Basic Difference Between Clay and Chemical Antiseptic Actions: Any Chemical Product Is

Clay Basics

People worldwide have become familiar with how certain foods and herbs can help strengthen and heal the body. Just look at the number of health food stores cropping up everywhere, their shelves laden with a myriad of herbal supplements. The "natural" health industry has exploded over the last few years. And yet, one thing has been forgotten, pushed into the background by pharmaceutical companies—one amazing, simple item capable of purifying the blood, reducing and removing infection, healing ulcers, and ridding the body of allergies, (just to name a few). What is it? Clay. That's right. Dirt. Soil. Earth. How much more natural can you get?

Granted, I may not be inclined to walk out into my back yard with a spade and dig up a scoop of that dirt, although, some say any dirt is good dirt. No, the kind of earth I'm talking about is clay dirt, clean enough for not only external use, but ingestion as well. What most people today don't realize is that clay, receiving its vital energy from the sun, air, and water, has healing powers that we have only begun to understand.

Clay contains a slew of minerals including calcium, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. Additionally, zinc, copper, selenium, and aluminum can be found in clay. Already, you're beginning to think a little more positively about eating dirt, right? But let's learn a little more about it anyway. There are different types of clay used for different types of ailments. The clays come in green, red, white, pink, and yellow. The variety of colors is due to the variation in mineral compounds. Green clay owes its coloration to iron oxides. The Illite group of clays contains a particular species of green clay called glauconite. Generally used for cosmetic purposes, it makes a wonderful mask to draw impurities out of the skin. Red clay is often used in a bath or as a mask for the body as it disinfects, heals, soothes, and smoothes dry skin. The Kaolin group of clays is often used as a bulking agent and an antidiarrheal. As a matter of fact, Kaolin is the mineral clay used in the over-the-counter antidiarrheal, Kaopectate. From the Smectite group of clays comes montmorillonite clay. It is the most preferred species of edible clays as it absorbs and adsorbs more toxins from the body than any of the others. Bentonite is another type of clay from the Smectite group. The name "bentonite" is not its mineral name, but rather a trade name for a commercial type of industrial clay; however, it has become well known by this name. Sometimes containing a high concentration of montmorillonite, the two clays are often considered interchangeable in the stores. It's a good idea, though, to check the label for the percentage of montmorillonite contained within.

Using clay, whether externally or internally, can only help the body help itself. Externally, it reduces swellings, inflammation, drains infections, cleanses and protects the skin. It is used in facials, masks, poultices, body wraps, and baths. Internally, clay cleanses and purifies, detoxifies, and balances the pH and the intestinal flora. It is not absorbed by the body, but works with the body to remove toxins, rebuild tissues, and rejuvenate tired or damaged organs.

I Have Clay…Now What Do I Do With It?

Choose the Right Clay -- Clay is a "living" cure. It helps prevent the spread of germs and parasites in the body. It aids in rebuilding and replenishing healthy tissues and cells within the body. Used internally, clay knows to find the unhealthy spot, drawing forth toxins as it repairs, revitalizes, and strengthensthat which was damaged. In choosing clay, it is important to find the one most suitable for the ailment.

Preparethe Clay for Use -- For external use, clay should be prepared in a large, deep bowl made of enamel, pottery, porcelain, wood, or glass, but never plastic or metal. It is acceptable, however, to store dry clay in a plastic container. To prepare for use, first, place dry clay in the bowl, then add clean water until it covers the clay by half an inch or so. Don't touch the clay right away. When it is stirred, it becomes sticky and difficult to handle. Additionally, it loses porosity, becomes smooth, and consequently, impermeable. Letting the clay set for a few hours, it's a good idea to place the container in the sunshine, as it draws its healing energy from the sun and fresh air. You may cover the container with gauze to avoid impurities. The clay should be a paste of uniform consistency when ready to apply.

Temperature of the Clay -- Clay may be used cold, lukewarm, or hot, depending on the problem. If the clay is to treat a feverish or overactive area such as the lower abdomen, it should be used cold. If the clay begins to feel hot to the skin, remove the old poultice and replace with a new, cold one. If the clay pack is being used to strengthen or revitalize the body, apply a warm poultice. Feel free to remove it as it cools and replace with another warm one. When heating the clay, make sure not to bring it in direct contact with the heat source. A double-boiler works well and still preserves the clay's properties. It is possible to sufficiently heat the clay for certain applications by placing the clay paste in the sunshine. If enough clay has been prepared for several poultices, do not heat it all at once, as clay loses its properties if warmed twice.

Compresses & Poultices -- Compresses can be used for many affected areas, but are especially effective for boils, varicose ulcers, and other ailments close to the skin surface. To make a compress, prepare the clay thinner than a paste by adding more water. Stir it well, then dip the cloth into the mixture and wring it out slightly. The clay should adhere immediately to the cloth. Using firm pressure, apply the compress to the affected area and leave it until the clay dries completely. For a poultice, use a cloth folded in two or four parts, slightly larger than the part of the body you wish to treat. With a palette knife or large spoon (neither metal nor plastic materials), spread an even layer of clay onto the cloth, from ¼- to 1-inch thick. Press the cloth to the affected body area, so that the clay adheres to the skin. It appears that clay has a mind of its own--it knows when it has been effective enough on the affected area, and drops away from the skin when its work is done. If some clay particles remain on the skin, gently wash away with warm soapy water. If applying a poultice to a particularly hairy part of the body, you may wish to apply a thin piece of gauze or other light cloth between the poultice and the skin.

Application of Clay -- There are many variables as to how often and how long clay should be applied to the body. It differs with the area of the body to be treated, the extent of the ailment, and the patient's reactions to the clay. Applications can last from 30 minutes to an entire night. Generally, for deep organ treatments (liver, kidneys, stomach, etc.), leaving the poultice on for a minimum of two hours once or twice a day should be sufficient. Make certain that you wait three or four hours before or after a meal before application, however, so as not to disrupt digestion. If the goal is to revitalize or strengthen an organ or to rebuild decalcified tissue in bones, the poultice may be left on overnight, but remove it if it becomes too cold. If treating an abscess or other type of purulent ulcer, the poultice should be changed every hour.

Clay succeeds by performing a powerful drawing action. It attracts toxins. Because of this action, the possibility of the ailment temporarily flaring up is likely, as all the toxins will be drawn toward the area being treated. It is nothing to be concerned about—it is simply the act of cleansing.

Reactions to Clay -- No matter what type of treatment you embark upon for whatever ailment you may be stricken with, being completely informed before you begin the treatment is imperative. In this way, when certain actions occur, you will know whether or not this is for the good. With every remedy, natural or synthetic, there is the possibility of negative or disagreeable reactions. As the first action of clay is to draw abnormal particles and toxins toward the treated area, you may find the situation to be temporarily worsened. When treating a varicose ulcer, for example, the ulcer may at first swell, then shed the dead skin. The surface may inflate, rather like a blister, and blood or pus may appear. Pain may also be increased temporarily, but will decrease and disappear as the ulcer closes and the tissues begin to rebuild. This is all natural, as the clay is ridding the body of the toxins and other impurities, and repairing the damage. Because the actions of clay are so strong, it is not advisable to apply two poultices at the same time on different areas of the body. It is advisable to wait at least one hour between treatments.

The Mysteries of Clay

The use of clay for medicinal purposes is thousands of years old. Egyptians used it for the mummification of their dead, because they were aware of its power to purify the blood. All over the world, the praises of clay have been sung. Mahatma Gandhi suggested the use of clay for healing, and in the Sudan, South America, Mexico, and Australia, clay was often formed into dry balls to be carried on journeys for sustenance and healing.

The valley near the top of the BigHornMountainswas for some time heavily populated by a variety of Indian tribes including Arapaho, Shoshone, Crow,and Sioux. In this area, many veins of clay were found. Native Americans early on realized the usefulness of clays for healing and called this clay "Ee-Wah-Kee" which means "Mud-That-Heals".

These tribes used clay for many purposes in addition to its healing properties. Ceremonial dancers often had their whole bodies painted with clay, and warriorsused it to paintmasks on their faces. Tired, bedraggled warriors just back from war or hunters worn out from the hunt were often cooled and revitalized by clay packs. Ceremonies among Native Americans almost always included clay in some form or another, as it was a sacred belief that man, mother earth, and all of nature were as one.

Before the birth of an infant, tribesmen were known to go through a purification process involving clay. They believed that clays could predetermine if the child would be male. Once the child was born, clay packs and poultices were applied to the infant for protection against evil spirits.

If one of the young tribal women was raped by an outsider, particular foods and clay that had been blessed by the tribe's spiritual father would be brought to her daily. These were for purification and to heal her spirit and restore her virginity.

Clays were traditionally used by men, including medicine men, in heat (or sweat) lodges for spiritual purification. These sweats lasted for a few hours or a few days. At certain times during the year, the Indians visited warm clay pools to completely submerge their bodies in the clay. This was a ceremony which served to cleanse and heal their bodies. This was the time, also, that they gathered enough of the edible clays to take back to their village.

In the AndesMountains, in Central Africa, and in Australia,natives to these areas always carried with them balls of clay. These were used for healing, purification, and sustenance when food supplies were short. Some of the clay was dissolved in water into which small bites of food were dipped. This was used to prevent stomach upset, infections caused from food, and dysentery. As word spread that healing could come from the use of clay, within some tribes it became used for bartering purposes. It has also been proven that the Incas, after their empire was ravaged during war, survived on supplies of clay hidden deep in the mountains where they escaped. The clay became more valuable than the treasures of the empire.

Cleopatra used clay from the Nile River over 1,800 years ago as part of her beauty regimen, and Roman spas have been using clay packs and treatments for 4,000 years.

Personal Experience

I'm sure there are many 'testimonials' to the powers of clay. I believe them. I can honestly tell you my own story:

Over a recent weekend, I developed a rash that started small, just over one wrist, but quickly spread to the whole of both arms. It itched so badly and I scratched so furiously that I drew blood and caused sores. I tried several remedies. First, I tried emu oil. While it made my skin very soft, it didn't get rid of the rash. A day or so later, I used an over-the-counter triple-antibiotic ointment, greasing my arms thoroughly and covering with long sleeves. I did this for two days. There was no change whatsoever. By this time, I was very nearly in tears with frustration and irritation. I tried a topical ointment designed for diaper and heat rash. At first, I thought I noticed some relief from the itching, but overall, the rash was still there, as was the itching. Finally, I was introduced to red clay. Never having used it before, I didn't know whether or not to believe in it, but I have an open mind and at that point, was willing to do anything short of cutting off my own arms! I made a fairly thick paste with the dry clay and a little water, and spread it liberally over both arms. While watching television, I let the paste dry for about 30 minutes or so and then rinsed it off with lukewarm water. My skin was very soft, but more importantly, the itching was greatly reduced. I think I half-expected all the bumps to be gone as well, but they weren't. However, the next day, there were fewer of them and they weren't as raised as the day before. I was pretty excited about even a slight improvement, and that night, I applied another paste over both arms. The next day, I felt no inclination to scratch, and the rash bumps were almost completely gone. It's been a couple of weeks now since I used clay, and I haven't had a recurrence of the rash.

Because the clay worked so well on my rash, I decided to try it on my son. He plays soccer, but after a season off, wasn't as physically prepared as he thought. Second day of try-outs, he badly strained the thigh muscles in both legs. He could barely walk. I had him soak in a hot tub the first night, then apply ice packs, but the next day, he was in as much pain as before, so I made clay compresses for his thighs. He argued against it, thinking I'd gone over the edge. What could dirt do to stop the pain in his legs?! I won the argument anyway, and placed the compresses on his thighs for about half an hour or so. He said he felt a slight pulling sensation, especially in his right thigh. The next morning, he was surprised to find that the right thigh had almost no pain at all. The left still hurt, though, so that evening, I placed another compress on his left thigh, again for about 30 minutes. The next morning, amazingly, he was pain free in both thighs. I'm hoping after experiencing the "miracles" of clay, he's learned to be more open-minded about alternative treatments.

Personally, after this experience, I'm ready to move forward with clay and try it for different things. Perhaps a facial? A whole bath? Or better yet, an internal cleansing the likes of which my body has never seen!

Geophagy Studies – Humans & Other Animals

Do you remember making mud-pies as a child? As babies, our mothers warned us against eating dirt, but somehow, perhaps our young bodies were telling us that we needed something contained within the dirt. As adults, some of us realize the importance of eating dirt and clay, and we call itgeophagy. The intentional consumption of earth has been recorded from human societies all over the world, and especially among pregnant women. Geophagy has also been documented in many species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and others, especially herbivores. The work of James Gilardi shows that the wide distribution among animal herbivores suggests an important means of detoxification by adsorption of ingested soil minerals.

Three separate groups of scientists, including Gilardi, have conducted studies and field observations of parrots and other birds in the wild, and have confirmed that parrots eat dirt to rid themselves of toxins. Parrots regularly eat seeds and unripe fruits that, due to their content of alkaloids and other toxins, make them bitter and sometimes lethal to humans and other animals. One study done on Peruvian parrots shows their behavior to mimic human tourists in that any well-informed tourist traveling to an area with less-than-sanitary conditions will be armed with medicines such as kaopectate, (high in clay minerals), to absorb the toxins.The parrots' preferred soils were found to be rich in the minerals smectite, kaolin (the mineral in kaopectate), and mica. The preferred soils, in their capacity to bind quinine and tannic acid, exceed the pure mineral kaolinate and come real close to pure bentonite. Apparently, then, one major function of geophagy for livestock, wild ungulates, rabbits, butterflies, and pregnant women, is to provide essential minerals. Ghanaian markets sell particular soils to pregnant African women that are richer in iron and copper than the dietary supplement pills made by pharmaceutical companies specifically for prenatal use. And worldwide, peasant farmers and hunter-gatherers are known to mix bitter but nutritious plant foods such as wild potatoes and acorns with selected soils before consumption.