# Montmorillonite clay in NVI dog food .... ???



## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Hi all, I am thinking of including NVI dog food in my rotation, I have heard others say that it is a good food but I'm curious/concerned about what this is exactly???


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

Actually, Montmorillonite clay is used in human medicine as a sort of a catalyst to chelation therapy in heavy metal poisoning. It helps absorb and remove excess heavy metals much like activated charcoal is to neutralize and absorb organic poisons. 

I guess it's added to think that it will help remove any heavy metal or inorganic toxins that the dog may encounter in the environment. Whether or not it is beneficial to dogs not suffering from acute heavy metal toxicity isn't really well known. It isn't toxic and it won't really hurt your dog.

Nature's Logic also includes it in their foods, a completely separate company from Nature's Variety.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Birds eat it. . .you can buy a block of it for your pet parrot. I guess wild macaws all congregate at the claylicks. Lots of minerals. Whether those minerals are bio-available for mammals, I don't know. But I don't think it's harmful.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Well my dogs eat a (or at least try to) eat a LOT worse then that lol but I just want to know what you guys think.


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

It's not an ingredient I would go out of my way to try, or avoid. Honestly though, I do not feel the price of NVI is worth the kibble quality. It's a really good food and a food I felt comfortable feeding for a while, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing really special and I find it's marked up really high around here.


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

Beards said:


> Puttng Sodium Bentonite in food does one thing, harden stools.


Proof of this? There is plenty of information out there about it's use in adsorption of heavy metals. Also, bentonite is NOT montmorillonite clay. Bentonite is composed of montmorillonite clay. Bentonite is sort of the raw material that you can purify down to montmorillonite. It's like saying digoxin is the same thing as foxglove. Taking digoxin will regulate an irregular heartbeat whereas chewing on foxglove will make you seriously ill or kill you.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

I've actually never had probs with soft poops on any food, they have vomited on foods if they have corn/wheat/gluten or any other grain/meat by products, but never any cannon butt ... But I'm also careful about what I feed them so that doesn't happen (knocks on wood). 

Also doesn't calcium & sodium also harden stool? Also can the dogs taste the clay? Does it make the food taste different? I'm going to get dog food today & was going to try NVI (the price doesn't bother me, as I rotate & don't feed a food "long" enough for the price to really get me.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Beards said:


> Sorry wrong:
> 
> "Actually it is not a significant difference. They are both Smectites. Most Smectite clays have Montmorillonite properties. The Montmorillonite name was actually given to a Smectite clay that was found in the Montmorillon area of France. Clays are often named after their location. Bentonite was originally named for Smectite clay found near Fort Benton Wyoming. Most Smectites are now referred to as Bentonites or Montmorillonites. Like Kleenex was the only tissue for so long that most everyone says, ‘Please hand me a Kleenex,’ instead of a tissue or by another brand name."
> 
> ...


I have only a mild interest in this debate, but please cite your sources. We don't tend to accept quotations from who knows where as "proof" around here.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Note that I did not agree or disagree with you, just asked you to link to where you got your information. I am amused that your response to a simple request to cite your sources is "LOL." Quite the good little debater, aren't you?


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Fine, I'll do it for you. The quotation you reposted above without linking to or otherwise crediting the source (generally frowned upon... everywhere) is from here.



> This website is dedicated to educating the public about the myriad benefits of using calcium bentonite clay.





> Perry A~ (author of Living Clay: Nature's Own Miracle Cure) is hosting a series of FREE teleseminars about how and why you should be using Calcium Bentonite Clay.


Just in case anyone else was wondering about the credentials of the source.


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

Beards said:


> This clay is used in a million water absorbing applications. Every feed store sells it to soak things up. It is used on baseball fields to dry out the infields.


And phenazopyridium was used for centuries and to this day as a very popular textile dye. It gives fabric a nice bright orange color. Know what else it does? It is the most safe, effective, and widely used urinary tract analgesic known to man. 

Just because something has one seemingly meaningless purpose doesn't mean it also has properties that make it beneficial to human or animal health. Montmorillonite clay has demonstrated efficacy in adsorption of heavy metals. This is why it's included in the food. Whether it's necessary or effective in animal feed has yet to be studied but I still maintain that it is not harmful and cannot be ruled out as non-beneficial. 

Some light reading on the adsorptive properties of montmorillonite.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...SyTwHXqlZ2LaXebmA&sig2=Ql3hjuQJo8HOZTCKs99Akw


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