Adventures with a stomach bug (estimated reading time 2 ¾ minutes)

My daughter and I were very sick recently. I would not normally have been so persistent in requesting a stool sample test for a simple stomach flu, but the recent Canadian E. coli recall had me questioning whether we had ingested tainted beef. The lab results came back 48 hours later, negative for E. coli but positive for Campylobacter jejuni.

Of five family members, my pre-teen and I were the only two affected. We still haven’t confirmed how we were exposed, and we may never know. However we did share a steak that no one else ate, from a store with a long list of recalled items, including this steak. But we’re not sure if it was from a recalled batch.

I’d like to share with you a healing strategy which I’m sure helped us recover faster than we might have otherwise. Neither of us took antibiotics, or even ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Our doctor said he wouldn’t recommend antibiotics unless the symptoms lasted more than a week or there were complications.

We took small amounts of bentonite clay at the beginning, but in retrospect, should have taken more, or the same amount more often, until we felt better. I did take more on Friday, and by Saturday, was feeling much better. As my husband often argues however, it could have been the placebo effect, or maybe I was already getting better. Again, we’ll never know.

• Camphylobacter jejuni, like many harmful pathogens, is a gram-negative bacterium.
• Bentonite clay binds to gram-negative bacteria and helps eliminate them from your digestive tract; it is very helpful in relieving diarrhea.
• You can make your own liquid bentonite clay supplement or
• fill your own gelatin capsules with bentonite clay to carry around with you in case of emergencies.

I generally take the liquid clay when I’m at home, and I give my daughter the clay pills as it’s more palatable for her.

Liquid Bentonite Clay

Because of its positive electrical charge, it’s important to store liquid clay in a glass jar. I have a 500ml (2 cup) glass jar to which I add 6 tbsp of bentonite clay powder and top up with water until the jar is full. I put the lid on and shake. It needs to sit overnight for the clay to completely hydrate. I store it in the fridge and give it a good shake before pouring onto a spoon and swallowing, followed by a chaser of tap water.

Clay Pills

For the clay pills, I use a capsule filling kit called Cap.M.Quik with size “000” capsules.

Each “000” capsule holds 1/4 tsp of powder and is the largest size available. The kit makes 50 capsules at a time.

I use the tamper to get about 2/3 more powdered bentonite than I would without compressing it.

The clay pills can then be carried around in a pill bottle or Tic Tac box in my pocket in case I ever eat something I suspect might be harmful. I even take a couple if I find myself in a situation where I’m enjoying eating gluten when I shouldn’t be, or if I’m feeling queasy. I feel that it reduces the likelihood of my suffering an urgent bathroom experience. I have also used my kit to make capsules filled with cayenne pepper for digestion and turmeric for inflammation.

So yes, by all means “Eat dirt!” If you’re trying to achieve optimal health, turn to clay before resorting to antibiotics for intestinal bugs. It’s wonderful to use as a cleanse, it’s helpful to take if you’re ever feeling queasy, and if you ever catch yourself eating anything or anywhere that might be suspect, make sure you have a few clay pills in your pocket.