Bentonite clay may benefit your pets as well. It is safe for pet consumption within your own home and can alleviate pet’s nausea and vomiting in the same way. You can add bentonite clay to your pet’s water to help reduce symptoms like vomiting. Mix one-fourth cup or less of the clay into their water until it dissolves; they should not taste anything or even notice that it’s there, but should feel better pretty quickly. (10)
3. May Promote Weight Loss
As part of a healthy diet containing plenty of alkaline foods, natural detox drinks and probiotics/prebiotics, bentonite clay was found to contribute to weight loss in healthy men over a 21-day period. The participants, overall, also saw improvement in total cholesterol. (11)
Because of the uncontrolled nature of this study, it is not possible to determine how influential bentonite clay, as a single element, was on the observed weight loss, so these results should be approached with caution. To date, no controlled, human studies exist to reflect this benefit.
However, a 2016 trial in rats tested the impact of bentonite clay on weight loss and found that the supplement was correlated with weight loss as well as decreased cholesterol. (12)
4. Helps with Thyroid Function
In rats and mice, bentonite clay helps to absorb certain thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), resulting in the alleviation of hyperthyroidism. (13) This result suggests bentonite might potentially help people keep thyroid levels down, although the test has not been duplicated in humans as of yet.
5. Stops Growth of Two Cancer Cell Lines in a Lab
A lab study conducted in 2016 discovered that bentonite clay stopped the growth of cancer cell line U251, a human cancer cell found in a central nervous cancer called glioblastoma. However, another cell line was grown larger when exposed to the substance. The researchers explained that the cell formations and swelling of bentonite clay is the reason for this, and that it could potentially be effective against specific types of cancers (like glioblastomas), but not others. (14)
Another lab experiment observed bentonite clay caused cell death of Caco-2 cells, a colorectal cancer line. In this study, the clay exhibited a large amount of oxidative stress upon just the cancer cells without damaging the DNA. (15)
6. Boosts Immunity by Killing Harmful Bacteria and Viruses
Bentonite clay was also found to be effective at killing harmful bacteria. In a study published by the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, “results indicate that specific mineral products have intrinsic, heat-stable antibacterial properties, which could provide an inexpensive treatment against numerous human bacterial infections.” (1)
More research is still needed on the topic, but results of studies so far appear to be promising in terms of how the clay can be used as a treatment for these gut-related illnesses. On top of killing these types of infections and viruses, bentonite clay benefits your immune system by keeping the gut wall strong. (8,9)
Much of the immune system actually lives inside of the gut microbiome, and when the gut wall is compromised, toxins are better able to leach into the bloodstream and cause serious problems. By protecting the gut wall and decreasing the amount of pesticides, toxins, bacteria and chemicals that could potentially enter the blood, the body is better able to protect itself.