While in its natural state, bentonite clay has negatively charged molecules. Most toxins and heavy metals have positively charged molecules. This allows the two to bind together easily and stay united while the toxin removal process happens.
Bentonite clay essentially “seeks” toxins in the body to bind with because naturally any substance that has a missing ion (which gives it its “charge”) looks for oppositely charged types of substances that will make it complete. Upon binding, the clay is then able to help remove toxins, chemicals, impurities and “heavy metals” from the gut, skin and mouth.
If you ever use chia seeds in baking and combine them with any milk or water, you have likely experienced their ability to swell and soak up the fluid that is around them, creating a gel-like consistency. Bentonite clay has a similar ability: It absorbs the liquids that is comes into contact with and expands to extract toxins from the liquid.
1. Used on the Skin to Help Heal Poison Ivy, Dermatitis and Wounds
When combined with water and left to dry on the skin as a clay mask, the clay is able to bind to bacteria and toxins living on the surface of the skin and within pores to extract these from the pores. This helps to reduce the outbreak of blemishes, alleviate redness, and also to fight allergic reactions from irritating lotions or face washes, and even helps heal poison ivy. (2)
Thanks to the clay’s special ability to act as an antibiotic treatment when applied topically to the skin, the clay can help to calm skin infections, like contact dermatitis, and speed up healing time of wounds, even when prescription antibiotics were not able to help solve the problem. (1, 3)
Topical application of bentonite clay has even been shown to heal Buruli ulcer, which is a “flesh-eating” infection resulting from Mycobacterium ulcerans bacteria generally seen in third-world countries. (4)
Some people have reported using bentonite clay as a soaking liquid to remove toxins on the skin.
2. Supports Healthy Digestion
By removing toxins, digestive-distress causing chemicals and heavy metals from the gut, bentonite clay helps to promote digestion. Research has also shown that, in animals, bentonite clay can bind to particular toxins like “aflatoxins” that are common in the standard diet, found usually on improperly stored food products. (5, 6) When left unattended, an influx of aflatoxins can contribute to liver damage and potentially even the onset of certain cancers.
In a study using cows, scientists found that bentonite clay molecules bound to bovine rotavirus and bovine coronavirus, two major viruses that contribute to gastroenteritis (referred to as stomach flu in people). (7) Variations of both of these viruses can also be present in human beings.
Thanks to its ability to neutralize bacteria in the gut and kill viruses, bentonite clay helps to alleviate many digestive problems. Some people use bentonite clay as relief for nausea and vomiting by pregnant women, as a safe way to remedy constipation, and to help with IBS.
It’s possible that the reason people find relief in these situations has to do with the way bentonite protects the lining of your intestines from letting toxins through, which would otherwise contribute to leaky gut. (8, 9) So far, this effect has only been observed in animals, but may also apply in human subjects.
10 Bentonite Clay Benefits and Uses