Causes of Sapophagia
There are several reasons why people feel strange urges to consume soap. The causes include:
- It can be caused by nutritional deficiencies: When there is insufficient iron or zinc in the diet, it can induce the urge to eat soap.
- Sapophagia can be caused by pregnancy: The body experiences several alterations in the nutritional needs during pregnancy, and this can cause you to crave soaps.
- Sapophagia can be caused by illnesses that occur in old people such as Alzheimer’s [6] and dementia: These conditions can lead to the desire to eat soap. A study was done in 2019 and it was discovered that consumption of soap may be a symptom of dementia or Alzheimer’s.
In some cases, the urge to consume soap could be a learned behavior. They basically acquired these behaviors from family or cultural settings.