If You're Craving Baby Powder It Could Be a Deficiency in Your Diet

Having cravings for nonfood items — a condition called pica — typically affects young children, especially those with intellectual disabilities. It can also be a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder and is, less frequently, experienced by pregnant women.

Pica is a condition where you crave nonfood items. (Image: The Picture Pantry/Alloy/GettyImages)

Nutritional deficiencies may also contribute to your cravings for nonedible substances like baby powder. A visit to your doctor can tell you for sure what nutrients you may be missing, and your doctor can then suggest the proper treatment.

What Is Pica?

Pica is an eating disorder characterized by cravings for and consumption of nonnutritive items, such as dirt, clay, paint chips, chalk, glue, paper, sand, metals, charcoal, ice and baby powder. There are many causes of pica, but a common one is deficiency in one or more minerals, including iron, calcium and zinc, according to a case report published in the Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry in 2014.

Talc is a naturally occurring mineral. The cravings for substances such as dirt, clay and talc are suspected to be the body's way of attempting to get the minerals it's missing.

Identifying Mineral Deficiencies

Craving or eating baby powder is a sure sign that something isn't right. If there isn't an underlying mental health disorder, it's highly likely that you're deficient in iron, zinc or calcium — or a combination. If so, you may have other symptoms that can reveal more information before you even visit your doctor.

Iron deficiency is common, especially in women who are pregnant or experiencing blood loss from heavy periods. In addition to craving nonfood items, symptoms include:

Extreme fatigue
Weakness
Pale skin color
Headache and dizziness
Fast heartbeat and shortness of breath
Inflamed and sore tongue
Cold hands and feet
Brittle nails

If you're low in zinc, you might experience one or more of the following symptoms alongside pica:

Loss of appetite for food
Frequently getting sick
Hair loss
Diarrhea
Poor wound healing
Taste abnormalities
Mental slowness

People low in calcium may crave nonfood items and experience:

Muscle cramps
Confusion
Depression
Forgetfulness
Tingling in lips, fingers and feet
Stiff, sore muscles

If you're eating baby powder and you have accompanying symptoms matching any of those listed above, there's a good chance they're connected.

Getting the Nutrients You Need

If a blood test comes back showing a mineral deficiency, your doctor may suggest changes to your diet and/or a supplement, depending upon the severity of the deficiency. Knowing how much of each mineral you need each day and which foods are good sources will help you bring your levels back up and keep them there.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for iron for men is 8 mg per day. For women who aren't pregnant, the RDA is 18 mg daily. During pregnancy, iron needs increase to 27 mg per day, and during breastfeeding requirements dip to 9 mg per day.

Good dietary sources of iron include:

Fortified breakfast cereals with 100 percent of daily value for iron: 18 mg per serving
Oysters: 8 mg in 3 ounces
Canned white beans: 8 mg per cup
Beef liver: 5 mg in 3 ounces
Boiled lentils: 3 mg per 1/2 cup
Boiled spinach: 3 mg per 1/2 cup

For zinc, the RDA for men is 11 mg, and for women it's 8 mg. During pregnancy, women need 11 mg, and while breastfeeding they need 12 mg each day.

Get your zinc from these rich sources:

Oysters: 74 mg in 3 ounces
Beef chuck roast: 7 mg in 3 ounces
Alaska king crab: 6.5 mg per 3 ounces
Lobster: 3.4 mg per 3 ounces
Baked beans: 2.9 mg per serving

Getting enough calcium is crucial at any age, but especially as you get older. The RDA for all adults ages 19 to 50 is 1,000 mg. After age 50, men and women need 1,200 mg daily.

Calcium is abundant in:

Plain, low-fat yogurt: 415 mg in 3 ounces
Part-skim mozzarella: 333 mg per 1.5 ounces
Canned sardines with bones: 325 mg per 3 ounces
Cheddar cheese: 307 mg per 1.5 ounce
Nonfat milk: 299 mg in 8 ounces

Dangers of Eating Baby Powder

Not only is it important from a nutritional perspective to get to the root of your cravings, but it's also critical to protect yourself from cancer and other potential complications caused by eating talcum powder. In April of 2018, Johnson & Johnson was found guilty of selling talc powder products contaminated with asbestos. Johnson & Johnson and other baby powder manufacturers have been sued by thousands of women claiming long-term use of the products caused their ovarian cancers.

Although scientists have not clearly linked the two, ConsumerSafety.org warns consumers to be aware of the risk. Ingesting baby powder could have even more serious risks than topical use. The European Union has gone so far as to ban the use of talc in personal hygiene products.

REFERENCES & RESOURCES American Pregnancy Association: Pregnancy and Pica NEDA: Pica Kids Health: Pica Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry: Eating Everything Except Food (PICA): A Rare Case Report and Review NIH: Iron NIH: Zinc Merck Manual: Hypocalcemia (Low Level of Calcium in the Blood) National Academy of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Recommended Dietary Allowances and Adequate Intakes, Elements NIH: Calcium Consumersafety.org: Talcum Powder and Cancer