Calcium Montmorillonite Clay for Dogs

[spike33]

Hi everyone! I'm glad to be part of this forum, keep up the good work Jack! This is my first post and decided to talk about "Calcium Montmorillonite clay". I started feeding raw right after finishing my Pit Bull Bible book about a year ago and obviously the improvement in my dogs health has been dramatic. I rotate between my own concoctions and Nature's Variety instinct raw (without a doubt the best and most complete raw diet ever) but unfortunately too expensive One of the ingredients in this awesome food is calcium montorillonite and surprisingly I've been using this clay on my fish tank for several years to improve fish nutrition thru mineral ingestion, color, detoxifying and clarifying the water, well, This also has many benefits for dogs such as:

• Clay works with the body to expel parasites, remove toxins and facilitate the exchange of cations, resulting in an unsurpassed cleansing agent.
• It balances and maintains the body’s pH, water balance, osmotic pressure and intestinal flora.
• Having prepared the body for optimum absorption, Calcium Montmorillonite Clay offers more than 60 naturally balanced macro, micro and trace mineral elements in a highly bio-available form.


The removal of a full spectrum of toxins is one of Calcium Montmorillonite Clay’s main claims to fame. It can assist the body in ridding itself of heavy metals and toxins through binding (adsorption), made possible by its negatively charged ions seeking out positively charged ions (toxins) throughout the body. It is even capable of dealing with radiation to a point where nuclear waste is buried in it as a natural barrier in case of leakage.
I use 1 teaspoon on my dogs food every day and so far no side effects. I've read that even helps with worms and coccidia.

Spike

[Officially Retired]

Hi everyone! I'm glad to be part of this forum, keep up the good work Jack! This is my first post and decided to talk about "Calcium Montmorillonite clay". I started feeding raw right after finishing my Pit Bull Bible book about a year ago and obviously the improvement in my dogs health has been dramatic. I rotate between my own concoctions and Nature's Variety instinct raw (without a doubt the best and most complete raw diet ever) but unfortunately too expensive One of the ingredients in this awesome food is calcium montorillonite and surprisingly I've been using this clay on my fish tank for several years to improve fish nutrition thru mineral ingestion, color, detoxifying and clarifying the water, well, This also has many benefits for dogs such as:

Thank you for joining and thank you for posting an interesting, and potentially beneficial topic. Unfortunately, I have not researched this substance enough to provide valuable feedback at this time.

• Clay works with the body to expel parasites, remove toxins and facilitate the exchange of cations, resulting in an unsurpassed cleansing agent.
• It balances and maintains the body’s pH, water balance, osmotic pressure and intestinal flora.
• Having prepared the body for optimum absorption, Calcium Montmorillonite Clay offers more than 60 naturally balanced macro, micro and trace mineral elements in a highly bio-available form.

The trouble with substances like these is they inspire quackery. I don't know if M-Clay can do all of the things you have listed, but (of these things) I would say the third element of your list is the most probable--meaning I am sure it provide a fine array of trace micro-nutrients). However, whether this substance does all that its proponents claim ("balance the body," "remove parasites," etc.) is something else again. I have heard many of the same kinds of claim for many other substances, which ultimately were debunked, the last one being for Diatomaceous Earth. I spent about a week researching this substance, and I looked up multiple legitimate studies funded by Government and Universities alike, and at the end of the day, all DE did was provide silica, some other trace elements, but it sure was not a legitimate wormer or "cure-all" like its proponents claimed.

The removal of a full spectrum of toxins is one of Calcium Montmorillonite Clay’s main claims to fame. It can assist the body in ridding itself of heavy metals and toxins through binding (adsorption), made possible by its negatively charged ions seeking out positively charged ions (toxins) throughout the body. It is even capable of dealing with radiation to a point where nuclear waste is buried in it as a natural barrier in case of leakage.
I use 1 teaspoon on my dogs food every day and so far no side effects. I've read that even helps with worms and coccidia.
Spike

Well, here again, it would be at least a several hour (or several day) task to really research actual published studies of M-Clay in the effort to separate fact from fiction. Apple Cider Vinegar is another "wonder substance" that has webpage-after-webpage devoted to it, yet very little actual scientific evidence to support its use.

Maybe over the coming week I will put in the time to read some actual published studies of M-Clay, and will provide the links, so that we can see how much of these claims are, in fact, real benefits of the substance, versus how much of these claims prove to be quackery.

Cheers,

Jack

[spike33]

Hey Jack, thanks for taking the time to reply to my post, I would truly appreciate any input about this element, look forward to hear about any new updates you discover.

[TFX]

I don't know anything about M Clay, but the described mechanism of action for detox is similar to the Ge132 substance I wrote about many years ago. Do you still have.that article Jack?

[Officially Retired]

Hey Jack, thanks for taking the time to reply to my post, I would truly appreciate any input about this element, look forward to hear about any new updates you discover.

Will do

I don't know anything about M Clay, but the described mechanism of action for detox is similar to the Ge132 substance I wrote about many years ago. Do you still have.that article Jack?

Yes I do, now that you mention it sir.

It would be interesting to see how much of the benefits of germanium are fact versus fancy. I can't remember the specifics well enough to discuss at the moment, but have you ever researched any published studies on it?

Jack

[TFX]

Oh yeah, there is a lot of evidence out there on Ge132, mostly from Japan.

[Officially Retired]

Oh yeah, there is a lot of evidence out there on Ge132, mostly from Japan.

Just doing a quick search, here are two legitimate tests of Ge-132 as a possible anti-cancer drug:

"The results presented here support further larger-scale research on Ge-132 as a novel metal-based oral anticancer drug which can be conveniently administered alone or included within a chemotherapy regimen."
The Oxford Journals

"Above results indicate that 1) Ge-132 can stimulate the basal O2- release from leukocytes, 2) Ge-132 can prevent the decrease of O2- generation by 60Co-irradiated leukocytes, 3) in higher concentrations, Ge-132 may have a membrane stabilizing effect."
US National Library of Medicine

The trouble is, some of the research indicated Ge-132 can also cause nephrotoxicity ... still, I may have to dig-up and post your old article one of these days

Jack

PS: I will try to do a quick M-Clay later on and see what I come up with.

[AmberLamps]

Oh yeah, there is a lot of evidence out there on Ge132, mostly from Japan.

I remember that excellent artical on Ge-132 that you wrote for the healthy bulldog magazine. Didn't you take germanium yourself for a badly sprained ankle ? or some kind of injury, and notice the effect of germanium in speeding up the healing process ?

[Officially Retired]

Some bad news though ... as it looks like a lot of the preliminary findings eventually got debunked. The most recent information on Ge-132 (organic germanium) is actually not favorable at all:

"Available scientific evidence does not support claims that germanium supplements are effective in preventing or treating cancer in humans, and there are numerous reports showing that they may be harmful. A study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that supplements containing germanium present a potential hazard to humans. As a result, the FDA issued an “Import Alert,” which allows germanium imports to be seized if they are to be used as a food supplement. However, the amount and type of germanium naturally found in foods do not appear to be toxic ...

"Available scientific evidence does not support claims that germanium supplements promote health or increase the body's production of interferon. It also does not support the claim that germanium is an essential nutrient in animals or humans ...

"A study conducted by the FDA found at least 31 cases of kidney failure linked to germanium products. A number of deaths have also been reported. Most of these effects were from inorganic forms of germanium, but the FDA has also found severe kidney damage in people taking germanium that was sold as organic ...

"In 2005, researchers in Arizona started a study to find out if taking pure organic germanium (bis-carboxyethylgermanium sequioxide) might help with radiation-related fatigue. The patients, who have early stage prostate cancer or breast cancer, will be watched carefully for side effects and abnormal laboratory values. The study is still going on, and is expected to finish at the end of 2012 ...

"Germanium supplements may pose danger for humans. Several deaths have been reported in the medical literature, with serious illness in some who survived. While organic germanium appears to be less toxic than inorganic germanium, it has been reported to cause kidney damage, liver changes, and heart problems ..."
The American Cancer Society

It looks like a final conclusion is due out at the end of this year, spanning a 7-year case study, but this shows why it is always good not to jump to immediate conclusions when we read "claims" people (websites) make, and is why it is really advisable to thoroughly research a subject.

Jack

[spike33]

Wow! interesting stuff you guys, thanks very much for this valuable information. So far what I've found about M-clay (to see how much of these claims are, in fact, real benefits of the substance, versus how much of these claims could be quackery) is that back in 2007 animal scientists at Texas A&M University demonstrated definite effectiveness of Calcium Montorillonite Clay as an aflatoxin binder in animal feeds. Check out this link:

polyploidy.tamu.edu/professors/dixon/publications/CLAY1373.pdf

Hope we can get something good out of this article.