarch. It is so disgusting to me.
 

AfriLux

Pampered princess from the ghetto
Joined
May 1, 2018
Messages
6,797
Reaction score
Reactions
29,034 1,507 616
34,765
Alleybux
400,451
My doctor told me it was an iron deficiency and when I was pregnant they asked me frequently if I craved clay. I used to go in on Sonic ice. When they gave me iron supplements that subsided.

Also when I was younger I would eat graphite (pencil lead). Again, I was anemic and it won’t get better. They linked it to sickle cell traits.

Yep! I literally go through 2-3 big bags of chick fil a ice a week. I also have moments when I crave sponge (like cushion filling) and dry floral foam. I'm anemic and there's nothing I can do about it. I'll be anemic for my entire life. Diseases man....
 

Lilliup

We’re Not the same Tribe
Joined
Jun 27, 2018
Messages
7,033
Reaction score
Reactions
32,000 3,101 2,226
31,541
Alleybux
202,500
When I moved to the Midwest as a teen the pregnant girls in class would have bags of cornstarch and would eat spoonfuls throughout the day. After they had their babies, they stopped. I told my Ma about it and she said that it was normal, she's seen that before, etc. So I see it happening here and there, usually when a woman is pregnant or anemic. It's commonplace to me now.
 

MelonJuice

Team Owner
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
5,221
Reaction score
Reactions
31,644 550 238
33,968
Alleybux
885,018
I'd like to think I know a little about this. Corn starch consumption is related to clay consumption, which is popular in many African cultures. Cultures which do not have a dairy tradition (no cows or milk) often supplement their mineral intake by eating certain types of soil (geophagy). Through consumption of soil, minerals such as iron and calcium can be added to the diet in sufficient amounts. Diarrhea from tropical diseases can also be treated using soil (fun fact: the original ingredient in Kaopectate was kaolin, a certain type of clay). Children and women, especially pregnant women, are frequent consumers of clay. Popular edible African clays are nzu, ayilo, and calaba. I have tried them all, and I was an enthusiastic clay eater for some time. I was also horribly anemic.

When Africans were enslaved, and brought to America, the tradition of geophagy came with them. Many areas in America have clay suitable for eating, such as Georgia white dirt, sour clay, and red clay, which is high in iron. Many of these deposits are in the south.

When we migrated north, or were stranded in cities, we did not have access to the same clays that we did in the rural south. Corn starch, having a similar consistency, became a non-nutritive substitute. It satisfies a craving, but it does not provide the minerals needed.

Clay consumption is worldwide. There are medicinal clays from India, seasoning clays from South America, and medicinal clays from Germany.

This is one of the most thorough yet concise explanations I have ever seen on LSA. Thanks.
 

Isismoon1180

Superstar
Joined
Jan 7, 2014
Messages
1,784
Reaction score
Reactions
12,941 394 64
15,063
Alleybux
214,396
There's several women in my family that eat corn starch and/or ate clay when they were younger. My mom told me how they used to bake dirt in the oven when she was a kid. She said it was sweet. I've never tried cornstarch nor clay. I eat ice like there's no tomorrow. I have pernicious anemia so it's not much I can do about it. I've gotten creative with it and now make all sorts of slushies and snow cones instead of messing my teeth up. There's nothing better than a kombucha snowcone lol. I make like the Sonics RT 44 cup size of it and will eat it all within 30 min and crave another cup within an hour.
 

MiniMoon

Still on hiatus..FIGHT me
Joined
Feb 12, 2019
Messages
4,459
Reaction score
Reactions
23,326 1,661 859
23,583
Alleybux
910,955
I think you should’ve worded your question better.

Why do black women eat foods that have cornstarch in it?

I didn’t know that we did?
I think you saw something on youtube..because apparently it’s a trend.
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
863
Reaction score
Reactions
5,068 394 243
4,982
Alleybux
48,078
I had cravings for ice cubes or chalk when my iron level was low af
After taking them it immediately stopped
 

Similar Threads

The Lounge

General Alley

Top Bottom