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Zeolite Detox: Science Or Scam?

by — 2016-01-14 in Alternative medicine & healing therapies
Do you need zolites, a diverse group of minerals, to remove a build-up of heavy metals from your body, or is that just another outrageous claim made by people who don't value scientific accuracy?

I first found out about zeolites about six years ago, when a friend of mine told me that he had started using these minerals on a daily basis in order to extract heavy metals from his body, and strongly encouraged me to do the same. He had heard about the therapeutic uses of zeolite at his yoga class, and told me it could strengthen the immune system and prevent cancer by removing the toxins that invade our bodies on a daily basis. 

That friend still uses zeolite today, in its powdered form, and believes it is to thank for his good health. He isn't alone: zeolite has become quite the hit among people who are interested in natural remedies, and if you read what it is supposed to do for your body, that's not surprising. But what are zeolites, actually, and will they really aid your health?

What Are Zeolites?

Zeolites are a group of microporous minerals consisting mainly of sodium, potassium, calcium, and barium. Over 40 different naturally-occurring forms of zeolite exist, along with many synthetically created ones. Zeolites are used as water softeners, in cat litter, in laundry detergents, and even as catalysts. They have many excellent uses, then, but how did zeolites come to be used as a health remedy?

Zeolite: What Are The Claims About Their Health Benefits?

According to Zeolite dot com, a website attempting to market zeolite as "the original detox product", this group of minerals is excellent at removing heavy metals from the body. The website claims:

"Micronized zeolite has the perfect molecular structure for capturing and removing heavy metals from the body without removing healthy ions and minerals. Many people report feeling increased energy, clarity and vitality after removing heavy metal build-up."

It then goes on to assure people that zeolite is "100 percent" safe and non-toxic at any level, and that the toxins and heavy metals removed from the body by zeolite are "trapped in the zeolite cage and you [sic] body is not re-exposed to them". 

Further claims made by advocates of zeolite use include that this group of minerals has the potential to:

  • Strengthen the immune system, reducing the risk of colds and flu
  • Improve the absorption of nutrients
  • Prevent and even cure cancer
  • Prevent hangovers
  • Aid digestion and cure diarrhea

If all that were true, that would be awesome. But is it? There are, in fact, some studies that have shown that certain types of zeolites do an excellent job at removing heavy metals from the body — in rodents suffering from lead poisoning, certain zeolites were shown to help. On the other hand, it is crucial to remember that not all zeolites are the same, and some have been associated with lung cancer and cancers of the tissues surrounding the heart. Some zeolites are structurally very similar to asbestos, which we all know to be dangerous.

READ Are 'Detox Diets' Really A Lot Of Nonsense?

'Natural Enemies'

NaturalNews, a site founded by Mike Adams and notorious for its anti-science conspiracy theories, vaccine-rejectionism, writings about quack cancer treatments, and HIV denialism among other oddities, is so out there that even many proponents of unproven alternative treatments believe they go too far.

You may be incredibly surprised to hear, then, that even NaturalNews isn't on-board with zeolite as a detox treatment, saying that zeolites do a good job binding to cesium but actually increase aluminium, lead, and cadmium levels! OK... I'm not saying you should trust NaturalNews, but the fact that there's a "snake oil" that even they believe to be a scam should certainly give anyone who is usually interested in natural, non-evidence based treatments pause.

Is There Any Reliable Evidence That Zeolite Works?

Ins't Zeolite Recognized As Safe By The FDA?

Yes, it is. Zeolite is, as you'll recall, being used for all kinds of household products and for that, it is "generally recognized as safe". That doesn't mean companies have the right to promote zeolite as a natural cure for diseases, nor as an effective preventative measure, however. Vitamin C is generally recognized as safe, but that doesn't mean anyone should go around promoting it as a HIV treatment. 

The Food and Drug Administration is quite strict about warning people who claim that products that aren't FDA-approved (for a particular purpose) were, in fact, approved by the agency. So what does it have to say about zeolite? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Writing to ZEO Health Ltd, one of the biggest distributors of zeolite in the US, the agency made it clear that the products Esdifan, Destroxin, and Zeo were being marketed in ways that rendered them "drugs". That is, the manufacturer claimed that the products could be used to prevent and cure cancer, treat diarrhea, and prevent hangovers respectively. 

The FDA's warning letter said:

"Your products are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced conditions and therefore, the products are also "new drugs" under section 201(p) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 321 (p)]. New drugs may not be legally marketed in the U.S. without prior approval from FDA as described in section 505(a) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 355(a)]. FDA approves a new drug on the basis of scientific data submitted by a drug sponsor to demonstrate that the drug is safe and effective."

In plain English, that means that selling zeolite is fine, but the moment you make the claim that a product cures or prevents health problems, that products becomes a "drug", and needs to go through far more rigorous testing to be deemed both safe and effective than, say, something you use to line your cat's litter box or something you put in your washing machine to help clean your clothes.

These same products and those made by different companies are, of course, still very much being promoted in the same way, in some cases minus the claim that these products were generally recognized as safe by the FDA. Leaving that claim off does not, of course, make the products any more legitimate. 

Are There Any Studies To Back The Claims Up?

Yes, there is a study that examined the presence of heavy metals in participants' urine before and after the use of zeolite. Indeed, using zeolite caused an increase in the urinary excretion of numerous heavy metals. Can we really neglect to consider the possibility that those heavy metals entered the body with the consumption of zeolite itself? Another concern is that the study did not disclose the exact levels of heavy metals eliminated — we could be talking about significant levels, or very minor ones. 

In short, there are not enough studies nor reliable studies to prove the bold claims that zeolite can eliminate heavy metals from the body, there aren't enough studies to prove that consuming zeolite is safe at all, and there is no proof that our bodies naturally acquire dangerous levels of heavy metals under normal, everyday circumstances — nor that this could lead to disease.

Another claim that goes around is that zeolites were used after the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear disasters. This is a claim SteadyHealth has been unable to verify.

READ Detoxification Programs 'Cleanse' Your Wallet, But Are There Any Real Health Benefits?

Detoxification is a very real medical term that describes the process of removing toxins from our bodies. We are, however, talking about dangerously high levels of alcohol, drugs, or real poisons. Detoxification is provided in hospitals, under (potentially) life-threatening conditions — such as the time my friend's son got horrendously drunk on his 18th birthday or the time my then two-year old son drank a whole bottle of Tylenol. Should you have reason to believe that you have been exposed to dangerous substances, you need to go to hospital right away and get tested for their presence, not buy a mineral that may or may not help you. If not, you don't need zeolite, and you may want to consider the possibility that consuming it could add rather than remove heavy metals. 

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