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May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
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Jewish World Review
Ask the Harvard Experts: Craving chalk is not a sign of being emotionally disturbed
By
Howard LeWine, M.D.
Nor is eating it a means of getting attention
JewishWorldReview.com |
Q: Why would someone crave and eat chalk? I've been eating large amounts of chalk (sidewalk chalk) since my pregnancy. My baby is now four months old and I'm still craving it.
A: The craving for chalk is most likely related to iron deficiency. The general medical term for craving certain items is "pica." With iron deficiency, you can have cravings other than chalk, including ice, paper, coffee grains and seeds. It's not known why iron deficiency causes pica. But once a person has replenished his or her iron stores, the craving disappears.
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Women, especially pregnant women, commonly have iron deficiency anemia. So this problem is seen most often in women.
The usual treatment for iron deficiency is iron sulfate. But iron can be constipating, so I recommend that people start with 1 tablet per day. Each dose is 325 milligrams. If possible, try to increase it to one tablet twice per day. Three times per day would be ideal.
In addition to constipation, some people find that iron sulfate irritates their stomach -- causing upper abdominal discomfort. If that becomes a problem, you can switch to iron gluconate at the same doses. In general, less iron gets into the body with iron gluconate compared to iron sulfate.
One more thing: You can expect very dark (even black) stools from iron.
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Howard LeWine, MD, is a practicing internist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass., and Chief Medical Editor of Internet Publishing at Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School.
© 2012, PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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