Some women crave pickles when pregnant, but that's when Jade Sylvester developed a taste for toilet paper.
The 25-year-old mother from Gainsborough, UK, has five children, but developed the bizarre craving while carrying her youngest child, 15-month-old Jaxon.
“Two months into the pregnancy, I started craving toilet roll. I still don’t know why," she said, according to the Lincolnshire Echo. "I like the feeling of the texture in my mouth, rather than the taste. I like the dryness. My family tell me it isn’t very good for me - but I can’t help it.”
It might seem hard to swallow, but Sylvester said she cannot tear herself away from the TP treat, but waits until she needs to answer nature's call before giving into her crappy cravings.
"Today I try and hold off going to the bathroom because I know if I go I will eat the paper," she said, according to the Mirror. "I usually eat around eight pieces per visit -- sometimes I go to the bathroom just to get some toilet roll. It does fill me up quite a bit. At first I used to eat a couple of squares at a time, but I keep eating more and more."
Sylvester estimates she eats up to a roll of toilet paper each day, and worries she may have a problem.
"I can’t quit. I keep coming back for more," she said, according to the Metro. "It can’t be doing my insides any good, but it hasn’t caused me any health problems or any illness."
Sylvester suspects she may have Pica, a condition that involves cravings for nonfood items such as cornstarch, clay, baking powder, dirt or ice, and is common during pregnancy.
Why some women develop Pica cravings during pregnancy is unknown, but some studies suggest a connection to an iron deficiency, according to the Journal of American Dietetic Association.
However, the American Pregnancy Association warns that eating non-food substances may interfere with the nutrients from healthy food being absorbed, causing a deficiency, the Daily Mail reports.
Sylvester said her taste for toilet paper is a sticking point with her kids.
"I try to hide it from my kids, if they spot me eating toilet roll they tell me off," she said, according to the Express. "If my daughter sees me she says, 'Spit it out Mummy, spit it down the toilet.'"
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