Actress Shailene Woodley Swears by Eating Clay as Part of Detoxification Diet. Here’s What Experts Say About It
Hollywood actress Shailene Woodley advocated for the benefits of clay but with a twist. While applying clay is known to cure dryness and inflammation, the star suggests ingesting it is even better. She talked about her alternative career option with a deep passion for environmentalism. Digging into the evils of the American food system, Woodley discovered herbalism by studying indigenous cultures and their lifestyles. She was then introduced to the benefits of clay marking it as one of the “best things” to put into the human body, per an interview with the Into The Gloss.
She told the outlet, “I first heard about the benefits of eating clay from a taxi driver. He was African and was saying that, where he’s from, the women eat clay when they’re pregnant.” The Fault In Our Stars actor revealed that one of her friends made a clay toothpaste that could be swallowed instead of spitting it out. Explaining the benefits, Woodley said that she discovered that the body does not absorb clay and supplies a negative charge that aids in the cleansing of heavy metals like mercury and lead, and positively charged toxins from the body. It does so by bonding with the negative isotopes, she claimed.
Additionally, the 33-year-old actor shared an anecdote about her friend trying out clay for the first time. “My friend started eating it and the next day she called me and said, 'Dude, my s**t smells like metal,'” Woodley noted. The metallic odor became a cause for concern for both Woodley and her pal but they tried to gather as much information available with some research together. She found that most of the resources indicated it was a common characteristic for people starting with the clay-eating process. Besides the bowel movements, Woodley disclosed that even the pee and body odor would smell like metal temporarily.
As Woodley’s claims about clay eating caught notice, experts decided to weigh in on the subject. Paul Mackey, owner of Nature's Cleansing Clay, vouched for the benefits of clay and suggested it can be made into a drink mixed with water, per The Guardian. He said clay provides full-body detoxification and the results are “nothing short of amazing.” It apparently builds the immune system, balances PH levels, and also gives the body the power to naturally heal and “fight off future disease.” He even noted that scientific research on this subject is scarce yet “some scientific explanation” does exist.
However, not all experts were cheered for the actor’s claims. Dr. David L Katz criticized the concept of negative charge calling it “meaningless” in an interview with the Huffington Post. “Removing metal from the body is not necessarily good – iron, for example, is a metal and essential to health. So there could conceivably be benefits, but there could certainly be harms,” Katz highlighted.
A 2017 study review found that a form of bentonite clay called quaternium-18 bentonite has the potential to reduce symptoms of dermatitis, according to a Healthline report. Whereas other areas of research are still lacking, victims of psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema have attested to the fact clay helps with the symptoms. It can also be applied to children to treat diaper rash and ulcers and cuts in adults.