Is it useful to eat white school chalk. Is it possible to eat school and construction chalk from the store

Everyone has their own cockroaches in their head.

Someone likes to sniff gasoline.

Someone loves salted fish with a smell.

Someone gets crazy from the smell of paint or sniffs the little finger after picking it in the ear.

Don't feed someone with bread - let them chew resin.

Someone bites their nails or pencil lead.

And someone take out and put a flabby carrot. This is me about myself. So sometimes there is a desire to gnaw a carrot, moreover, a flabby one - I won’t save it. The same, probably, about people gnawing chalk. Well, hunting them to gnaw it, what can you do? Pulls. And I'm not talking about stupid children who drag everything that comes to hand into their mouths. And not about pregnant women who suddenly want to taste chalk so much that they even scream out loud. Therefore, they need it, although up to this point they have never experienced such a desire. The body is demanding. And if so, let them gnaw at themselves. Just not the chalk with which they write on the classroom boards. Half of it is plaster and some chemical additives. Let the children's crayons gnaw. And not in color. After all, color, again, is a certain chemical additive. Let the white crayons gnaw. Or, at worst, scraping the whitewash off the walls. Although building chalk is harmful. It happens that pregnant women and plaster chip off and gnaw. They have such a path, in pregnant women. Yes, and it's not about them. But the point is quite adult and, at first glance, normal people who eat chalk. It happens that they gobble up both cheeks. And not from hunger, but from some incomprehensible attraction. How to explain it, citizens? And what justifies such eating of chalk? And most importantly, is there any benefit from this, or is it just harm?

Chalk is said to be useful. IN limited quantities and from the pharmacy. This chalk is called calcium gluconate. You are calcium deficient and are prescribed this gluconate. But we are not talking about pharmaceutical chalk!?

Doctors say that people who eat chalk experience a lack of iron in the body. The body, they say, asks to compensate for this shortage, so they eat chalk. But iron is found in many foods. In apples, for example. Isn't it better to eat a kilo of apples than to eat crushed chalk, which is added to the feed for pigs and cows? This chalk, though food, but the stomachs of cows and people are different.

Therefore, the need to gnaw chalk is a quirk. Deviation from the norm, albeit slight. And we must fight and get rid of it, since chalk, although a neutral substance, does not affect metabolism and work internal organs, however, it is not worth using it as a food product. Even the one that is mined in quarries or extracted from rocks and is considered environmentally friendly.

What can happen from excessive eating of chalk?

Liming of vessels. which over time can lead to cardiovascular diseases. Also, when interacting with gastric juice, chalk becomes like slaked lime, which corrodes the walls of the intestines. Close to an ulcer or something cleaner. So it’s better to stop using chalk altogether. Or minimize, if without it - nothing.

They also say that chalk helps with heartburn. So, this is all bullshit...

For some it's wild, for many common occurrence and some may not even know about it. But there are lovers of this business. What are we talking about? Today you will find out why people eat chalk?

When we have a desire to eat foods that are not intended for this, in this case chalk, this means, as a rule, a lack of any substances. If we are talking about chalk, then it is of course calcium. And also, according to doctors - iron.

Pregnant women are often affected by this. They use calcium in huge quantities, for education bone tissue child. Also, during pregnancy, it is not uncommon for a decrease in hemoglobin levels, and as a result, anemia caused by iron deficiency.

They are afraid of such symptoms, or rather, desires, it is not worth it. There is nothing terrible in this situation. This is just a signal from the body that requires replenishment of the missing substances.

But even here you need to use common sense. For example, someone starts using blackboard chalk, or some other non-food products. It is absolutely impossible to do this, as it contains dyes, and various additives that may be toxic to the body.

In this regard, mineral chalk can be considered food product, and it will not cause any harm to health.

But it is best to purchase calcium supplements at the pharmacy, after consulting with your doctor. As a rule, after their application, no desire to eat chalk arises.

Is it possible to eat chalk, or is it a bad habit? First of all, it is a symptom of a lack of certain trace elements, which in itself is not good. “Are your crayons edible?” - such a question is heard by sellers in stationery stores much more often than you can imagine. Customers say this in a whisper, embarrassed by their strange taste preferences, as if expecting to be laughed at... In fact, there is nothing to be ashamed of. "Shallow eating" is just a sign of a lack of calcium or iron in the body. If you are constantly drawn to chewing on chalk, this is an occasion to think about your health.

Why do you want to eat chalk? Let's see why you want to eat chalk. Which of the two microelements you are missing depends on the choice of treatment method. It's no secret that all food in modern stores is by no means of the highest quality. Therefore, almost every city dweller suffers from the lack of microelements and the problems that accompany it. Almost impossible to find on supermarket shelves. natural milk, cheeses, sour milk - and they are just the main source of calcium for humans. Not getting it in enough, you feel an irresistible desire to gnaw on chalk: we all remember from the school chemistry course that it consists almost entirely of calcium.

Symptoms of calcium deficiency - cramps of the limbs (including hypothermia), deterioration and appearance hair, nails and teeth, as well as less noticeable signs - bones become brittle, blood coagulates worse. With a slight deficiency of this trace element, it is enough to know which foods contain calcium and use them more often: it’s all the same dairy, but also fish, nuts, legumes, rose hips, sea kale, citrus fruits, cereals, vegetables ... When severe deficit you can enhance the effect by taking special dietary supplements or calcium gluconate tablets.

Even meloids should be regularly examined by a dentist - at least once every four months. When teeth lack calcium, their enamel becomes brittle and brittle. During chewing of rough food, microcracks form on it, into which putrefactive microorganisms enter, causing development caries. With what formerly doctor detects and cures caries, the less suffering will fall on the patient. And the cheaper it will cost him the services of a dentist. But if your teeth have already been seriously damaged, get ready for significant expenses. In this case, it is especially important to find a good dental office with fair prices. Here is the website of the Eva-Dent clinic - they do their job in good faith, but the cost of treatment is acceptable for people of any income level.

In addition, people suffering from iron deficiency (anemia) constantly want to eat chalk. They are given out by dry pale skin, fast fatiguability and drowsiness, in some cases early gray hair, rapid pulse, shortness of breath. In this case, not calcium-containing, but iron-containing products are needed - this is primarily red meat (preferably dried), beef liver, hematogen. If, for ethical reasons, you do not eat animal products, you should take supplements or vitamin cocktails with spirulina. Eating chalk with iron deficiency is useless, and moreover, it can be harmful.

Is it harmful to eat chalk? Many meloeders are interested in: is it harmful to eat chalk? In what quantities does it not pose a health hazard? I will answer these questions. There is an opinion that chalk, eaten, provokes the formation of kidney stones. This is true only under one condition: if it is unthinkable to use it large quantities Literally in kilograms. Then not only the kidneys will suffer - the entire intestines, blood vessels and even the lungs will be covered with a layer of limescale. But two or three small pieces of pure chalk a day will not bring any harm - but it is worth emphasizing: it is pure.

Can I eat school chalk sold in stationery stores? Better not - it contains gypsum, glue, sometimes dyes, and all this certainly will not benefit your body. Uncleaned chalk from a quarry or from a hardware store, as well as whitewash, may contain bad impurities of the different nature. Not too thoroughly purified and calcium for animals. Truly high-quality, pure chalk can only be bought at a pharmacy, in the form of calcium gluconate tablets. It tastes a little different from ordinary crayon, but you can be sure of its safety. This drug costs a penny - unlike more expensive dietary supplements. Which are sometimes no better - except that they are packaged in prettier and brighter packages.

Is it harmful to eat chalk - figured it out, but is it useful - the question remains open. The fact is that calcium is rather poorly absorbed by the human body, especially in its pure form. Eating crayons and whitewash, even in in large numbers does not fully solve the problem of micronutrient deficiencies. Roughly speaking, it is more expedient to eat one hundred grams of cottage cheese than one hundred grams of chalk: in combination with other substances, in particular with acids and vitamin C, calcium is absorbed better. Therefore, nutritionists advise drinking calcium-containing drugs. citrus juices. And of course, optimize nutrition.

Calcium for pregnant women is one of the essential trace elements, since the skeleton of a child is formed from it. A woman can feel its lack for all nine months, and even after childbirth, so gynecologists advise taking special mineral-vitamin complexes from the first trimester. Whether they are so good is also a moot point: balanced nutrition pills still do not replace, but can only serve as an addition to it. Among adherents of naturalistic motherhood, there is an opinion that the reception medical preparations for pregnant women can cause a lack of lactation after childbirth. And given the fact that everything fewer women V last years practices breast-feeding, this statement no longer seems unambiguously absurd.

There is one folk recipe against calcium deficiency - ground eggshells in a coffee grinder to a powder state are added to food or taken dry, washed down with juice of sour fruits (orange, lemon, cranberry ...). Unlike pure chalk, it does not lead to the formation of limescale on the walls of internal organs, and therefore eggshell as a source of calcium - a cleaner and harmless product.

Chalk is not only unnecessary for the human body, but also unhealthy. And if you really want it, it's a violation taste preferences. It may also be a sign iron deficiency anemia in which hemoglobin synthesis is impaired due to iron deficiency.

Why there is a need for the use of chalk

You want to eat a piece of chalk or lime when there is not enough calcium in the body. Calcium is the basis of bone tissue and is involved in water-salt metabolism. Calcium is able to normalize excitability nervous system and muscles. With the same diet, insufficient consumption cottage cheese, cheese, milk, calcium deficiency may occur in the body. In peas, beans, buckwheat and oatmeal also contains calcium salts. However, calcium is best absorbed from fermented milk products, chicken eggs and milk. With a lack of vitamin D, its absorption deteriorates.

The amount of phosphorus entering the body directly affects the absorption of calcium. An anemic person may get the impression that consuming chalk will solve all problems. However, crayons are not able to compensate for iron deficiency in the blood. When the chalk comes into contact with acid environment stomach, it begins to turn into a kind of slaked lime, which has an extremely negative effect on the mucous membrane of the digestive organs. Calcium is deposited in the lungs and kidneys, pancreas, this can lead to pancreatitis. If chalk is taken for a long time, then development is possible diabetes, liming of vessels, the appearance of kidney stones. All this in turn leads to the development of cardiovascular diseases. It happens that the desire to eat lime or chalk is caused by a peculiar perversion of taste and bad habit. Chalk and lime are not recommended because they can interfere with bowel function, resulting in constipation and a risk of infection.

Is it harmful to eat chalk?

Of course, a small piece of chalk will not bring much harm. And if you really want to gnaw it, then you should choose chalk at least without harmful impurities and dyes. Do not eat building chalk. It is a roughly processed material containing a lot of chemical substances and impurities that are added to give it certain properties. Chalk for pets (rodents, parrots) can cause belching and for humans, it simply tastes disgusting. Stationery crayons are also unsafe; for hardness, glue and gypsum are often added to them. It is best to eat natural chalk, which is mined in quarries or one that is extracted from the rock. If the problem is a lack of iron in the diet, then it is necessary to include foods that are rich in this trace element. Need to increase consumption following products: liver, veal, buckwheat, pomegranate, carrots, beets, kiwi and apples. These foods can increase hemoglobin levels. Copper is also needed for anemia, it promotes the absorption of iron and is found in green vegetables, egg yolks, apricots, cherries, figs and seaweed.

What desires do not express pregnant women! Serve them salted watermelons in the middle of winter, then herring with jam, and even in the middle of the night. And there are those who want chalk and at the same time can buy it in stationery and eat almost a whole box or secretly lick their fingers, stained on the whitewashed wall in the entrance ...

Someone will smile at such “quirks” of expectant mothers, shrug their shoulders understandingly and spread their arms: they say, this may not be desirable during this period. However, let's see why almost every third pregnant woman wants chalk, and is it dangerous for their health and the health of the unborn baby?

Why you want chalk during pregnancy:

Often, the desire to consume a particular product is not associated with a conscious choice, but with the basic needs of the body, because during pregnancy female body most nutrients spends on. If these substances are not enough in the body, then there is a desire to eat something in order to replenish their supply.

Wish future mother eat chalk most often occurs due to violations of the vitamin-mineral balance or other metabolic disorders. The most common reasons for this may be:

toxicosis of pregnant women,
violation of calcium metabolism,
Iron-deficiency anemia.

Having found out the reason for such an unusual desire of a pregnant woman, it is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that along with this there may be other symptoms that may indicate much more serious problems.

- toxicosis of pregnant women

On early stages pregnancy women are often tormented by toxicosis, and this is quite normal reaction organism into "foreign" cells, which is the germ for immune system mother (after all, half of his DNA code belongs to the father of the unborn child). Manifestations of early toxicosis continue until the final formation of the placenta occurs. And all this time, a woman can experience:

nausea and vomiting,
taste changes,
exacerbation and change of smell.

Sometimes toxicosis manifests itself so strongly that there is not only a change general condition but also due to physical exhaustion and dehydration future mother she is losing weight. especially severe forms toxicosis are accompanied by disturbances in work of cardio-vascular system, liver and kidneys, which can most seriously affect the condition of the fetus. That is why the progression of toxicosis should not be allowed.

- violation of calcium metabolism

Chalk, as you know, consists of inorganic salts - carbonates, and the main element of these compounds is calcium. Therefore, if there is a shortage in the body of a woman during pregnancy, there may be a desire to replenish the deficit due to calcareous substances.

But in addition to the “calcareous food fad”, with calcium deficiency, its other symptoms can also be observed, which can appear much earlier than the desire to eat chalk:

brittleness and fading of hair,
dryness and decreased elasticity of the skin,
fragility and delamination of nails,
dental problems and caries,
fatigue and irritability
muscle spasms and cramps,
and constipation
osteochondrosis.

Sometimes the desire to eat chalk is so great that women cannot resist, but there will be no benefit from this, because the calcium in it is in the form of an inorganic salt that is not absorbed by the body. Moreover, if a woman does this repeatedly, then in the future eating chalk can have quite serious consequences:

heartburn,
constipation,
cardiovascular disorders,
stones in the kidneys.

And this is not the whole list, but more on that later.

Therefore, when a pregnant woman wants to eat chalk, you need to look for other signs of a calcium deficiency, and look for more acceptable ways to satisfy this desire.

- Iron-deficiency anemia

For some reason, many people think that during pregnancy anemia is quite normal. But this misconception, because if more low level blood hemoglobin in expectant mothers and is acceptable, however, it should not be lower than 110 g / l. And the level of erythrocytes in her should not be lower than 3.6 * 1012 / l. Otherwise, anemia!

During pregnancy, iron deficiency conditions are most often diagnosed, in which, in addition to the desire to eat chalk, the following symptoms also appear:

general weakness and fatigue,
dizziness,
paleness and dryness of the skin,
brittle hair,
darkening of nails
cracks in the corners of the lips (jamming),
atrophic processes in oral cavity, esophagus,
change in taste sensations
cardiopalmus,
dyspnea.

Therefore, with iron deficiency in the body, the desire to eat chalk is not just a signal of a decrease in the mineral element in the blood serum, but a manifestation of the depletion of its tissue reserves. Anemia during pregnancy quite often manifests itself as an unnatural or perverted taste addiction.

How to determine the reason for the desire to eat chalk?

You can determine the reason for the desire to taste a piece of chalk at the stage of a medical examination of the expectant mother, but the final answer is given after laboratory tests:

clinical blood test,
biochemical blood test serum iron, ionized and total calcium),
general urine analysis.

This will reveal the "culprits" of the appearance of unusual taste desires in a pregnant woman: it will reveal a deficiency of calcium and iron. However, although the reason will be found, the desire to eat chalk will not disappear, and it must be satisfied. But just do not gnaw crayons from the stationery store! This is not a dietary supplement!

Why are stationery or school crayons and whitewash chalk dangerous?

Doctors unanimously oppose the eating of stationery and school crayons by pregnant women, and they explain their ban as follows:

1. Both chalk and crayons contain chemical additives and impurities - chalk stones for rodents, gypsum, lime, adhesive binder, sand, dyes, which are harmful to the health of both the mother and her crumbs;

2. As a result, the mother’s body is poisoned (and the toxins are also delivered to the baby), and such vital important organs, How:

liver (it removes toxins from the body),
kidneys (stones form there),
respiratory tract (chalk dries the epithelium of the larynx),
vessels (chalk settles on the walls, which causes their liming and leads to cardiovascular diseases),
tooth enamel (solid particles scratch it, which further leads to the development of caries and other diseases of the oral cavity, even stomatitis is possible),
intestines and digestive organs (solid particles scratch the mucous membrane, chalk dries the epithelium, while contributing to the formation of microcracks, in which then develop pathogenic microorganisms, and in the stomach when interacting with hydrochloric acid chalk causes a violent reaction of gas formation, similar to that which occurs when lime is slaked, destroying the epithelium).

3. Obstetricians and gynecologists do not recommend the use of chalk for the reason that it can affect the elasticity of the reproductive tract, resulting in difficulties during childbirth (for example, tears or obstruction associated with "cementing" tissues).

4. In addition, the use of chalk can also affect the development of the child - up to the overgrowth of the fontanelle and the deformation of the bones of the fetus or the loss of their elasticity, which again will affect the process of childbirth.

As for chalk for whitewashing (construction) or intended for animals, all of the above applies to them too, even with even greater health risks.

Where can you find edible chalk?

In some forums, when discussing this topic, you can read information that chalk mined in a quarry is a pure “product” that does not contain impurities added during the manufacture of construction chalk or crayons. However, no one will give you a guarantee that there is no sand and dirt in the quarry chalk.

Unfortunately, pregnant women (and those who suffer from similar desires of the body), food chalk are not produced on an industrial scale.

What can replace chalk without harm to health:

When the reason for the desire to eat chalk has already been clarified, care should be taken to rid the woman of this sensation. This can only be done by normalizing metabolic processes in organism. For this, first of all, an appropriate diet is used (with high content missing elements and minerals), as well as drug therapy.

- diet

A pregnant woman who wants chalk, analyzing her diet, should take into account that the presence of fatty and fried foods in it prevents the incoming calcium from being absorbed in full. Therefore, when compiling a menu, give preference fresh vegetables and fruits (it is good for digestion), as well as fermented milk products(they will make up for the lack of calcium in a natural way).

To replenish the body's reserves of calcium and iron, the following will be useful:

cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream, ryazhenka, hard cheeses, yogurt,
beef, liver, pork,
boiled or stewed fish and canned fish with bones (such as sardines),
porridge - buckwheat, oatmeal,
celery, parsley, onion, carrot,
spinach and lettuce leaves,
almonds, seeds,
dried apricots, raisins, prunes, dates.

A natural source of calcium is eggshell - it can be ground in a coffee grinder and added to ready-made meals 0.3-0.5 g 2-3 times a day. One serving of this powder contains about 38% calcium, which is absorbed by the body 3 times faster than chemically obtained calcium.

It's no secret to anyone that proper nutrition is the guarantee of the health of the expectant mother and normal development fetus. But at the same time, you need to eat varied and regularly, giving up the use of alcoholic and carbonated drinks, as well as smoking. Walks are also important. fresh air during which vitamin D accumulates through the skin.

- medical preparations

If the diet does not cope with the task, then you will have to connect a more effective method - medications, the reception of which is better to coordinate with the doctor leading the pregnancy.

There are a number of drugs that are designed to help women cope with certain problems during pregnancy without harming them. intrauterine development fetus:

Calcium preparations (calcium glucanate, Calcium D3). Just calcium glucanate is a kind of pharmaceutical variety of chalk, which is suitable for ingestion (not 100% chalk, but the composition is much safer than crayons), but in order to satisfy the desire to “nibble on chalk”, it’s just right. However, you should not lean on this drug, because. excessive passion for it can cause constipation, lead to liming of the mucous epithelium of connective tissues, and even provoke the development of diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart attack or pancreatitis.
Iron preparations (Gino-Tardiferon, Totem).
Vitamins (group B, folic and ascorbic acids).
Vitamin-mineral complexes for pregnant women (Vitrum, Prenatal). Their concentration is within daily allowance so check the dosage with your doctor.

Be healthy!

Especially for- Elena Kichak