{"id":30770,"date":"2014-08-14T07:15:54","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T11:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=30770"},"modified":"2021-05-17T11:15:19","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T15:15:19","slug":"eating-clay-health-trend-or-natural-cleanse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/eating-clay-health-trend-or-natural-cleanse\/","title":{"rendered":"Eating Clay: Absurd Health Trend or All-Natural Cleanse?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Actress Shailene Woodley recently caused a stir when she announced that she relies on a surprising ingredient to detox and cleanse<\/a> her body. Yes, the 22-year-old admitted to eating clay, a habit she said she picked up from a taxi driver from Africa, who told her it was part of his native culture.<\/p>\n

Woodley, a natural health fanatic who also practices oil pulling<\/a>, claims the substance helps naturally remove contaminants, telling talk show host David Letterman, \u201cClay binds to other material in your body and helps your body excrete those materials that are not necessarily the best for you, like toxins and heavy metals and what not, to the best of my understanding.\u201d The trend is rapidly spreading behind the world of celebrities, too. Recently, New York City-based juice and smoothie bar Juice Generation<\/a> announced plans to add $4 clay shots to their menu in November 2014.<\/p>\n

But experts are warning that the health claims surrounding this muddy mixture are bogus.  \u201cWith a clay cleanse there is absolutely no data showing it is effective or good for your health,\u201d says Lisa Cimperman, a Clinical Dietician at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. \u201cIt does come with some potential dangers, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you thought a juice cleanse<\/a> was a crazy trend, here\u2019s the real scoop on this even more suspicious fad.<\/p>\n

The claim: Clay is safe to eat.<\/b><\/h3>\n

\u201cIf there was one thing I could permanently erase form everybody\u2019s mind, it\u2019s this idea we need to somehow cleanse our body.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The reality:<\/b> Oftentimes, clay is not manufactured in food grade facilities, meaning it may harbor dangerous contaminants.<\/p>\n

Woodley mentioned that she purchases her clay from a company called Mountain Rose Herbs<\/a>. However, a quick glance at the company\u2019s web site reveals that their clay products are primarily meant for external use. And Kori Rodley, public and media relations coordinator for the company, says, \u201cThe bentonite clay we currently offer has not been processed at a food grade facility and therefore is not intended for internal use. We suggest consulting a licensed health care practitioner as consuming bentonite clay can result in a variety of harmful side effects.\u201d According to Bethany Doerfler, a Clinical Research Dietician at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, some of these may include food sickness, diarrhea, abdominal pain or potentially even bowel obstruction.<\/p>\n

In other words, you shouldn\u2019t eat your average clay face mask.  <\/p>\n

The risks of dining on goods not declared fit for human consumption are numerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could have environmental toxins, for example like heavy metals; it could have other dangerous environmental contaminants\u2026or it could also have rodent\u2019s excrement in it,\u201d says Doerfler. \u201cWhen something is produced in a facility that is not food grade, you have absolutely no idea what you\u2019re taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The claim: Clay cleanses heavy metals out of your body.<\/b><\/h3>\n

The reality: <\/b>Swallowing clay may have the opposite effect, carrying the risk of lead poisoning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIngesting clay, or forms of clay, poses significant health risks for a number of reasons,\u201d says Doerfler. \u201cOne is that clay is a medium to ingest heavy metals. So it\u2019s easy for people to get [exposed to] lead and cadmium and other types of heavy metals that are in the environment that are often found in clay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cadmium exposure<\/a> has been associated with kidney dysfunction, respiratory problems and bone disease\u2014and is also being studied as a potential carcinogen. And extensive research has shown that lead poisoning<\/a> can negatively impact nearly every part of the body, causing high blood pressure, memory loss, pain, mood disorders and even death.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, your organs shouldn\u2019t require a special concoction to eliminate any harmful contaminants that do enter your body. \u201cIf there was one thing I could permanently erase form everybody\u2019s mind, it\u2019s this idea we need to somehow cleanse our body, whether it\u2019s cleansing our [gastrointestinal] tracts or cleansing our livers,\u201d says Cimperman. \u201cOur bodies have very sophisticated organ systems that are responsible for eliminating toxins.\u201d<\/p>\n

The claim:<\/b> Your body doesn\u2019t absorb clay.<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn an effort to make yourself healthier, you\u2019re actually doing damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The reality: <\/b>Drinking this earthy solution may actually interfere with your body\u2019s natural absorption of vitamins<\/a> and minerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will bind with things like iron, or nutrients like calcium and will prevent the body from absorbing these key nutrients,\u201d Doerfler says. \u201cIn an effort to make yourself healthier, you\u2019re actually doing damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though no studies have examined the long-term effects that clay consumption can have on a person, experts suspect that imbibing silt could eventually lead to nutrient deficiencies that could prove dangerous to your health.<\/p>\n

Doerfler points out that those who drink clay may also become anemic or even just fatigued because they\u2019re not able to take in the vitamin D they need for good bone health. <\/p>\n

The claim: It can help you lose weight.<\/b><\/h3>\n

The reality: <\/b>Any weight loss associated with gulping down clay would likely be temporary (and unpleasant).<\/p>\n

The buzz surrounding clay cleansing grew louder after actress Zoe Kravitz<\/a> credited it with helping her lose 20 pounds to portray a person struggling with an eating disorder in the upcoming film, The Road Within. <\/i>Kravitz, who said she turned to drinking clay because it \u201ccleans out your body and fills you up,\u201d said sipping the watery brew made her feel \u201cawful,\u201d and noted that she wouldn\u2019t recommend it. Nutritionists agree that this type of diet is likely dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of a plausible way that this would result in legitimate weight loss,\u201d says Doerfler. \u201cWhat I mean by that is, perhaps it may cause diarrhea, in which case you are losing nutrients and losing fluid, but that is not the type of healthy weight loss that we like to see.\u201d <\/p>\n

Doerfler says people are better off shedding pounds the old-fashioned way<\/a>, rather than subjecting their body to deprivation with one of these of-the-moment diets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know people want to lose weight really badly, but not at the expense of abdominal pain or nausea,\u201d says Doerfler. Weight loss should be achieved by adopting a healthier diet and exercising. \u201cThat\u2019s the pathway to healthy weight loss you can maintain for the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

To hear Woodley\u2019s full interview with Letterman about her interest in clay cleansing, <\/i>click here<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrities like Shailene Woodley have been eating clay for its alleged health benefits. But you may want to think twice before gobbling it up. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":30776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,11],"tags":[41,71,341,352,285],"class_list":["post-30770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-health-hacks","tag-diets","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2weight-loss","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}