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Lizc68on 3/15/09 10:57 am - Ajax, Canada RNY on 09/19/07 Just checking if anyone knows what I may be lacking.  I have been eating so much tomato's I have cankers in my mouth.  I just can;t get enough.  Yesterday I ate a whole bottle of salsa with a spoon over about 4 hours.   Slices of tomatoes, eating like an apple tomato soup, everything and I don't know why.  I guess at least I am not craving chocolate but chocolate wouldn't give me cankers!!! Thanks to anyone who can help. Liz

Height 5' 9"    

ReplyQuote Jamie D.on 3/15/09 11:04 am - Canada RNY on 12/09/08 I crave things too.  It's weird, but I want to eat mango's and snow peas all the time. Top ReplyQuote HollyJon 3/15/09 12:26 pm - Sudbury, Canada DS on 01/09/09

Here is something I found online.

Tomato Craving Tied To Iron Deficiency

NEW YORK, Jun 30 (Reuters Health) -- Iron-deficiency anemia has long been associated with pica, a phenomenon in which people crave unusual food and nonfood substances such as dirt and clay. Now, an Ohio-based physician has linked the deficiency with a craving for tomatoes.

"The take-home point is that it is not a bad idea to check the hemoglobin (an indicator of iron status) of patients *****port any unusual cravings," Dr. Mark A. Marinella, a physician with Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, told Reuters Health.

Marinella said tomatoes are not presently included in the list of foods that are associated with pica. Pica occurs in up to 60% of patients with iron-deficiency anemia, when it typically manifests as pagophagia -- a craving for ice. The physician dubs this new craving "tomatophagia."

While he could not explain the link between iron-deficiency anemia and tomatoes, he suggests that "there may be something about iron-deficiency anemia that does not relate to the iron deficiency that causes the craving."

In a letter published in the July 1st issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, Marinella describes a 66-year-old woman who consumed 6 to 10 whole tomatoes daily over a 2-month period. The patient also was taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis, drugs associated with risk of stomach ulcers. Tests showed that the woman had irritation of her stomach and esophagus that may have caused her to lose blood, leading to anemia.

The patient was taken off her painkillers, given a blood transfusion and prescribed iron supplements. After several weeks of taking iron, the patient's anemia resolved, and her craving for tomatoes disappeared -- "a result that is diagnostic of pica," he writes in the letter.

Marinella notes that previous reports of cravings for crunchy or salty foods have also been linked to iron-deficiency anemia. "Patients with food pica typically ingest large amounts of crunchy food such as celery, carrots, peanuts, seeds, crackers, and pretzels," he writes.

SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine 1999;341:60-61.

Holly            ***I love my new OH friends!!*** and my angel, Heather M!

     Top ReplyQuote Karen M.on 3/15/09 11:01 pm - Mississauga, Canada RNY on 03/21/06 That is really interesting!  I have very low iron, as does a co-worker.  We both crave tomatoes all the time!  Time to up the iron pills.  lol

 

Karen Ontario Recipes Forum - http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/ontario_recipes/

Top ReplyQuote sam1amon 3/15/09 12:42 pm VSG on 09/08/09 Tomatoes are good for you, just enjoy them! Top ReplyQuote Marleymeluvon 3/15/09 12:53 pm - Hamilton, Canada DS on 02/26/08 I was like that with dill pickles for a long time,ate at least 2 big honkin pickles a day,just figured my body needed salt maybe,or something else.I just know I enjoyed them very much..lol Debbie

:360,

      SW:340, CW:128, RGW:126   Lost 20 Lbs preop          Top ReplyQuote jetta77on 3/15/09 12:54 pm - Canada RNY on 01/06/09 I had the exact same issue after my surgery. We bought tomatos by the bag full, couldn't eat enough of them. Its funny reading about iron in the above post.  During the tomato cravings, I was diagnosed with extremely low iron. Jeanetta   Top ReplyQuote mairiannon 3/15/09 1:31 pm - Brampton.Ontario, Canada, Canada Holly Could be  right. When I was younger I was craving tomatoes, tomato juice.... couldnt get enough of it.  I mean asking my mom for canned stewed tomatoes and bread for breakfast. I was anemic low iron levels.  Set me on a course of shots and a life long hatered of liver! Doctor said it was a pica.... diagnostic symptom of low iron? Mary Ann Top ReplyQuote Sisuon 3/15/09 11:50 pm - Stuttgart, Germany RNY on 09/21/07 I have no advice to give.  Just wanted to say hi. Tonya 1 Healthy Post-Op IVF Baby Boy - arrived Nov 14, 2010 Top ReplyQuote photomomon 3/16/09 12:34 am - Canada RNY on 10/30/08 WOW is that ever interesting. Im eating a lot of tomatoes lately too (not a whole jar of salsa and not getting cankers) but i wonder if its related to my iron too! Thanks for posting that article! Wendy              HW: 264 SW: 243 CW:122 GW:161 Top ReplyQuote

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