Soil Sciences, Medicine

1. University of Duhok, UOD
Faculty of Agriculture
Soil & Water Sciences:
Clay and Healing
Clays
Asst. Lecturer: Marwan B. I. Govay

2. Is soil an important ingredient in your every
day life?
The answer is yes, and here are a few reasons why:
Last night you slept in a building built on soil.
You drink water that flows through soil and is cleaned by
the soil.
You breathe air that comes partly from plants growing in
the soil.
You even wear clothes made from plants that grow in the
soil.

3. Soils make our lives possible. We build on them, play on them, drive
on them, eat food grown in or raised on them, take medicines from
them, wear clothes we wouldn’t have without soils, drink water that
wouldn’t be clean without soils, breathe air we wouldn’t have without
the plants and trees growing in soils. The entire earth—every
ecosystem, every living organism—is dependent upon soils.

4. Healing Clays
Allah Almighty put in clay many useful characteristics. Let us read……….

5. What is it?
• Fine particles of dirt which
float in a stream or river
then sink to the bottom-
breaks off from rocks
• River valleys tend to have a
lot of clay.

6. Ancient Cultures
Ancient man discovered that
clay could be shaped and
modeled into forms both
• decorative and functional.

7. Types of Clay
• PRIMARY: (Kaolins)
– Has been in the same place
for millions of years.
– Not good for building.
– Always WHITE in color.
• Not used as much in ceramics,
except for porcelain.
• But, is used in paper making,
toothpaste, cosmetics, and
paint!

8. Types of Clay
• SECONDARY:
– “Art” clay- can be worked
and shaped
– Variety of colors: reds,
yellows, whites, blacks, greys
– Carried into riverbeds- goes
to a ‘secondary’ place from
the original rock and contains
more impurities/smaller
particles.

9. The Properties of Clay
One of the greatest clay properties is its extraordinary adsorption
power. Clay has a unique power to attract impurities and toxins out
of the human body, simply because clay is electro negative and the
impurities and toxins are electro positive.
Clay also provides our bodies with trace minerals that go through
the skin into the blood stream. This occurs with the application of an
external poultice.

10. Clay acts like a sponge, attracting water and toxins not only to its
negatively charged surface, but also inside the numerous canals in its
crystalline structure.
Clay is a natural healer and acts softly but deeply on the body.
Because Clay is a powerful natural medicine, gently start your clay
detox cure with Clay Water. Clay removes chemicals, toxins and
pollutants from your body and traps them.

11. The toxins have gone inside the clay and
sit in between the layers.
The contaminants are incorporated into
the clay structure.
Through ionic exchange, the harmful poisons
are drawn to the outside surface of the clay.
Contaminant particles are attracted to the outer
surface of the clay crystal.
Absorption
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Adsorption

12. Today, we live in a heavily polluted world. Pollution finds its way
into our bodies through water, air, food and everyday products. This is
what we now call a body burden.
However, Nature has provided us with ways to help our bodies to
deal with this burden. Among such ways, clay has a very special
status. Its extraordinarily rich physico-chemical properties make it one
of the best detoxifier/purifier available. Simple, yet powerful, it
detoxifies the body and heals a wide array of ailments. It acts like a
sponge and a sticky paper for chemicals, pollutants, toxins.

13. Clay has been used for millennia by many different
civilizations. Considered sacred by Egyptians, clay
was prescribed by ancient doctors for internal use to
heal a panel of gastro-intestinal diseases. In the 5
Elements Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is
considered to focus telluric and cosmic energies and
allow the entry of the Element Earth in the global
dynamic of an organism.

14. How Can Green Clay Help Me?
The essential minerals within the clay are released and the body absorbs
those it needs to maintain health & vigor. Illite Clay is believed to hinder
the exacerbation of infection and have a regenerating action on the
tissues. It is absorbent, adsorbent, antiseptic, antibacterial and
haemostatic.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of Illite clay is its ability to
act according to each person's specific needs. Unlike chemical
medicines, which can destroy healthy tissues and beneficial bacteria as
well as bad, Illite clay is selective allowing healing to take place at a
natural rate. Green Clay also possesses analgesic properties effective in
relieving muscular or joint pains by decongesting the affected area.

15. In addition, Illite clay is a valuable beauty treatment and is the main
ingredient in many natural face masks, bath & spa products. It has a
deep cleansing action, removes dead skin cells, absorbs impurities,
excess sebum & oils to keep the skin smooth, fresh & radiant.
Clays’ detoxifying properties are explained by two key factors.
1. It’s absorptive capacity is very high so it draws toxins out of the
body effectively.
2. Its negative cumulative ionic charge which helps to attract and
bind positively charged waste and eliminate it out of the body.

16. Illite clay is supplied in its natural dried form and can be used
as a poultice for application to muscles, joints, sprains, slight wounds, infections, minor burns
and much more.
Used in a general bath or a foot bath, clays act as a very effective detoxifying remedy. For best
results, internal clay use is recommended at the same time.
Used over hemorrhoids, clay helps heal them quickly.
Used over skin conditions - acne, eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, Illite clay draws toxins out and
promotes healing. It is a Godsend for oily, problem skin - with its purifying, drying action.
Used over burns /sunburn, cold clay compresses are the fastest healing and pain relieving
remedy which helps regeneration of tissue and prevents formation of scars.
Tense over-worked muscles – clay poultices/wraps will draw the lactic acid and relax the
muscle.
Cuts, bruises & abrasions – the clay’s absorptive, antiseptic, antibacterial and haemostatic
qualities support the body’s natural curative abilities and greatly reduce healing time.

17. What is Bentonite Clay?
“Bentonite, also referred to as Montmorillonite, is one of the most effective and
powerful healing clays. Bentonite can be used externally as a clay poultice, mud pack
or in the bath and, in skin care recipes. A good quality Bentonite should be a
grey/cream color and anything bordering “pure white” is suspect. It has a very fine,
velveteen feel and is odorless and non-staining. The type of Bentonite offered by
Mountain Rose herbs is a Sodium Bentonite.”
Bentonite Clay is composed of aged volcanic ash. The name comes from the largest
known deposit of Bentonite Clay located in Fort Benton, Wyoming.
In recent times, healing clays like Bentonite Clay have
once again been gaining popularity for internal and external
detoxification, and with good reason.

18. Bentonite clay is a common ingredient in detox and cleansing products.
It has an alkalizing effect on the body and when taken correctly, it can
help balance gut bacteria.
Personally, I’ve seen people benefit from taking Bentonite Clay to help
with:
•Digestive disturbances like acid reflux, constipation, bloating, gas, etc.
•Helping with skin and allergy issues.
•To help provide minerals for the body.
•To help speed recovery from vomiting and diarrhea.
•Detoxification.
•In oral health preperations.
•Externally for all types of skin problems and to speed healing.
Healing clays like Bentonite have a high concentration of minerals
including silica, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, and potassium.

19. Characteristics and different uses of clay
Today, scientists believe that there are many unique characteristics in soil so that it has
many different uses as the following:
1. Clay is used for making pottery items, both utilitarian and decorative. Different types of
clay, when used with different minerals and firing conditions, are used to produce
earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
2. It is used in many industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production and
chemical filtering.
3. Clay being relatively impermeable to water and is used where natural seals are needed,
such as in the cores of dams, or as a barrier in landfills against toxic seepage.
4. Recent studies have investigated clay's absorption capacities in various applications,
such as the removal of heavy metals from waste water and air purification.
5. A traditional use of clay as medicine goes back to prehistoric times.
6. A more recent, and more limited, use is as a specially formulated spray applied to fruits,
vegetables and other vegetation to repel or deter codling moth damage, and at least for
apples, to prevent sun scald.

20. Major Benefits and Contraindications of Clay Used Internally
Uses of healing clays such as bentonite, montmorillonite, and illite ingested
orally:
•To assist in the removal of toxic substances in the digestive system, both chemical
and pathological
oBacterial food poisoning, organic and inorganic toxicity
•To cleanse the colon and promote proper bacterial balance in the
intestines.
•To stimulate liver function
•As a part of short term cleansing programs used to promote good
health

21. •Critical to support external healing clay treatment ( pelotherapy )
•Removal of heavy metals and recovery from chemical therapies and
radiation
•With special long term treatments, to increase T-cell count and fix free
oxygen in the blood stream
oReduction of free radical damage ( thus anti-aging )
oImproved immune system function
oImproved cellular respiration
•Improved digestive efficiency
•Reduce food sensitivities ( the so called developed "allergies" )
•Stimulate healing by strengthening the body's general constitution

22. Clay Bath
(www.MagneticClay.com)