About the Book
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 58. Chapters: Ajoite, Allophane, Annite, Apophyllite, Apophyllite-(KF), Bensonite, Bentonite, Biotite, Bowenite, Brammallite, Carletonite, Caryopilite, Cavansite, Chamosite, Chlorite group, Chrysocolla, Clay, Clay minerals, Clintonite, Cymrite, Delessite, Dickite, Ekanite, Fraipontite, Greenalite, Halloysite, Hisingerite, Kampfite, Kaolinite, Kegelite, Kerolite, Lepidolite, Macaulayite, Macdonaldite, Magadiite, Medicinal clay, Meerschaum, Metal clay, Mica, Nelenite, Neptunite, Okenite, Pentagonite, Phlogopite, Pimelite, Prehnite, Pyrophyllite, Sanbornite, Searlesite, Sepiolite, Sericite, Siderophyllite, Soapstone, Stilpnomelane, Talc, Thuringite, Tuperssuatsiaite, Ussingite, Zakharovite, Zussmanite. Excerpt: The use of medicinal clay in folk medicine goes back to prehistoric times. Indigenous peoples around the world still use clay widely, which is related to geophagy. The first recorded use of medicinal clay goes back to ancient Mesopotamia. A wide variety of clays is being used for medicinal purposes-primarily for external applications, such as the clay baths in health spas (mud therapy), but also internally. Among the clays most commonly used for medicinal purposes are kaolin and the smectite clays such as bentonite, montmorillonite, and Fuller's earth. Clay being processed by a manufacturer.There are considerable problems with the exact nomenclature of various clays. No clay deposit is exactly the same and, typically, mineral clays are mixed in various proportions. The overwhelming majority of clay mined commercially is for industrial uses, such as construction and oil drilling. Thus, the precise classification and chemical composition of these clays are somewhat secondary to their intended use. For practical purposes, the terms bentonite clay, montmorillonite clay, and Fuller's earth are basically interchangeable. On the other hand, the clays that are typically used for medicinal purposes have usually been discovered either based on local folklore, or by simple trial-and-error after investigations by various healing enthusiasts. And so, their discoverers may have been either not too concerned about these clays' precise scientific classification and chemical properties, or perhaps not necessarily adequately equipped to conduct such studies. Their primary, and often only, concern was the efficacy of any particular clay for some specific medical condition or conditions. Sodium bentonite/calcium bentonite are the most commonly used medicinal clays today (sodium bentonite for external use, calcium bentonite for internal use), although there is no precise definition of what this term means. In fact, typically, "bentonite" refers to a wide spectrum of clays with a wide ar
