Im drinking about 2 litres a day,which is about half my weight and still only taking 1 P & B shake a day.
Hopefully something will happen soon.

Charles do you have a lab assay of some bentonite. I would be very interested in seeing it.

Also if you have some metabolic research that I'm not aware of concerning caffien stimulation via the hepatic nerve, I would also like to see this documentation.

It seems many ND's have varying views in these regards. I know of a top notch, esteemed American ND who swears by both modalities. Her name is Gloria Gilbere and she has authored three books. ALso Sherry Rogers MD also endorses these techniques.

Could you qualify your staments with more depth please.

Thanks.

Here is some information I have researched on aluminum in bentonite. If anyone knows anything else please post it.

Some people are concerned about the aluminum in bentonite. Yes, it does have aluminum. For aluminum is one of the most abundant minerals on the earth. However, Bentonite has a negative electrical charge, so Bentonite cannot be absorbed by the body. The epithelium cells of the gut are also negatively charged. Like the polar opposites of two magnets repelling one another, the cells of our bowels absolutely repel the Bentonite from entering the inner sanctum of our bodies. This means that you never need to be concerned about taking psyllium shakes. Dr. Anderson has probably set the world’s record in the consuming of bentonite. Not only has he no signs of aluminum poisoning, but also hair analysis has never indicated any abnormal levels of aluminum in his body. And does he still use bentonite? Absolutely.

http://www.cleanse.net/bentonite.HTM




Here's what another site says about aluminum in bentonite:

Addressing the Aluminum Issue in Detoxificant
(Bentonite, Montmorillonite)

The Bentonite we use, known as Sodium Bentonite, is a high purity, air-floated bentonite consisting of micronized particles. Bentonite is one of the volcanic ashes, such as kaolin, Montmorillonite and Fuller’s earth. It is not a drug or a chemical composition made in a laboratory. It is a product of the earth which does contain a small amount of aluminum as well as 25 - 35 other trace minerals.

The Random House College Dictionary describes Bentonite rock as "a clay formed by the decomposition of volcanic ash." It describes Clay as "consisting essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminum . Regarded as the material from which the human body was formed."

The company from which we purchase the Sodium Bentonite, which contains Hydrous Aluminum (Al2 O3) Silicate, says that, "it is very complex in structure and (the aluminum) is actually part of the Bentonite crystal and not leachable by any means." (Technical Data Sheet)

This is due to the fact that the aluminum element is central to the Montmorillonite molecule - holding the negative charge around it as a cloud of oxygen molecules. In effect, part of the negative charge of Montmorillonite is attributed to the aluminum. Removal of the aluminum from the Montmorillonite molecule would result in a loss of the drawing properties of the molecule. Our bodies do not have sufficient digestive juices to split apart such a highly negatively-charged molecule. As the Technical Data Sheet explains, the aluminum is not leachable by any means.

The natural Bentonite rock that is used in manufacturing our Detoxificant product is separated from the dirt and other residues which could amount to 5 - 10% of the non - clay impurities. We then take Bentonite rock through a secret process which extracts the hydrated montmorillonite. Montmorillonite is one very specific clay within the clay group and this is what we use in our Detoxificant product. This is the specific clay that holds the extreme drawing powers. Any dirt or mica left in a hydrated bentonite solution decreases the efficacy with which Montmorillonite adheres positively charged toxins, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, and other substances. That is why we remove such extraneous matter and leave only the purified montmorillonite.

If one looks under a high power microscope, Montmorillonite is seen as extremely minute rectangular particles similar in shape to a credit card.

America’s outstanding authority on Montmorillonite claims its action is due to five characteristics:

First: It has large and varied mineral content.

Second: It has a negative electrical attraction for positively charged particles. In the human body much of the toxic poisons are positively charged.

Third: Its particles, being shaped like a "credit card" with the wide surfaces negative and the edges of the card positive, have many times more negative than positive pulling power.

Fourth: The very minuteness of the particles of Montmorillonite gives a large surface area in proportion to the volume used, thus enabling it to pick up many times its own weight in positively charged particles.

Fifth: To obtain maximum effectiveness in the human body, it must be put in a liquid colloidal - gel state. In such a state, the Montmorillonite swells and increases its surface area. In fact, if a person were to spread one tablespoon of our Detoxificant onto a football field, a person could not poke a needle into the ground without touching some Montmorillonite. That illustration describes the minute structure and extremely large surface area of our Detoxificant product.

Note: Upon being asked about aluminum toxicity from bentonite, America's authority on the subject stated, "Not very likely, the aluminum in solution from the clay, even in acid pH, is going to be less than 0.1 ppm." For a comparison value, the government limits for heavy metals, such as lead, in U.S. Pharmacopeia grade foodstuffs is 5.0 ppm, or 50 times the amount of aluminum present in bentonite.

There are many products on the market that use Bentonite in the raw and unprocessed manner that would make one skeptical about using them. Some may profess to use an air-purified bentonite clay - which is already done by the original mining companies to produce different grades of clay. In making our Detoxificant however, although we do start out using the same air-purified Bentonite clay, we remove the dirt, mica, and other impurities - leaving only the active constituent, Montmorillonite. Check the label of your Bentonite products to see if it states "Bentonite" or "Montmorillonite." If it states the latter, you can be sure that you're getting a purified, actively drawing substance.

We feel that one does take in or consume some aluminum every day and it can be absorbed and accumulated in the body. Free aluminum is a positively charged toxin and therefore it has to be taken out of the body. Through our research we have found our Detoxificant is one of the best adsorbents of toxins one can use. The Montmorillonite clings to the toxins and eliminates the poisons in the natural way. There is no evidence to show it has any chemical effect on the body. Its action seems to be purely physical.

Detoxificant has been used to eliminate environmental toxins from the bloodstream, such as lead, pesticides, and chemicals in foods. Detoxificant is not a new product, it has been on the market since 1946. People have been using volcanic ash going way back to the primitive tribes of various continents for conditions of toxicity, but they were using Bentonite clay in its raw form.

So it boils down to this: The Montmorillonite used in our Detoxificant may have small amounts of Hydrous Aluminum Silicate. If one tried to extract the hydrous aluminum from the crystal, he would have to heat the clay to 1100oC or over, or use very strong acid - much stronger than that produced by the body. Really, then, the aluminum in the Detoxificant and the aluminum used in cooking utensils and other preparations are very different and would be like comparing apples and oranges.

We, and many researchers and world-renowned authorities on bentonite, feel that Detoxificant is a very safe and time-tested product and we hope you will continue to use it.

http://www.sonnes.com/Literature/Bentonite-Alluminum.htm

Here is but one assay:

Chemical formula Al2O34SiO2H2O

Chemical composition (Typical)
Titanium Oxide TiO2 01.25
Ferric Oxide Fe2O3 10.91
Silica SiO2 54.26
Aluminum Al2O3 18.34
Physical Characteristics (Typical)
Specific Gravity 2.4
pH (OF 10% Aqueous Solution) 8 to 8.8
Bulk Density (tapped) gms / cc 0.


Here are some other uses for bentonite:

The greatest application of Bentonite is in oil drilling. Great quantities of Bentonite are used in drilling mud.

In paint industry it is used as a thickener in some cheap paints, primers, and water based coatings.

It is used in manufacture of cheap greases.


I find it interesting that some health product manufacturers have processed the bentonite and removed the aluminum and replaces it with magnesium. More information is needed here. In the meantime, I'll stick with psyllum and flax hulls.

Bentonite
A medicinal powdered clay, scientific name of Aluminum Silicate, which is also known as montmorillonite, derives from deposits of weathered volcanic ash. It often contains substantial amounts of magnesium and a wide variety of rare trace minerals. It is one of the most effective natural intestinal detoxifying agents available and has been recognized as such for centuries by native peoples around the world. Whatever the name, liquid clay contains minerals that, once inside the gastrointestinal tract, are able to absorb toxins and deliver mineral nutrients to an impressive degree. Liquid clay is inert which means it passes through the body undigested.
Through its natural evolution, Bentonite also selectively adsorbs an interesting variety of organic material. A healing clay is distinguished primarily by the "secondary" sorpted materials which both a) maintain its natural characteristic to be precisely PH balanced ( basic ) for the human ( and animal ) biological system AND b) leave the clay with an incredibly dense molecular makeup which produces a self-generated negatively charged electromagnetic field upon hydration.

Technically, the clay first adsorbs toxins (heavy metals, free radicals, pesticides), attracting them to its extensive surface area where they adhere like flies to sticky paper; then it absorbs the toxins, taking them in the way a sponge mops up a kitchen counter mess.

There is an electrical aspect to bentonite’s ability to bind and absorb toxins. According to Yerba Prima, a company based in Ashland, Oregon, which markets Great Plains® Bentonite, the clay’s minerals are negatively charged while toxins tend to be positively charged; hence the clay’s attraction works like a magnet drawing metal shavings. But it’s even more involved than that.

Once hydrated (combined with water), Bentonite has an enormous surface area. According to Yerba Prima, a single quart bottle can represent a total surface area of 960 square yards or 12 American football fields. Bentonite is made of a great number of tiny platelets, with negative electrical charges on their flat surfaces and positive charges on their edges.

When bentonite absorbs water and swells, it is stretched open like a highly porous sponge; the toxins are drawn into these spaces by electrical attraction and bound fast. In fact, according to the Canadian Journal of Microbiology (31 [1985], 50-53), bentonite can absorb pathogenic viruses, aflatoxin (a mold), and pesticides and herbicides including Paraquat and Roundup. The clay is eventually eliminated from the body with the toxins bound to its multiple surfaces.

In some cases, the "healing clay" classification is determined due to a very specialized sorption of minerals, such as naturally occuring calcium bentonite.

In other cases, the classification is due to specialized organic material that has been naturally incorporated into the clay. Much of this organized organic material remains unclassified by modern science. New species of fungus ( such as the fungus discovery responsible for the advent of penicillin ) have been discovered in natural clay. Botanicals that have long since vanished off the face of the earth often occur in small traces in a natural clay. It is an amazing mystery that such healing clays contain an endless variety of materials all of which have proven beneficial to the human body on the testing field of time.

A third classification provides for the lack of sorpted material. Some clays are prized for the purity which leave the clay virtually a simple crystal matrix. A pharmacy grade healing clay falls into this category, although in this case the means are achieved artificially. This classification also takes into consideration the particle sizes ( in microns ) of the clay particles, smaller being more beneficial.

The last classification has yet to be fully defined due to the difficulty of measuring certain quantum properties that recent scientific discoveries have uncovered.

Green healing clay is both an incredible mystery, AND a primary key to unlocking the secret to the origin of all biological life on Earth. Indeed, some scientists believe that bentonite was the primary catalyst in the formation of the first single celled organisms. Bentonite may very well have acted as a cell membrane, holding by sorption key amino acids and protein chains, allowing the first hint of life both the time and the space to take an evolutionary leap that eventually led to the development of complex organisms.

Eytons’ Earth has an extensive site devoted to Bentonite Clay.

Previous research and history would suggest that your assertions are incorrect on all accounts. Bentonite, psyllium, and coffee enemas have been used safely and effectively in naturopathic healing for many many years now; perhaps a century or more now. If they were dangerous to us in any way why have Bernard Jensen , V.E Iron, Dr Richard Andersen, Richard Schultze, Max Gerson, etc, etc had such long and distinguished careers and why have their methods of treatment despite the foundations of their treatment plans being built on the use of psyllium, Bentonite and the use of coffee enemas?

What point are you trying to make with regards to the "signature of the psyllium"? That is a completely unqualified statement and more than likely has no meaning to any reader. Moreover, what relevance does it have to the use of psyllium? Psyllium is not ingested to be digested as a food. Indeed, we cannot digest it! It is a 100% soluble form of fibre. Its role in intestinal cleansing is to provide bulk to the stool, absorb water and toxins, scrape the sides of the intestinal walls as it passes through the body. One would have thought that an ND specialising in the field of colonic cleansing and detoxification would have known this. If you intend to provide opinions and research to this forum that might be of use to people when they choose their methods of treatment it might be beneficial to all concerned to qualify your statements with evidence and explanation rather than simple scaremongering.

One other point............if you are a ND, as you state you are, one would have thought that you would be able spell words such as "nutritional", "enema", "sterelized", "neutralized"......I could go on. Just my opinion.

Dear Charles,
I agree with you that coffee enemas are not good and can cause dependence. However, I disagree with you on the Bentonite! I have looked into the use of Bentonite and even talked to a chemist about using it internally. Your Science is questionable. Here's some stuff I collected from other sites

Bentonite:
"Many people make the assumption that, because Bentonite contains aluminum it is toxic. Bentonite by definition IS aluminum silicate. However, because the aluminum is attached to the very large silicate molecule it becomes too large to pass through the membranes in the intestinal tract, and so it is not absorbed into the body. In fact, it works by pulling toxic material out of the intestinal tract and passes out of the body through the feces. The things you have avoided in years past that contain aluminum are widely written about in articles on the subject, and you have been wise in avoiding these sources of aluminum. ... Example: Common antacids are composed of magnesium aluminum oxide. This type of aluminum molecule is very tiny compared with aluminum silicate and will readily be absorbed into the body. " MORE ABOUT LIQUID BENTONITE: Bentonite, a volcanic ash found in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is an inert mineral silicate. When processed into a very fine powder and suspended in distilled water, bentonite adsorbs (acts like a magnet pulling toxins to it) intestinal waste products without being absorbed into the system. It just passes through the intestinal tract attaching the toxins to itself..." "...because bentonite itself is not absorbed into the body, whatever it adsorbs is removed in the feces. Liquid bentonite requires an excellent vehicle for removing miscellaneous intestinal poisons and toxins generated by Candida albicans. Bentonite must be in a liquid form in order to exert optimal effect. If taken in powder or tablet form, the digestive system must then convert it to liquid form. This task is not likely, however, because bentonite does not mix easily with water. Furthermore, the digestive system does not have the equipment to accomplish this function. Therefore ingestion of bentonite in liquid form is strongly recommended..."




plenty to support the benefits of using Bentonite as a detoxifier - as it has been used for many years to help pull metals FROM the body (including mercury and aluminum). The use of Bentonite as a detoxificant goes back hundreds of years. Bentonite, a medicinal powdered clay which is also known as Montmorillonite is derived from deposits of weathered volcanic ash. It is one of the most effective natural intestinal detoxifying agents available and has been recognized as such for centuries by native peoples around the world. Whatever the name, liquid clay contains minerals that, once inside the gastrointestinal tract, are able to absorb toxins and deliver mineral nutrients to an impressive degree. Liquid clay is inert which means it passes through the body undigested. Technically, the clay first adsorbs toxins (heavy metals, free radicals, pesticides), attracting them to its extensive surface area where they adhere like flies to sticky paper; then it absorbs the toxins, taking them in the way a sponge mops up a kitchen counter mess. The Psyllium component in our program help to carry these toxins out of the body. In fact, in addition to helping detoxify metals from the body, according to the Canadian Journal of Microbiology (31 [1985], 50-53), bentonite can also absorb pathogenic viruses, aflatoxin (a mold), and pesticides and herbicides including Paraquat and Roundup. "There is no evidence that bentonite has any chemical action in the body. Its power is purely physical." Clay's adsorptive and absorptive qualities may be the key to its multifaceted healing abilities. Benefits reported by people using liquid clay for a period of two to four weeks include: improved intestinal regularity; relief from chronic constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, and ulcers; a surge in physical energy; clearer complexion; brighter, whiter eyes; enhanced alertness; emotional uplift; improved tissue and gum repair; and increased resistance to infections. A medical study by Frederic Damrau, M.D., in 1961 (Medical Annals of the District of Columbia) established clearly that bentonite can end bouts of diarrhea. When 35 individuals (average age 51) suffering from diarrhea took two tablespoons of bentonite in distilled water daily, the diarrhea was relieved in 97% (34 of the 35 patients) in 3.8 days, regardless of the original cause of the problem (allergies, virus infection, spastic colitis, or food poisoning). According to Dr. Damrau, bentonite is "safe and highly effective" in treating acute diarrhea. However, clay's forte is probably its role as a general internal detoxification and cleansing agent. As the colon becomes cleaner, its ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients increases, making the minerals even more bioavailable, thus giving more energy. The Bentonite is an important component in detoxifying and healing the gut. Bentonite Clay baths are also used to help pull mercury and aluminum FROM the body.

an interesting read. i was sceptical about the shakes in the beginning since back then they have caused me nothing but constipation, bloating and trouble.

however, that was due to my inexperience with mixing them and so on. since i've been using a margarita shaker to shake up the powder in the water and then immediately drinking more water i have been more then fine with it. i add a little lemon to the mix to make it taste better too.

i'ts only been a week so far and i am still not regluar in the sense that i'm pooping 3 times a day, but i pass 3 huge bm's every morning along with plaque and other wonderful rainbow colors, mucous and up till a few days ago the end of those worms!
lately i even started passing without my morning cup of java!
altho i love to have that morning cup and i don't feel at all guilty about it! when in need i do a coffee enema and 95% of the time it's done me more good then bad, which includes eliminating water retention, headache and pms!

is it bad for me? not at all! i feel great. better each day. a bit of die off here and there but the b&p only cause me discomfort if i don't drink enough water or mix them well. i betcha i'll be ready to finally pass those ropes next week!

coffee is all about moderation.

keep on cleansing everyone!