Hamster eating bathing sand.

[likalake]

I know this question has been asked before but the responses still have me wondering. My dwarf hamster is almost 2 years old and he has started eating his sand. He never used to do this, but lately I noticed that he was licking up the sand that fell out of his bath bowl and onto a wooden platform in his cage, and now it appears that he is licking the sand directly from the bowl, I'm not sure if he's just smelling it and accidentally eating some or if he's purposefully eating it, but I've also noticed a bit of sand in his droppings. I've taken the sand out for now, it's the same brand I've used since I first got him so I'm really confused and concerned. Does anyone know why he might be doing this and what I can do about it?