People may also crave dirt because it provides nutrients they lack such as iron, zinc, or calcium, the research found.
Dr Sera Young, who led the study, said the first written account of human geophagy comes from Hippocrates more than 2,000 years ago.
The researchers said: "We hope this paper stimulates more research.
"More importantly, we hope readers agree it is time to stop regarding geophagy as a bizarre, non-adaptive gustatory mistake.
"With these data, it is clear that geophagy is a widespread behaviour in humans that occurs during both vulnerable life stages and when facing ecological conditions that require protection. "
"We found that it was pregnant women and young children who are eating clay, those who are the most vulnerable to infectious diseases," Young said. "It was occurring where the pathogen density was higher, in warm, moist climates."
In studies on rabbits and rats, researchers found that clay in the intestines can act as a barrier, stopping the entrance of viruses and bacteria. It has also been shown that it can help increase nutrient absorption, which is important during early pregnancy and the childhood years for growth.
That isn't actually a new idea: Clay has been used as a stomach soother, including in the antidiarrheal medicine Kaopectate, whose name comes from the clay kaolinite. The drug's manufacturers stopped using the clay in the medicine because of contamination issues with lead.
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