Clay, specifically powdered, sun-dried clay from non-volcanic, ancient thermal spring or aquifer sources, occupies a unique and irreplaceable position in the Primal Diet. Aajonus described it as the only true soil-bacteria supplement, the only substance on the planet whose microbes are shape-shifters capable of adopting whatever microbial form the body needs, and one of the most powerful mineral chelators available outside of food. He treated it simultaneously as a food, a probiotic, a detoxification agent, a topical remedy, and a bath mineral.

He explicitly stated: "The only food I know that can do that. Also, because of the mineral content in it, it can bind, chelate with a lot of toxic minerals in your body and prevent them from doing damage to your system."

He wrote in We Want to Live: "Clay, powdered, sun-dried, binds with toxins both inside the body and topically. I suggest clay in several remedies, even if the clay is labeled not for consumption, provided that it is pure without additives."

In his broader framework, he viewed humans as the only animals who do not routinely eat dirt. He repeatedly pointed to this as a fundamental gap in modern digestive health: "All animals eat a ton of dirt with their food. All of them. Only humans don't. That is a great part of keeping the body in balance."

He recommended clay as a supplement for soil bacteria, probiotics, digestive improvement, mineral chelation, heavy metal binding, radiation detoxification, topical wound healing, poultice applications, and bath therapy.

The two primary Terramin products he referenced were: - Terramin (also called the nutritional clay), slightly grainy, for internal consumption and baths - Terrasilk, a much finer sifted version of the same clay, for eating when finer particle size was needed, for facials, and for tooth/gum protocols

---

Aajonus described clay as the only dirt or earth that is genuinely alive with changing microbes. He stated: "Clay is the only substance, the only dirt or earth that is alive. See the changing microbes that are actually part of the dirt. They're like shaking the itty microbe, the meaty form that there is. And when you soak it in the water, it brings it back to life."

He further described the bacteria in clay as uniquely adaptive: "It's a bacteria that can shape, ship shape into anything you want in your body. It's the only substance on the planet that does that. It will provide good soil bacteria. I've even seen people glow from just having it."

He described clay bacteria as analogous to stem cells, shape-shifters that can evolve into whatever microbial form the intestinal environment requires. He said: "They're shape shifters, just like stem cells are." He also stated: "It will create parasites. It can create any kind of microbial substance, form creature, that can evolve."

Terramin clay, because it was never exposed to temperatures above 98–99°F, retains all of its alkalinizing minerals in their natural, stable, non-cauterized form. Aajonus itemized precisely what is destroyed and at what temperatures in volcanic versus thermal-spring clays:

• Phosphorus: begins to be altered at 98°F, disappears as a gas by approximately 118–122°F
• Calcium: cauterized and reduced to 50% of its alkalinizing effect at 141°F, evaporates somewhere between 260°F and 300°F depending on source
• Potassium and magnesium: burned up and gone by 400°F
• Volcanic ash temperature: 1,200°F to 3,300°F

He stated: "All of your alkalinizing minerals are burned up and ash and gone. Vaporized. Only thing you have left is molten metals." By contrast, Terramin retains "stable phosphorus and all other minerals" in their raw, active form because the thermal spring at the mining site never exceeded 98–99°F.

He used this same phosphorus test as an analogy for pasteurization: "That's how they tell whether milk has been pasteurized or not. If the phosphorus has altered at 141 degrees you can see it. You can see phosphorus altered at 98 degrees. And that's what they look for to tell whether milk has been properly pasteurized or not properly according to their standards."

Aajonus confirmed that Terramin clay binds with heavy metals including mercury, arsenic, lead, thallium, and aluminum. He said: "It certainly does [bind with heavy metals, like mercury, maybe arsenic]."

He noted that Terramin is naturally high in aluminum, but emphasized that "it's still not in toxic aluminum", the aluminum is in a natural form and is part of the clay's chelating function, not a danger. He connected this to the widespread poisoning from industrial aluminum: aluminum cans, aluminum pots and pans, aluminum sprays, aluminum deodorants, aluminum in vaccines. He stated that natural aluminum in Terramin actually works against the toxic forms accumulated in the body.

He also stated: "It can bind, chelate with a lot of toxic minerals in your body and prevent them from doing damage to your system."

Regarding the minerals in volcanic-origin clays (which he rejected), he explained a specific danger: volcanic clays, when mixed with intestinal juices and bacteria, outgas their molten metals. He referenced a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA) to illustrate the outgassing phenomenon, stating this is why volcanic clays are dangerous even if the minerals appear not to absorb.

He described Terramin clay, when properly soaked, as the only true good soil bacteria supplement available for people who do not have access to non-contaminated, non-steamed, non-kiln-dried, non-sanitized topsoil. He stated in the newsletters: "I recommend supplementing soil microbes (probiotics) with Terramin clay to promote and improve digestion."

He reported from two years of working with pre-soaked clay: "It does improve digestion to have that terramine clay pre-soaked for at least four days and then added to some slightly fermented milk."

He described the effect as not just providing bacteria, but providing bacteria with knowledge and properties that only exist in that shape-shifting form: "Also give your bacteria knowledge and properties that only exist in that shape-shifting form that can adopt whatever environment you need."

He observed an unusual sensory phenomenon with Terramin clay in milk: "For some reason the terramine clay makes it taste a little like chocolate milk. Weirdest thing, you know? Pretty darn close, pretty darn close." He described the milk-clay mixture as "nice and thick" and easy to drink, unlike clay in water where the clay sinks.

Aajonus included Terramin clay in his radiation protocol. He stated that bathing in clay while keeping it moist helps draw radiation out of the body. He also recommended drinking Terramin clay internally as part of a multi-step radiation response protocol.

He was careful to clarify that clay does not absorb its minerals into the body in the way food does. He stated: "It's like the milk, it holds on to the radioactive material and doesn't absorb into my body. Those molecules are too big. You can't break them down. Algae breaks them down, and other plant activity breaks rock down into a utilizable bio-organic substance. We're much different on the food chain. We don't eat rock." The clay's role is to introduce the bacterial life forms, chelate poisons, and provide the bacterial ecosystem, not to deliver rock minerals as bioavailable nutrients.

---

Aajonus was emphatic that clay must be consumed in a moist, pre-soaked state and must never be taken as a dry powder. This distinction was foundational. He stated: "Some people let it dry out and then eat it as a powder, and that's exactly the opposite of what I want them to do."

He explained the reason in detail: dry clay that reaches the intestines can harden to the intestinal walls, prevent proper mucus secretion, and create a build-up of mucus and clay in the intestines. From the workshops: "When I say in my recipe book to prepare clay properly so it doesn't dry out and harden to your intestines and prevent proper mucus, and so you don't build up mucus and clay in your intestines, is you soak the clay for four to five days before you take it."

In We Want to Live, he specified: "Prepare the clay by mixing it with good drinking water in a glass or pottery container until it is a thin plaster-like mixture. Cover and let it stand for 5 days in a dark cupboard. When premixed and aged, clay is 3 times more effective."

He explicitly stated that clay must never be taken in pill or capsule form: "Don't have it in pill form, powder only. Once you bind anything into a pill, you can count on it only being digested by 10%. Any binder will destroy the digestibility."

Aajonus described two grades: - Terramin (nutritional grade): slightly grainy, described as a coarser sift, good for general internal use, baths, poultices - Terrasilk: finer mesh sift, "still not going to absorb it, but it can get into finer clay to help", used for eating when he thought "the larger mineral clusters (Terramin) might cause some problems in the intestines", also used for facials and tooth protocols

He said: "Because Terrasilk is so expensive, I usually simply suggest Terramin. In cases where I think that the larger mineral clusters (Terramin) might cause some problems in the intestines, I will suggest Terrasilk for consumption."

The clay is not mechanically ground to achieve the different grades, it is sifted through fine, medium, and coarse screens. He clarified: "The clay is not ground to a finer form, the clays are sifted with fine, medium and coarse screens."

---

The single most important sourcing criterion Aajonus established was that acceptable clay must come from ancient thermal spring or aquifer beds, not from volcanic ash or lava beds. He established this through years of research and personal experience.

He stated: "I searched for 3 years and I found a company that produces a clay or they mine a clay from an old hot spring bed in California in the Mojave Desert."

He also said: "The only safe clays I know are ones that are not from volcanic ash."

He visited the Terramin mine personally: "The only way that I'm sure about and know about is [Terramin] clay. I know where that comes from. I've been there at the mine."

• Location: Mojave Desert, California, near an ancient (now extinct) hot spring / aquifer / thermal pool
• The spring stopped approximately 100,000 years ago
• The clay is mined at a depth where the thermal pool temperature never exceeded 98°F (some sources say never over 92°F, and in other passages never over 98–99°F, both are presented in the sources without resolution)
• At that depth, even when surface temperatures in the Mojave Desert reach 140°F, the ground temperature is approximately 68°F
• Website: www.californiaearthminerals.com, www.terramin.com, www.teramin.com (various spellings referenced across different talks)
• Two product lines: Terramin (nutritional/bath) and Terrasilk (fine/facial/eating)

He said regarding the temperature threshold: "The point at which they mine it has never gone over 92 degrees. So all the phosphorus, everything is contained. Phosphorus is damaged at...", and in other passages: "They mine it to where it's never gone over 98 degrees. It's never touched over 98. So all the phosphorus is alive and present."

He was categorical about bentonite: "Bentonite is mainly, 99% of the bentonite is from volcanic ash. Not good. Poisonous."

He stated in We Want to Live: "Do not use clay from volcanic activity, such as most bentonite clays. Those clays are full of molten heavy metals, including mercury."

He clarified the confusion around Terramin being labeled bentonite: "Normally, when a clay is termed bentonite, it is supposed to be clay from volcanic ash beds. Volcanic clays are full of heavy metals. Terramin clays are the best I have studied and are what I consume (Terrasilk) and use in the bath (Terramin). Terramin clays are from ancient thermal beds. I know that the clay from Terramin is mined at a level where the thermal pool was not above 98 degrees F, at which temperature phosphorus begins to cauterize. Therefore, Terramin clays have stable phosphorus and all other minerals."

He noted that some companies label their volcanic-sourced product as "French clay" specifically because he had praised French green clay from non-volcanic stream sources: "They're calling some French clays French clay, because I've said that, that are really from volcanic ash. So you have to ask."

He identified French green clay from streams that had never been exposed to volcanic ash as a historically acceptable option: "The only what I've been able to find is French green clay that's from streams that had never been exposed to volcanic ash." However, he cautioned that the name was being co-opted by volcanic-ash product makers, so buyers must verify the geological origin.

In response to a question about Sacred Clay (pyrophyllite clay) from vitalityherbsandclay.com, he stated: "Sacred Clay appears to be the same as Terramin. Terramin clays are from ancient thermal beds... I do not know the temperature which Sacred Clay reached when the thermal pool was active. You could call them and ask."

He provided a conditional endorsement, if the clay reached temperatures above 98°F, the phosphorus would be cauterized and the clay would not be acceptable.

When asked about Living Clay Detox Clay Powder from livingclayco.com, his response was: "Any clay from a clean source that is not from a volcanic deposit is OK." However, he noted he had not done updated tests and wanted to see them.

He further clarified that the Terramin contains heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium) as does Living Clay, but the key distinction is the form in which the mercury exists. Volcanic-origin clays outgas their metals when mixed with intestinal bacteria, whereas thermal-spring clays do not, "The mercury is in a different form."

Red brick-making clay from Pacific Clay in Corona, California: he said "That clay is fine for baths and poultices, but Terramin is for internal consumption."

TerraBath Clay from California Earth Minerals (the bath version): he said "It does not matter which you use, when using it on the skin. I found there is no difference, except price.", referring to the comparison between the edible Terramin and the bath Terramin for topical/poultice application.

He specified good mineral water bottled in glass for mixing: "Pour and stir 4 oz of Terramin clay into a glass jar with 5 ounces of good mineral water that was bottled in glass, not plastic."

He also noted that well water or rain water works well: "mixing that with enough good well water or rain water is the best. It's full of bacteria." For rain water, he specified waiting at least one hour after rain begins, and if chemtrails are heavy, waiting one and a half to two hours before collecting rain water.

He explicitly prohibited carbonated water for mixing clay: "If you're going to use carbonated water, shake the carbon out. Carbon destroys bacteria." And: "Carbonated waters are antibacterial by virtue of being a type of hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, Gerolsteiner would inhibit the probiotic effects of clay."

He specified that if using naturally carbonated bottled water, all carbonation must be removed first by shaking or pouring between containers until all bubbles are gone.

Newsletter formula: - Pour and stir 4 oz Terramin clay into a glass jar with 5 oz good mineral water (glass-bottled, not plastic) - Put a lid on loosely - Let stand for 4–5 days in a dark cupboard - Beneficial bacteria will flourish during this period - Stir the clay/water mixture every time before eating

Workshop formula (variation): - Take ¾ cup clay, put in 1¼ cup water - Stir until consistency of freshly made plaster of Paris - Place in dark cupboard with lid on, in a glass jar - Let sit for 4 or 5 days - Then begin taking a tablespoon or a teaspoon at a time per day

Another workshop formula: - Half a cup (4 oz) clay with 4 oz good mineral water - Mix until like plaster of Paris - Let sit for three or four days

Two-cup jar formula: - Use a two-cup jar - Put a little over half a jar of clay (just over one whole cup) - Add water and mix until it is like plaster of Paris - Set and let sit for three or four days, "all the bacteria starts moving"

He described the resulting mixture as a substance that should be kept fluid to paste consistency: "Keep it liquid to a paste. It starts getting too dry, just add more water to it."

He stated that pre-soaking multiplies potency: "When premixed and aged, clay is 3 times more effective."

He always specified glass jars or pottery containers, never plastic, for soaking and storing clay.

A large batch, once made, provides probiotic-active clay for "1–2 months, depending on how much you consume."

He warned: "If you are going to use clay, make sure that it is not treated with chemicals nor has additives." This arose from his discovery that a red clay (rozzbod red clay) he had previously suggested was being treated with additives.

---

Aajonus repeatedly described raw milk as the preferred medium for consuming Terramin clay internally. He gave multiple specific reasons:

1. The milk makes the clay easier to take: "You put the tablespoon of clay into 4 ounces of milk. And it's easy to take, it makes it nice and thick without, like in water, you're always fighting the clay hitting the bottom, and you're not mixing it properly." 2. The clay makes the milk taste like chocolate milk, an incidental palatability benefit 3. The fat in the milk likely helps buffer the clay's mineral activity in the gastrointestinal tract 4. He consistently specified raw milk, kefir, soured milk, or yogurt as the liquid base for most therapeutic clay formulas

He recommended for general daily use: "Take about a tablespoon of that, sometimes a tablespoon and a half, I recommend, into four ounces of milk. Blend it. Only one second. Sip it."

For stronger detoxification situations, he favored soured milk (kefir or yogurt) rather than fresh milk: "I suggest you consume 1 T. moist Terramin clay, blended in 2 ounces of kefir, twice daily." And: "I suggest that you consume 1 T. moist Terramin clay blended, for 2 seconds only, in 3 oz. of soured milk (kefir or yogurt), twice daily."

He specified blending for only 1–2 seconds, just enough to mix, not long enough to alter the clay or the milk.

He recommended: "Drinking 1 tablespoon of preprepared moist Terramin clay (WWTL, pg 181 & 182), blended in 3 ounces of raw milk, 2-4 times daily" as part of the radiation protocol.

He specified that eating clay and cheese, but not together, helps rid the body of insecticides and chemical toxins. The separation of clay and cheese is important: "Eating clay and cheese, not together, help to rid the body of insecticides."

For the oral/gum protocol using Terrasilk: "Put it on your tongue, mix it up in your mouth with either milk or vegetable juice." The milk or juice serves to activate the clay bacteria in the oral cavity.

---

He stated that clay binds with toxins both inside the body and topically, and he included clay in multiple topical remedies even when labeled "not for consumption," provided it was pure without additives.

The overriding rule for all topical clay use: "Clay must be kept moist on the skin or it will draw fats as well as toxins from skin cells and compromise their integrity, creating lesions and often ulcers in the cells' epidermis."

Methods to maintain moisture during topical application: 1. Add coconut cream to the clay mixture before applying 2. Spray every 4–5 minutes with a mist of good drinking water 3. Cover with wet washcloth + plastic layer + Ace bandage (poultice method)

For deep or infected wounds (including vaccine-reaction wounds with mercury/formaldehyde/aluminum presence): - Apply moist Terramin clay directly to wound - Cover with wet washcloth - Cover washcloth with plastic - Wrap with Ace bandage - Leave on approximately 12 hours - Rinse, then apply unheated honey - Repeat for 8 days

For burns: - Same method, 12–17 hours - Either edible Terramin or TerraBath clay, no difference in effect

• Bathe in moist clay to draw radiation out of the body
• Clay must be kept moist throughout the bath

• Terrasilk (finer grade) is specified for facials
• Must be kept moist

Municipal water bath formula: - Level tablespoon of Terramin clay in the bath tub - Along with milk (to bind certain poisons in the water) - Purpose: "Heavier things, like copper and iron and uranium, will be locked with the clay" - The milk neutralizes fluoride via calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium - The clay locks up heavier metals that the milk does not neutralize

A patient reported 80% reduction in psoriasis/hive symptoms from topical Terramin clay. Aajonus explained the mechanism: the clay is so effective at drawing fat from the skin cells that it kills the cells at the application site, which eliminates the irritation from industrial toxins stored there. He did not endorse this as a healthy long-term effect, it is a sign of fat deprivation in skin cells.

Method to prevent damage while still using topically: - Add coconut cream to the clay - Or mist with water every 4–5 minutes to prevent drying

---

• ¼ to ½ teaspoon per day of moist, pre-soaked clay to start

• 1 tablespoon of moist Terramin clay per dose
• In 2–4 oz of raw milk or kefir
• 1–2 times daily for general support
• Up to 3–4 times daily for acute conditions (radiation, severe detox)
• Blended for only 1–2 seconds maximum

• Up to 1 tablespoon and a half in 4 oz milk for heavy metal detoxification
• 2–4 times daily for radiation protocol
• 3 times daily for 3 days in acute neurological/chemical exposure situations

• Every day for 6 weeks
• Then every other day for 6 more weeks
• Then twice a week for 6 months

• Poultice: 12–17 hours on wound, replaced daily for approximately 8 days
• Keep moist throughout entire application

A critical safety parameter: blend clay into milk or liquid for 2 seconds only. He specified this multiple times.

He stated that if clay is applied to skin and allowed to dry, it will create lesions and potentially ulcers in the epidermis due to fat deprivation of the cells. This is not a slow or theoretical risk, it happens as the clay dries and begins pulling.

---

The primary "culinary" use of clay: - 1 tablespoon moist Terramin clay in 4 oz raw milk - Blend 1 second - Result tastes similar to chocolate milk - Drink, then rinse mouth with additional 1–2 oz milk if grainy texture is unpleasant, and swallow

For those who prefer not to use milk: - Place clay on tongue and wash down with vegetable juice - Or add moist clay to juice

• Blend 1 T. moist clay in 2–3 oz kefir for 2 seconds
• A therapeutic variation, also palatable

A simpler method described: place a teaspoon or tablespoon on the tongue, mix with saliva in the mouth, then wash down with milk or juice.

---

Terrasilk is the fine-sifted version of Terramin clay from the same California Earth Minerals / Terramin operation. It is derived from the same source clay by sifting through a finer mesh screen. Aajonus consistently distinguished between the two products:

• Terramin (nutritional): grainy, all-purpose, for internal consumption and baths, less expensive
• Terrasilk: finer, for eating when intestinal sensitivity to particle size is a concern, for facials, for the tooth/gum protocol with Terrasilk specifically

He stated: "The Terrasilk is much finer. It's still not going to absorb it, but it can get into finer [areas]."

Regarding the economics: "Because Terrasilk is so expensive, I usually simply suggest Terramin. In cases where I think that the larger mineral clusters (Terramin) might cause some problems in the intestines, I will suggest Terrasilk for consumption."

He personally consumed Terrasilk (as his eating clay) and used Terramin in the bath.

Tooth and Gum Protocol with Terrasilk: He described a new (at the time of the workshop) protocol using Terrasilk as a toothpaste component: - Used with approximately 12–15 patients over approximately 9 months - One patient had periodontal pockets measuring 8–9 mm - After 2½ to 3½ months, pockets reduced to 2–2½ mm - He called this "pretty incredible"

---

He described a progression of understanding that began with a historical account of a famous man who survived drinking enough arsenic to kill several horses by consuming clay to absorb the arsenic. He stated: "Without scrutiny, I assumed that all natural clay promoted health. I have learned that my assumption was incorrect."

In his first book, he had recommended bentonite clay. Later he discovered that bentonite clays, specifically those from volcanic ash beds, contained molten mercury, molten lead, and other toxic metals: "I found that they were molten metals, molten mercury, molten lead because it was from a volcanic ash. So I searched for 3 years and I found a company that produces a clay...", this is Terramin.

He also disclosed personal injury: "After visiting Hawaii and being injured in the volcanic rock, I learned that the molten metals in it caused me pain and scarring."

He made a pointed political observation about how clay products reached the market: "I think that the government and the pharmaceutical industry had a hand in this, because clay has been known to be a good thing all throughout time. When it started coming out as a cosmetic and as a supplement, what clay were they utilizing? Always volcanic ash."

He framed this as a systematic substitution of a genuinely beneficial substance (ancient thermal clay) with a harmful one (volcanic ash clay) at the point of commercialization, rendering the product harmful while trading on the ancient reputation of clay.

He stated that after he spoke publicly about the value of French green clay from non-volcanic stream sources, companies began labeling volcanic-ash products as "French clay" to capitalize on his endorsement: "They're calling some French clays French clay, because I've said that, that are really from volcanic ash. So you have to ask."

He referenced an incident in which a red clay he had previously recommended (rozzbod red clay) was discovered to be "treated with additives." This served as a warning that even apparently acceptable clays can be adulterated: "If you are going to use clay, make sure that it is not treated with chemicals nor has additives."

He addressed directly the consumer confusion caused by Terramin's own website labeling the product as bentonite: "Normally, when a clay is termed bentonite, it is supposed to be clay from volcanic ash beds... Terramin clays are from ancient thermal beds. I know that the clay from Terramin is mined at a level where the thermal pool was not above 98 degrees F... Therefore, Terramin clays have stable phosphorus and all other minerals."

The implication: the word "bentonite" on the Terramin label refers to the general clay classification, not volcanic origin. The defining factor is always geological temperature history, not the label.

---