NATURAL RESOURCE CURE FOR OUR HEALTH

Clay has been consumed by people and animals since ancient time. Even the edible clay is chosen by their traditional way, many researchers distinguish what type of clay mineral provided for health. Among them, montmorillonite is a useful clay mineral which can be abundantly found in Indonesia. Sodium montmorillonite is helpful for industrial purpose, while calcium montmorillonite can be impressively applied for health. Montmorillonite clay is a member of smectite group and has the ability for detoxifying substance due to its inherent ability to adsorb and absorb. The negatively charged ion of clay mineral attracts the positively charged toxic ion and it is the best for detoxification purposes. It could adsorb dietary toxins, bacterial toxins associated with gastrointestinal disturbance, hydrogen ions in acidosis, or metabolic toxins such as steroidal metabolites associated with pregnancy. Calcium montmorillonite is used extensively used in the treatment of open wounds, pain, colitis, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, stomach ulcers, intestinal problems, acne, anemia, and a variety of other health issues as well as cosmetics. This paper is part of the medical geology campaign to inform the public for its amazingly usefulness for health. It also intends as the basis to bring out more detailed medical research on this natural resource location in Indonesia. Based on the literature reviews, researches on this clay mineral, the adsorptive and absorptive ability addition to its valuable constituents for health appeals to give priceless health knowledge to the community of Indonesia.