Using Clay

Certain types of clay have been used for centuries to aid in the process of detoxification, as well as a treatment for digestive issues (heartburn, stomachache, gastritis, bloating, diarrhea), gingivitis, mouth ulcers, bad breath, colds, hepatic dysfunction, and intoxication, to name just a few!  Clay can treat a variety of conditions because of its biological and chemical makeup, which allows it to absorb huge amounts of toxins into even a very small amount, much like a sponge.  An article such as this one explains in scientific detail how exactly clay works.

Externally, clay is often used to draw impurities from the skin, particularly the face.  For example, for someone suffering from extremely oily skin, an application of a mask containing french green clay or kaolin clay will soak up excess oil and calm redness from breakouts.  Additionally, clay applications will draw the toxic inflammation from bug bites and also rashes such as poison oak, clearing up lesions in surprisingly quick amounts of time.  Try it the next time you have a spider bite or poison oak; bentonite clay works very well for these issues.  Clay baths are also very popular for these maladies, some claiming to draw toxins and impurities out of pores of the skin.  This may sound like a tough claim to believe, but clay baths (also called mud baths) have been used for thousands of years in many different countries.

Clay is also used internally and makes for a surprisingly gentle way to clear many types of toxins from the body, including heavy metals, and it also can be used to treat several types of maladies such as stomachache, heartburn, bad breath, colitis, flu or cold, and even food poisoning.  To begin a clay detox, experts usually suggest introducing clay into the body slowly.  This can be achieved by drinking a solution of clay mixed into water, once or twice a day for several days.  This may sound, well, disgusting, but clay actually has a very mild taste, if any at all.  After drinking clay water for several days, other forms and different types of it can be introduced into the body.

In our society, a clay detox may sound strange or dangerous, but before dismissing it, it is important to understand that clay is a substance that has been used for this purpose for a very, very long time.  There are benefits as well as contraindications, and it is important to research these before attempting a clay cleanse.