Obesity
and overweight problems are synonymous with Americans. Nibble,
nibble, nibble all the way home. "Pica" is a seeking,
a craving with licking and chewing behavior that has its genesis
in mineral deficiencies - interestingly enough neither vitamin
deficiency, protein deficiency or calorie deficiency initiates
this "pica" behavior, nor will supplementing vitamins
or eating sugar, carbohydrate, fat or protein quench it!!!
Since
American soils are critically deficient and depleted in minerals
it is no surprise that pica, cribbing and cravings dominate the
American scene. America is minerally deficient - dieters, athletes,
vegetarians, meat eaters, embryos, children, teenagers, young
adults and seniors.
The
snack food and fast food industries are aware of this relationship
between pica, cribbing, cravings, sugar binges and salt hunger
and they use it to their advantage by liberally salting or sweetening
their products. Unfortunately for us our bodies temporarily translates
sugar and salt consumption as a fulfillment of the craving for
nutritional minerals (i.e.- if we lack iron, salt or sugar will
temporarily satisfy our pica behavior initiated by the iron deficiency).
Historically,
the consumption of salt to satisfy a pica behavior was of value
because salt was not processed and did often times contain trace
minerals and Rare Earths. Today, salt consumption, although contrary
to popular belief, is not in and of itself harmful; it does present
the problem of allowing our bodies to think we are getting minerals
(the equivalent of the "empty calorie diets", i.e.-
Processed food calories without vitamins).
