There are ten things you should ask of any clay you are considering for use.

1. Is it a Calcium based Bentonite?
2. Is the clay milled to at least a 325-screen mesh particle?
3. Is the pH at least 9.5?
4. Is it a Living Clay capable of adsorbing and absorbing positive charged ions?
5. Is it a green swelling clay of the Montmorillonite/Smectite group?
6. Is it odorless?
7. Is its efficacy, its ionic ratio at least 20 to 1? (Drawing power)
8. Is it an all-natural, clean clay, direct from the mine source which has not been processed or purified in any fashion?
9. Is it a clay from a mine protected from the elements?
10. Is it a clay that expands and absorbs to a 1 to 3 ratio in volume? One part dry clay to three parts water.

WHY ARE THESE TEN QUESTIONS IMPORTANT?

It is critical that your clay be Calcium based as opposed to Sodium based. Demand from any clay company that you be given a copy of the MSDS sheet and a copy of the Mass Gas Spectrometer Test results. These two documents will give you the specific mineral composition of their clay. Any company who refuses to give you this data is hiding something from you.

Most Sodium Bentonite is suitable for commercial and industrial uses such as sealing farm ponds, sealing asphalt and in oilrig mud pits. Sodium Bentonites should not be used on or in your body.

A good quality Calcium Bentonite Clay should contain the following as its top three minerals in about the following percentages:

Silica oxide 45%
Calcium Oxide 28 %
Magnesium Oxide 14%

In addition it should contain no more than 3% in sodium. One popular Sodium Bentonite contains 29% sodium!

It is also important that the clay be pure, clean and natural, direct from the source mine - a subsurface mine has been protected from the natural elements. Most clays that claim to be 100% pure have been cleaned using either a heat process or a hydration process to “wash” out impurities. Both processes can take a 95% pure clay to a “100%” pure state, but doing so reduces the efficacy from around 15 to 1 down to 5 to 1. Read labels carefully for any notation of the clay having been cleaned, processed, filtered, recharged or tampered with in any fashion other than milling.

Clays are all milled to various degree of “fineness.” This fineness number typically runs from 50 to 325-screen mesh. A 50-screen mesh feels like fine grain sand while a 325 mesh is almost as fine as talcum powder. The finer the mesh the better the milling process and in turn the better it hydrates when water is added. Suspension as a colloidal is cleaner, quicker and more highly charged. We recommend you not buy any Calcium Bentonite Clay that is milled to less than a 325-screen mesh.

The pH of your Calcium Bentonite Clay is crucial. One of its greatest blessings to your health is its ability to increase your pH from acid to alkaline. While all clays are alkaline, only 2-3 are 9.3 to 9.7 in their natural state. We recommend you select a Calcium Bentonite Clay with the highest pH available.

Naturally you want odorless clay that is creamy smooth when hydrated. Unprotected clays tend to pick up odors. Be wary of clays with strong odors.

Lastly, and of paramount importance is a clay’s efficacy rate – how well it works. This piece of information is provided in a ratio form such as 10 to 1. This means the following. A clay with a 10 to 1 efficacy rating removes 10 times it’s molecular weight in positive charged ions from your body. By contrast, a clay with a 3 to 1 efficacy rating would remove 3 times its molecular weight in positive charged ions (the bad stuff that attacks our bodies). In this example a 10 to 1 ratio when compared to a 3 to 1 ratio means the first clay would be over 3 times as effective as the second.

Clays capable of exchanging ions are called Living Clays or Active Clays. Clays ability to absorb and adsorb directly affect their efficacy rate. Green swelling clays from the Montmorillonite/Smectite group are known as living clays because of this trait.

Few natural Calcium Bentonite Clays have a 31 to 1 ratio. We recommend you read the literature carefully and call the company reps to ask questions. If they don’t know the efficacy rate and mineral content, I would consider it a doubtful source. Remember, the purpose of clay when used on a daily basis is to continually remove positive charged ions – the things that attack our bodies. The very best clay to accomplish this goal is a pure natural Calcium Bentonite Clay with a pH of 9.0-9.7, a screen mesh of 325 and an efficacy of at least 30 to 1.

Therapeutic Living Clay (TLC) meets all of these standards, and is, we believe, the best clay available on the market today. We welcome your questions and inquiries, and are very proud to be able to offer this amazing Living Clay.