Some women develop weird food cravings during pregnancy. While most simply salivate over strange combinations like pickles and ice cream or an overload of sweets like chocolate, one mother of five from the UK had a really baffling indulgence in her second month of pregnancy with her youngest son: toilet paper.
Jade Sylvester is a 25-year-old mother from Gainsborough who developed her strange craving for toilet paper during pregnancy and, 15 months after giving birth to her son Jaxon, she still admits to munching on at least one roll of toilet paper daily.
She has said in interviews that she has no idea why she suddenly looked at the roll of toilet paper and wanted to eat it. She just can't stop herself anymore.
"I like the feeling of the texture in my mouth, rather than the taste. I like the dryness," she said.
Sylvester explained that she eats up to eight squares or more whenever she goes to the bathroom. Knowing that it could potentially be a harmful addiction, she even tries to hold off on going to the toilet when nature calls because she knows she might not be able to stop herself from eating a few squares while she is there.
Despite this, she also sometimes can't help but go to the bathroom even when she doesn't need to use the toilet -- just so she can satisfy her craving.
It is speculated that Sylvester suffers from pica, an eating disorder that makes people crave substances with no nutritional value, such as paint chips, clay, and yes, toilet paper. Although it is not certain what causes Pica, the Journal of American Dietetic Association has published some studies that "suggest a connection to an iron deficiency."
As bizarre as her toilet paper cravings may sound, Sylvester is not the only one to suffer from the strange eating addiction. The television show My Strange Addiction on TLC also featured Kesha, an American woman who also ate toilet paper.
