What are the differences between Zeolite, Bentonite, Pascalite, Montmorillonite, Illite, French Green, Ormalite, & Pyrophyllite Clays?

by Michael King

All natural clays have value when promoting human health. Each clay possesses different properties, and will therefore work slightly differently, though most clays possess similar properties. Detoxification, mineral nourishment, and accelerating natural healing processes are common to most clays. Some may perform exceptionally well in unique areas of application.

So what are the benefits of the most popular clays available today, and which ones stand out when it comes to promoting human health?

Classifying Clays

According to http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/silicate/clays.htm, Wikipedia and common geological knowledge:

Illite is a member of the Clay-Mica Group of clays referred to as a Muscovite and is a main component of shale. It is abundant in potassium. It is commonly found as a component in other clays such as Bentonite & Montmorillonite, adding a potassium twist to those clays. French Green Clay is an Illite Clay.

French Green Clay has recently received the most attention lately, due to the research performed by Geologist Lynda Williams, PhD of Arizona State University documenting the antibacterial properties of certain clays. Research in this area is ongoing and more will be published in time regarding her findings with other clays as well. Another spin off article on Lynda Williams' research is entitled "French Muck".

Bentonite has had some difficulty in being classified properly due to the varying amounts of other clays that can make up the bulk of a Bentonite (often times containing a high percentage of Montmorillonite, for instance), and the varying nature of its decomposition from a lava ash causing a highly variable mineral makeup. For the most part there are Sodium Bentonites and Calcium Bentonites. Pascalite is a Calcium Bentonite.

Sodium Bentonite is a swelling clay, meaning it absorbs moisture and swells. For this reason, it is generally not a good idea to put a Sodium Bentonite down the drain after a bath, since it may clog the drain. Bentonites in general, are also hard on the bowels when taken internally, therefore herbal laxatives and bulking agents are recommended when using a Bentonite for internal detoxification.

Both Montmorillonite and Pyrophyllite are members of the Smectite Group. Montmorillonite is derived from the decomposition of lava ash similar to Bentonite, but is composed of microscopic, 1 micron particles with a predominance of Sodium, Calcium, Aluminum, and Magnesium. Its small particle size, being more bioavailable, may explain its excellent reputation in the physical healing arena.

Pyrophyllite was formed entirely differently from the other clays, in that it began as an underground boiling lava soup that decomposed into a clay through interaction with deep underground aquifer water, steam and pressure. It is believed that the manner in which a Pyrophyllite is made is the reason it possesses stronger detoxifying powers relative to other clays (one former auto mechanic found a 1/8th inch oil slick after draining out his first bath). Its rich electrolyte content (8 electrolytes comprising close to 10% of the clay) provides an abundance of free ions acting as antioxidants and rapid transport of toxins out of the cell and efficient transport of nutrients into the cell.

Pyrophyllite is the basis of our Sacred Clay and makes one of the most powerful detoxifying clays known. Because Pyrophyllite easily breaks down in water, it can go down your drains after a relaxing clay bath without worry. It will also help your city sewer and improve biological activity in a septic system. For most people Pyrophyllite Clay is safe to use internally and actually slightly accelerates the bowels. See Sacred Clay Instructions for Use for exceptions or if you are on pharmaceutical drugs.

Pyrophyllite Compared to Zeolite

Zeolite is an excellent clay. However, pyrophyllite has capabilities that exceed even zeolite. Zeolite is an adsorbing clay capable of attracting a large amount of toxins to itself due to the large available surface area within the honeycomb structure of the zeolite. However, the toxins must be small enough to enter into the honeycomb structure of zeolite (less than 2 nanometers) to be carried away in abundance.

Pyrophyllite is both an adsorbing and an absorbing clay with a donut shaped combination of tetrahedral molecules mimicking the shape of a red blood cell. The geometric shape of a red blood cell constitutes the most efficient shape known for the absorbtion of nutrients.

Pyrophyllite is capable of holding toxins to the outside of its molecular structure like iron filings to a magnet, as well as absorb them like a sponge. Pyrophyllite's exceptionally high negative electro-magnetic charge reaches deep into the tissues and organs to draw toxins to itself.

Zeolite is often heated to purge it of its accumulated load of environmental toxins. Heating a clay destroys both the clay's natural biological benefits (soil based organisms) and its delicate balance of mineral ratios. While this may be necessary with a zeolite in order to make room for an additional amount of toxins, pyrophyllite does not require this purging process to be effective.

A Side Note on Heating a Clay

Heating a clay to the melting point of the various metals disturbs the clays original integrity. Heat is sometimes used to melt away certain "undesirable" elements within a clay, under the mistaken impression that this action will "purify" the clay. Instead, what you are left with is an unnatural assembly of mineral ratios (something Nature did not design), resulting in an end product that, when consumed, requires your own body to compensate for what is now missing in the altered clay. This compensation effect is due to the body's ongoing attempt to create and maintain homeostasis, or balance.

Disturbing Nature's original balance of mineral ratios, or taking just one mineral at the exclusion of the full, natural complex of mineral ratios, can result in greater imbalances within the body with long-term consequences. A major New Zealand study found that taking the single mineral calcium citrate, raises the risk of heart attacks by 40%. [Am J Med 2002; 112:343 Ian R Reid, MDa. et al]

Comprehensive Nutritional Content

Pyrophyllite is naturally more abundant in both electrolytes and trace minerals than a processed zeolite, so it provides greater nutritional value to the human body. Unaltered pyrophyllite has a more balancing effect on the body.

Pyrophyllite clay is high in amorphous silica. It forms mono and orthosilicic acids when brought in contact with water. Silicic acids are required to make minerals bioavailable to both plant and human. Bioavailable silica is required by the body to repair damaged tissues, bone, tendons and cartilage.

Pyrophyllite clay's observed skin regenerative powers when applied to a cut, a bruise, an inflammation, or a cold sore is truly remarkable. In two instances I observed open wounds on the face being closed and regenerated in less than two weeks without even a scar.

Clay and Natural Vitamins and Food Sources

Taking pyrophyllite clay with natural remedies actually enhances their mineral absorption due to the presence of amorphous (noncrystalline) silica in the clay. While natural supplements are not recommended in combination with a bentonite clay due to a concern over drawing beneficial nutrients from the body, an amorphous silica clay (as opposed to a quartz silica clay) makes other nutrients more bioavailable. The mono and orthosilicic acids formed out of the amorphous silica are used by the body to slow the aging process.

Ormalite

Ormalite is an angstrom mineral clay, rich in naturally-occurring M-state elements (single atom elements largely from the platinum group). Even amounts less than a pinch have noticeable effects on calming and centering the mind, increasing the meridian flow (chi) around the body and leaving one more in the heart. Due to its activation of the pineal gland, and therefore melatonin, sleep is improved when taken before bed, stress during the day is lessened, and a sense of well being is increased.

Observations of Pyrophyllite and Ormalite

From an observable point of view, we have frequently seen and experienced the reduction of inflammation and swelling following the application of a Manna Mist (Ormalite) spray and a Sacred Clay poultice, along with a more rapid regeneration of tissue. This indicates that the curent research being performed on Sacred Clay and Ormalite may well document some very promising findings. What we know today cannot be shared until the papers are written.

There are several teams of geologists and microbiologists currently testing the Sacred Clay and Ormalite for its applications in the human & animal health fields, agriculture, and ecology. The results so far are the most promising of any we have seen so far. Stay tuned for further updates!

To grasp some of the implications of what a powerful nourishing, detoxifying, health building clay can do for the human body, the following article offers insight into the traditional uses for clays around the world. Is it possible Mother Nature has provided an answer to many of our conditions all along, and we are just now discovering them? "Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud"

Check out the rest of this website to learn of the benefits derived from the use of pyrophyllite clay in detoxification, beauty enhancement, health and nutrition, clay baths, increasing crop yields and plant health, cleaning up the environment, and many other benefits.