• Explores the science and long history behind eating clay, citing many clinical studies on the beneficial effects of clay consumption
• Explains how clay can be used for detoxification, protection, and nutritional supplementation
• Details how to select the appropriate type and form of clay, how and when to consume, and how to purchase a high-quality clay product
An exceptional detoxification agent, clay has been ingested as a traditional remedy and nutritional supplement throughout the world for thousands of years. It is still eaten on a daily basis by more than 200 cultures worldwide for better digestion, internal protection, and overall well-being.
In this revised and expanded edition of The Clay Cure, Ran Knishinsky explores the science and history behind eating clay, citing many clinical studies on the beneficial effects of clay consumption and revealing that clay eating is neither a crazy nor an aberrant behavior. He details how clay can be used as a protectant and detoxicant. He explains how clay is naturally absorbent and extremely gentle on the system and reveals how it's safe to use, even during pregnancy. He also explores the newest scientific research around its detoxifying properties, antibacterial and antiviral effects, its potential use in obesity, and its role in the treatment of a handful of gastrointestinal conditions.
The author examines the extraordinarily rich mineral content of clay and its benefits throughout the body. He details how to select the appropriate type and form of clay, when to consume, and how to purchase a high-quality clay product. Revealing how eating clay can truly benefit your health, this practical guide details everything you need to know about healing with Earth's oldest natural remedy. Ran Knishinsky has been eating clay daily for more than 30 years. He has worked in both the naturopathic and allopathic medicine industries, first as the owner of a homeopathic dispensary and later as a consultant and marketing executive in the hospital and pharmaceutical sectors. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University and is the developer of the edible clay supplement Detox Dirt. The author of Prickly Pear Cactus Medicine and The Prozac Alternative, he lives in Arizona. Chapter 2. Everybody Eats Clay
There are many reasons why so many people of different ages, cultures, and races eat clay. Do these earth--eaters know something most people don't?
Yes, they do. Now you will know, too.
I have found eight basic reasons why people eat clay. In fact, humans have been eating dirt for a very long time. There is good evidence to suggest that we were chomping on mud two million years ago.(1)
1. Instinct
2. Medicinal uses
3. Detoxification
4. Mineral deficiency and supplementation
5. Religious rites
6. Famine food
7. Use in pregnancy
8. A food delicacy
Clay eating has nothing to do with climate, geography, culture, race, or creed. It is found in the most "civilized" countries, where people like you or me who live in the Western world consume, and among the most "primitive" tribes in far remote places in the word. The habit does not belong to any particular group, so no one can be clearly branded as clay--eaters and non--clay--eaters. In any one family, some persons will eat clay, and while others will outright refuse. The habit is an individual one.
1. Instinct
Human beings have many inborn behaviors, or instincts. For instance, it is our very character to taste and test anything offered to us by nature; and eating clay, mud, or rocks is no more surprising than eating salt, herbs, chewing gum, tobacco, cows, or snails. These behaviors don't appear to be acquired through experience. Instead, they are most likely "in the genes" and are passed on from one generation to the next.
According to Donald Vermeer, an anthropologist and a pioneer in the study of geophagy, many dirt--eaters in urban settings turn to the cons
