Health Effects of Bentonite Clay

Bentonite clay has been used for healing purposes since before recorded history. It is made from a mixture of volcanic ash and sea mud. It draws toxic material out of the body if taken internally, and it reduces pain and infection in open wounds. Clay molecules carry negative ions in its minerals, which attract positive ions located in impurities found in the intestinal tract. In a process called adsorption, the clay draws the impurities to itself like a magnet and holds on to them until the body can eliminate both.

What Bentonite Does

• Bentonite stimulates unhealthy organs and body tissues, helping these tissues regain function. There are highly active ingredients in bentonite clay which restore cells and hasten healing and normal body function. Bentonite acts like a magnet, pulling itself toward and attracting toxins in the intestinal tract when it is consumed. It has been used to help with food allergies, intestinal mucous issues, colitis and intestinal viruses and can inhibit parasite reproduction. Clay has been used to draw out poisons from insect and animal bites and to draw infection out of open wounds. It has even been used to draw out toxins from radiation treatments. According to the Journal of Physical Chemistry, 16 studies have shown the electromagnetic or electrochemical properties of bentonite clay and its ability to bind with electricity found in cells. The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University found that "healing clay" was effective against MRSA infections. The Mayo Clinic defines MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, as "a strain of staph that's resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it." MRSA is potentially fatal.

What Bentonite Is

• Bentonite clay has the scientific name of sodium montmorillonite. Bentonite is industrial clay. It is most commonly found in plaster, drilling mud for oil wells, cat litter, paint, "glossy" paper, shoe polish, concrete and cement and crayons. Bentonite is rich in sodium, calcium, iron, magnesium and many trace minerals.

The Clay Cure

• In "The Clay Cure: Natural Healing From The Earth," author Ran Knishinsky offers a lot of information on bentonite and other forms of healing clay. Knishinsky discusses how to choose the right kind of clay, the science involved and the many uses for this dietary supplement. The book describes when and how to take clay as a powder, a liquid gel or in capsules. Knishinsky details health benefits of bentonite, such as treating digestive ailments, benefiting circulation, helping with menstrual problems and aiding the liver and prostate.