Eat clay? Really? Yes, really. But not just any clay. This is not a recommendation to go digging in the yard to make “mud soup” for lunch. Instead, it’s about a natural clay called “bentonite”. It is being increasingly used by alternative medicine practitioners for effective internal cleansing and detoxification.
The consumption of clay for digestive health, toxin removal and antibacterial properties is nothing new. In fact, it has been practiced by indigenous tribes for centuries. Even animals are instinctively drawn to the clay, observed licking it as part of their daily diets.
What is Bentonite Clay?
Bentonite is a commercial name for the active mineral “montmorillonite”. Though the medicinal clay was first identified in Montmorillon, France, the largest concentrations of Bentonite are located in North America, in the Great Plains area. The name “bentonite” refers to Fort Benton, Wyoming where it was discovered in the cretaceous rocks.
It is a clay composed of tiny platelets that have both negative and positive electrical charges. When exposed to liquid, the platelets swell and open like tiny sponges. The opened spaces draw toxins into them with the electrical attraction and binds them.
Health Benefits of Bentonite Colon Cleansing
Taken internally, bentonite clay is inert, meaning it is not digestible but rather passes through the body, carrying the toxins bound within it. According to the Canadian Journal of Microbiology, bentonite has the ability to absorb pathogenic viruses along with pesticides and herbicides. It also absorbs heavy metals and other impurities.
As an internal cleanser, bentonite clay also dislodges old waste material in the colon. This enables the body to better digest foods to absorb and utilize the nutrients. This results in improved complexion, increased energy and vitality, and fewer problems with gas and acidity problems.
Detoxification boosts the immune system. Much of the body’s immune system is directed towards the intestines to fight the continuous bombardment of toxins and disease organisms. Old waste that accumulates results in food literally composting in the intestines requiring significantly increased energy from the immune system. Periodically cleansing the body of the old, built-up waste lessens the energy and immune resources required.
Promising Benefits of Bentonite Clay
Arizona State researchers, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, have tested different clays from around the world to study their antibacterial activity. They have discovered clays from Nevada, Oregon and France that have the ability to kill methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. This is a staph infection that is antibiotic resistant and potentially fatal. It is becoming more common and of concern to health care providers. Bentonite clay may prove to be an effective treatment if the findings are effective in human tests.
Clay has also been shown to be effective in killing E. coli cells that cause food poisoning. It has also been demonstrated to destroy pseudomonas aeruginosa cells that causes gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections.
Eating this special “dirt” can be very beneficial to your health. Used periodically, it maintains digestive health, maximizes nutrient absorption, detoxifies and may even protect from dangerous bacteria and pathogenic viruses.