Bentonite Treatment

In the alternative health and healing community, people use bentonite clay as an external mud pack or poultice, while others consume small amounts of the clay mixed with water for the purpose of internal cleansing. Bentonite is a key constituent of commercial bulk laxatives, although its use as an internal cleansing agent is not part of mainstream medical practice, as of 2010. Consult your doctor before beginning bentonite treatment to confirm that you do not have any underlying medical conditions that might lead to complications. Bentonite treatment is not a replacement for conventional medical therapies.

Bentonite Clay Features

Bentonite clay formed in large deposits between 74.5 and 70 million years ago, when volcanic ash fell into an ancient North American sea. The pressure of geological processes turned the ash into present-day clay. The unique characteristic of bentonite is its ability to swell to several times its original volume in water, according to the Canadian Clay Products website. In water it exhibits an ion exchange process, developing a negative charge on its surface, but a positive charge on its edges. As a thickening agent, bentonite is thixotropic --- meaning it is thick like a solid, but flows like a liquid when you shake it. If you've been to a spa where they gave you a mask of volcanic clay, you've already got experience with bentonite's ability to absorb the oils and impurities that can block your pores and lead to breakouts.

Claims

According to current alternative health theories about bentonite clay, its absorbent and ion exchange properties make it especially good at drawing toxins, including heavy metals, out of body tissues. As the clay leaves your body, it takes any substances it has absorbed with it, according to botanical.com.

Industrial Uses

Wine makers use bentonite as a filtering and binding agent that helps to clarify and stabilize wine, according to the Food Resource of Oregon State University online. Landfills and nuclear waste disposal containers use bentonite clay as part of a protective barrier around waste material. Bentonite seals and protects freshwater bodies. You might use bentonite clay to help keep water in your backyard ornamental pond. If you get your tap water from an urban water supply, as opposed to a well, you are probably consuming water filtered by bentonite clay. Wastewater treatment facilities use bentonite to remove suspended matter and dissolved metals as a part of wastewater treatment, according to the website of the European Bentonite Producers Association.

Traditional Uses

Bentonite's use as a healing treatment has a long history among indigenous peoples of Africa, the Andes Mountains and Australia, according to Larry Cook, publisher of "Natural Life News & Directory." People typically take bentonite clay as a suspension in water. Take full advantage of the benefits of bentonite by following a bentonite clay "shake" with a high fiber psyllium husk drink to help pull more toxins out of your intestinal tract and enhance the regrowth of good bacteria in your intestines.

Safety

Bentonite clay is generally recognized as safe for human consumption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but only as a filtration agent or as an ingredient of paper food packaging products. Animal studies show that even when bentonite clay constitutes 3 percent of the diet, it has no adverse effects. Use caution when taking more than the small doses recommended by alternative healing experts like Larry Cook. At high dosages --- 10 to 25 percent of the diet --- bentonite clay can interfere with the absorption of vitamin A in the intestines. Extremely large doses can result in bowel obstruction, and clay can cause damage to mucosal tissues under some circumstances. See your doctor before consuming bentonite clay internally.