Apr

19

Word Of The Week: April 19th, 2008

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

April 19, 2008 |

letterp.jpgThis week’s word of the week is: pica. In typographical terms it refers to a size of type, although the Oxford English Dictionary also gives this insanely obscure definition: “In the pre-Reformation English Church: a collection of rules relating to the occurrence of movable feasts”. The definition that interests me, though, is the medical condition known as pica, which is when someone, especially a child, craves and eats unusual items–often non-food items, often dirt, but also hair, glass, buttons, and other even less-appetizing items. As H. Lee Kagan explains in an article for Discover titled Eating Paper in Search of Missing Nutrients, pica can be caused by the body’s reaction to deficiencies:

I recalled that certain nutritional deficiencies are associated with pica. Iron deficiency, in particular, can induce strange tastes, though it’s not known why. In any event, correcting the iron shortage fixes the problem. Interestingly, in most picas associated with known deficiencies, the substance being craved doesn’t even contain the missing mineral.

That last part is unfortunate. The idea that we crave certain things because they contain something our body needs is extremely appealing. For instance, I’d like to think that my body really needs large amounts of nachos with cheese, guacamole, and sour cream on a regular basis, and the cravings certainly tell me so. Unfortunately I know just enough to know it ain’t true. The derivation of the term for the condition pica comes from the Latin for “magpie”, and probably comes from the belief that they’ll eat anything. And, oddly enough, reading about pica I tend to lose my appetite.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Commander Mommy on April 20, 2008 9:48 pm

    My goal this week is to somehow fit the word ‘pica’ into a conversation.

    On a not-completely-unrelated note, you are not alone. I, too, would like to think that I have some rare lycopene deficiency that would explain my freakish ketchup cravings.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

<< Post Navigation >>

« « April Showers. | Book ‘Em: Universal! » »