Dear Mrs. D.?

My Q - is:

Is Bentonite clay dangerous to take internally or to use in a bath to detoxify people with neurodegenerative disease - on meds?
I will soon going to the neurologist so he being from India -has often
alternative health suggestins...

http://ezinearticles.com/?Bentonite-...tion&id=344644
Do you know that clay can be used in eliminating the toxins and other harmful chemicals which have been gradually deposited in our colons over the years? Finding it impossible to believe? Ingesting natural clay has been proven to be very effective in promoting internal cleansing. In fact, it has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties by over 200 indigenous cultures all over the world, most notably in South America, Africa and Australia.

Natural clay used by modern day practitioners of alternative medicine is more commonly known commercially as "bentonite clay", "montmorillonite" or "Pascallite". Technically, the clay is formed from the weathering of volcanic ash in the presence of water.

There are two available types of natural clay - sodium bentonite (swelling type) and calcium bentonite (non-swelling type). Sodium bentonite is primarily used for industrial purposes (examples are in the drilling mud for oil exploration, in closing up and sealing subsurface disposal systems for used nuclear fuel and other hazardous chemicals, etc.). The richest sources of sodium bentonite can be found mainly between South Dakota and Montana, in the Southwestern parts of the Unites States and in Greece.

Calcium bentonite is the form used in alternative medicine and is mainly used for detoxification purposes. The biggest deposits of this mineral are located in the Great Plains, the Central Mountains and the Southeastern portions of the United States. Another vast resource can be found in Chongzuo, Guangzi Province in China.

Bentonite as part of the detoxification diet

Modern practitioners of alternative medicine came to appreciate the importance of bentonite as part of the detoxification process. Bentonite is commercially available in three forms - as a gelatinous preparation, as powder or in encapsulated form.

I have no personal experience with the using the clays internally.

I do recall a warning that came out on green clay, not too long ago, but I cannot find it now on Google.

There was a poster on OBT who knew a person who gave green clay to her
child with Tourette's and it supposedly detoxed the child. But I really cannot endorse it myself.

The only internal clay product that we had here was taken off the market.
Kaolin-pectin and Diasorb were taken off until they filed a new drug application for efficacy and safety, and the companies declined to do so. Prior to that Kaolin was grandfathered into FDA stats and rules.(like Robitussin was) So Kaopectate today is different inside...it is now the same as Pepto Bismol.

Clays contain minerals, and it is conceivable that they can be contaminated with lead or arsenic like natural dolomite can. They are also very adsorbant and will bind drugs and prevent their absorption. So if anyone on medications uses clay, they may lose effectiveness. So the two issues: Safety and Effectiveness are basically unproven at this time.

I haven't used clay to detox, but found it great for burns I got not long ago. (Topical application)

They mine it just 5 miles from my house. Not sure which kind of bentonite clay it is, but you can check out their website at RedmondClay dot com. It has a FAQ section you might find helpful.

BTW, if you've ever been to a restaurant and used "dirty" salt labeled "RealSalt," that is also mined by the same company not far from here. Using it might be a good alternative for consuming those beneficial trace minerals.