In order to understand the action of clay in and on the body, it is important to first understand how Nature forms clay in the first place, giving true clays different properties compared to the rock materials they are derived from.
The most common clays are derived from volcanic material (molten rock) that later cooled into solid rock and was then gradually transformed over time into clay through three basic "weathering" mechanisms:
1. Hydrothermal action – the influence of steam, heat, and pressure from underground.
2. Mechanical actions – glacial movements that crush rocks, freeze-thaw cycles that break rocks apart, water flows that wear rock down, etc.
3. Chemical reactions via the leaching of alkali or acid minerals in rock changing the mineral compositions of sediment into a clay (for example, the weathering of an alkaline rock into an illite clay; or the introduction of acid sulfate that transforms an illite clay into a smectite clay).
Water is essential for the transformation of rock into sediment or clay. Both temperature and pH play significant roles in the resultant clay type that is formed, as explained in brief below.
The classification for clay is referred to as "phyllosilicate" (phyllo refers to "leaf" or "sheet" layering at the molecular level). The most common sheet layering is a sheet of silica plus a sheet of aluminum that sandwiches other minerals between them thus creating the clay type (illite, montmorillonite, pyrophyllite, etc.)
Weathering alters small rock particles into a true leaf, or sheet layered, clay. The rigid molecular structure of the rock changes into a layering of molecular sheets sandwiching ionic minerals between the sheets held together by electrical charges.
Silica is the basis of most all earthen materials, especially rock, so clays will naturally possess a foundation of silica in their molecular structure. Most of the common clays are described as hydrous aluminosilicates due to the essential elements of water, aluminum, and silica bound together electrically in molecular sheets, each of which play a significant role in the clay's beneficial properties.
Technically, the making of a clay by Nature is accomplished by taking rock of various compositions, (rocks are referred to as tectosilicates with a 3 dimensional molecular bond), and converting it into a clay with a 2 dimensional layered sheet structure of a 2-4 µm (micron) particle size or less (referred to as a phyllosilicate).
The Geological definitions of silt and clay are as follows:
Silt-sized particles have nominal diameters from 62.5 µm (microns) to 4 µm
Clay is anything from 2-4 µm to 1 µm. (Universities and other disciplines use 2 µm as the beginning of a clay particle. Some scientific disciplines start a clay at 4 microns.)
1 µm (micron) and less is considered a colloid.
Sodium bentonites tend to possess the largest particle sizes of the clays, often including some amount of sand depending on refinement (small particles greater than 67 µm).
Kaolinites, montmorillonites, pyrophyllite, and talc tend to come in the smallest micron sizes (with a high percentage being less than 1 micron). Sacred Clay will typically contain the first three clays plus illite and rectorite (bonded layers of illite and montmorillonite) in a naturally occurring blend created by hydrothermal alteration in a mountainous wilderness. Sacred Clay possesses a percentage of clay particles below 0.2 microns in size.
There is another mineral category not spoken much of in common geological circles, but highly regarded in esoteric sciences, quantum physics, alternative medicine, and even fuel cell technology. This distinctive class is monatomic elements characterized by a mineral element in a single or dual atom stable configuration separated by about 4 angstroms. (10 angstroms = 1 nanometer = .001 µm.)
Ormalite Clay possesses the strongest anecdotal indication of any naturally occurring, unconcentrated group of monatomic elements I am aware of. The test for monatomics run over $100,000, so such a test will not be performed anytime soon, yet those who are familiar with how a monatomic element feels and reacts in the body will recognize the experience.
All volcanic material will have at least some monatomic elements present. Monatomic elements are ubiquitous throughout our water, soil, and air, yet diminished by chemical pollution and electronic technology. In certain wilderness preserves the monatomic presence in volcanic materials and water sources can be quite high.
So, you might ask, "How small is a 2 µm clay particle?" Well, basically, if you took a tiny needle and punched 4500 holes in a straight line within the space of 1 inch, each particle would be that small.
Essentially, clay particles require an electron microscope to be seen as a single particle or the sheet layers that make of a clay. Packed together in a dry pile they just look and feel like a very soft powder.
This soft powder can be derived from ground up rock (tectosilicates), but this would not be a true clay (phyllosilicates) due to the lack within ground rock of a clay's natural sheet layering molecular structure. Yet this difference is the reason why clays possess detoxifying properties which are superior to simple minerals derived from ground rock.
It is for this reason that Jason Eaton, a specialist on clays, references Dr. Miriam Jang, M.D. who observed this remarkable discovery when testing the power of clay to detox heavy metals compared to the more popular chemical chelation approaches:
“…I have put a huge number of patients on these clay baths and the levels of heavy metals – mercury, lead, arsenic, aluminum, and cadmium have come down dramatically…I have been monitoring the levels of metals using all three methods (TD DMPS, oral DMSA and clay baths) and the clay baths are way faster in the removal of metals…”
…”One particular patient had very high levels of mercury and levels of lead that were off the charts. In 3 months of twice weekly clay baths, the lead came down dramatically and the mercury disappeared. The muscle weakness associated with high lead levels improved dramatically. Interestingly enough, another 5 months of these clay baths showed even lower levels of lead but the mercury reappeared. This supports the theory that mercury is sequestered in different areas of our body and it takes time to get it all out.”