Do you feel like you need a detox? If you are feeling sluggish and have brain fog zeolite could be the answer, it is a natural mineral which absorbs toxins. We look at the evidence on how zeolite can improve health.
What is Zeolite?
Zeolites were discovered around 250 years ago by “Swedish mineralogist Axel Fredrick Cronsted” (Golomeova & Zendelska, 2016).
Zeolite is a natural porous mineral from volcanic rocks found in abundance around the world “with high absorbency and ion-exchange capacity” (Mastinu, et al., 2019).
This mineral has a unique cage like structure with channels and cavities which allows the “easy drift of the resident ions and molecules into and out of the structure” (Golomeova & Zendelska, 2016).
Types of Zeolite
There are almost 100 different types of zeolite, however only a fraction of them are used for a variety of commercial purposes. Each one has a different pore size, shape and interconnectivity and may also have a chemical variation (Ramsay & Kallus, 2000).
Over 40 different types of natural zeolite exist, with around 7 being used for a variety of purposes and there are 5 synthetic zeolites which have been developed for specific purposes(Ramsay & Kallus, 2000).
Clinoptilolite Zeolite and detoxification
Most studies regarding the detoxification properties of zeolite are on animals, some of the more interesting findings are summarised below.
- ”In long-term supplementation with clinoptilolite, a decreased prevalence of E. coli carrying certain antimicrobial resistance was documented” in pigs (Jahanbakhsh et al., 2015).
- “In lead-intoxicated mice, clinoptilolite decreased the lead accumulation in the intestine by more than 70% (Beltcheva et al., 2012, 2015).
- Effects of impaired protein metabolism and glucose utilisation due to the consumption of high nitrate levels were alleviated in cows and “reduced the negative systemic effects of nitrate” with zeolite in comparison to the control (Katsoulos et al., 2015).
Homeostasis
The main systems responsible for maintaining balance in the body are:
- “Liver and gallbladder
- Kidneys
- Gastrointestinal system
- Skin
- Lungs
- Lymphatic and circulatory
- Brain” (Hobelmann & Clark, 2018)
Homeostasis can be altered via:
- “The environment”
- “Behaviour”
- “Your genetic (and epigenetic) makeup”
- “The air you breathe, the food you eat”
- “The thoughts you think.” (Tortora, 2018)
There are numerous diseases caused by unhealthy choices which interferes with the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis (TORTORA, 2018). “Should one or more components of the body lose their ability to contribute to homeostasis, however, the normal balance among all of the body’s processes may be disturbed. If the homeostatic imbalance is moderate, a disorder or disease may occur; if it is severe, death may result” (TORTORA, 2018).
Zeolite & the Digestive System
A 12 week study found that “zeolite supplementation exerted beneficial effects on intestinal wall integrity as indicated via decreased concentrations of the tight junction modulator zonulin and mild anti-inflammatory effects” (Lamprecht et al., 2015).
It has been hypothesised by Pavelić, et al. in a study done in 2018 entitled the “Critical Review on Zeolite Clinoptilolite Safety and Medical Applications in vivo” that the restoration of homeostasis of the human body is “due to local detoxification properties within the intestine, the release of dissolved silica forms from the clinoptilolite tuff that enter from the intestine into the blood” which helps regulate the immune system.
An experiment using zeolite on a pig farm in Japan spanning two years found that animals who received zeolite were 3.5 times less likely to get a stomach ulcer and 2.5 times less likely to get pneumonia in comparison to the control group (Andronikashvili, Pagava & Kurashvili, 2009).
This is interesting due to recent studies linking chronic neurological disorders to the microbiome. Makes me think of Hippocrates who stated over 2000 years ago that ‘all disease begins in the gut’.
Homeostasis in the digestive system is modulated by non pathogenic bacteria “and bacteriophages trim and tailor the bacterial population” (Wong, Vanhove & Watnick, 2016).
Pathogenic bacteria consume the proteases and chintinases that form the barrier intestinal wall “allowing these bacteria to invade the intestinal epithelium”. This results in inflammation, steatosis, cell death. “Lipid droplets within enterocytes can provide a platform for replication of viruses that exploit these organelles, thus promoting viral superinfection” (Wong, Vanhove & Watnick, 2016).
Homeostasis and detoxification
There are many different symptoms of an “overtaxed or dysfunctional detoxification system” which are often ambiguous and nonspecific. However when presented collectively “they suggest a problem with the body’s ability to restore itself” (Hobelmann & Clark, 2018).
“When potentially serious medical conditions have been ruled out by a reasonable medical workup, symptoms that may be attributed to a detoxification problem with the body often include the following:”
- “Fatigue with sleep disruption and brain-fog
- Mood disturbance, especially depression, anxiety, fear, and anger
- Muscle aches and joint pain
- Sinus congestion, dark circles under the eyes, and postnasal drip
- Headaches with neck and shoulder pain
- Bloating and flatulence
- Irritable bowel, foul-smelling stools, and dark urine
- Weight changes and loss of muscle tone
- Heartburn, recurrent colds, and persistent infections
- Infertility and low libido
- Premature aging and weakness
- Fluid retention and excess weight
- Bad breath and adverse body odour” (Hobelmann & Clark, 2018)
Safety of Zeolite
There are a variety of types of zeolite and not all of them are safe, there is evidence that zeolite erionite which is a “fragile wool like structure” is associated with an increased risk of “lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma” (Mastinu, et al., 2019).
Although Clinoptilolite zeolite has been found to be non-toxic there are some negative effects which have been reported such as “reduced cell viability and DNA synthesis” (Mastinu, et al., 2019).
Many doctors believe that actively detoxifying the body is a waste of time or could even be dangerous because our body does this effectively enough already.
Summary
It is evident that zeolite clinoptilolite is beneficial for use in certain medical, sanitation, health and detoxification purposes. However there is also evidence that some types of zeolite are dangerous.
The evidence within this presentation is for natural zeolite clinoptilolite, TRS is a man made nano sized zeolite which is much smaller than the natural form which could have a different effect as it is claimed it penetrates the body at a cellular level. There is no evidence regarding the safety of TRS’s unique formulation. In spite of the extensive applications zeolite is used for the underlying mechanism of how it works isn’t exactly clear in humans (Mastinu, et al., 2019). More research is needed in order to determine the long term safety of zeolite use in humans.
You can find more evidence based tips on how to improve your health here: https://sunshinehealthandnutrition.com.au/a-nutritionists-blog/