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This seems to be a potentially dangerous claim:

The Scientifically proven Micronized Zeolite from Zeolite.com

Zeolite is a breakthrough supplement that works at the cellular level by trapping heavy metals and toxins and safely removing them from the body. Zeolite is also very effective in removing radiation, as shown in the cleanup after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The people showed a 30% reduction in radioactive isotopes after the very first application of Zeolite! Continued use shows increased benefits.

The actual Clinoptilolite Zeolite molecule is shaped like a honey-comb and carries a natural negative (-) charge. When this type of Zeolite is ingested into the body all of the positively charged (+) heavy metals, toxins, and harmful chemicals bond with the zeolite and are flushed out through the urine within 6-8 hours.

Using Zeolite for Natural Chelation Therapy is 100% Safe and 100% Effective!

http://www.zeolite.com/

It's also being repeated elsewhere. Is Zeolite safe to consume and does it affect heavy metals and radiation isotopes when ingested?

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  • This claim can be found at several sites, however, I do not believe that any notable source endorses it. At least, it is not supported in this stretched version. At a first glance the question is not appropriate for the purpose of this site.
    – Quora Feans
    Jun 9, 2015 at 13:16
  • There are though uses of zeolite as a chelation therapy substitute to remove heavy metals without too many side effects, dovepress.com/…. Notice that there is not mention of "all (...) toxins, and harmful chemicals (...) are flushed out." Nor that it is "100% Effective." It is only a possible way of removing heavy metals from the body.
    – Quora Feans
    Jun 9, 2015 at 13:27
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    @QuoraFeans We don't require claims to come from notable sources, so I'm not quite sure what your complaint is.
    – Sklivvz
    Jun 9, 2015 at 13:59

1 Answer 1

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From the review article Natural zeolites as cation exchangers for environmental protection Mineralium Deposita vol. 31, pages 563-575.:

Clinoptilolite had a variety of roles in tackling the dramatic detrimental effects of the Chernobyl accident (Chelishchev 1995). About 500 000 tonnes of clinoptilolitebearing material, from Sokirnitza (Ukraine), Tedsami (Georgia), Holinskoe (Russia), and Shivirtui (Russia), were successfully used for accomplishing the following tasks: (1) the decontamination of low-level radioactive waters, in which the cesium concentration was reduced by a factor of 1000; (2) clinoptilolite filtration reduced by a factor of 100 the radioactivity of milk, maintaining its high quality; (3) the addition of clinoptilolite to soil reduced the supply of radionuclides to plants by a factor of 2--3 times for cesium and by 50 70% for strontium; (4) the addition of clinoptilolite to polluted fodder (1-3 g clinoptilolite/kg of body weight) reduced the concentration of radionuclides in meat by a factor of 2-3 and in milk by a factor of 5-7; (5) the taking of a clinoptilolite-based medication increased the removal of radionuclides from the human body by a factor of 3-5

Also from La roca magica: Uses of natural zeolites in agriculture and industry Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA vol. 96, pages 3463–3470.

In Bulgaria, zeolite pills and cookies were prepared for human consumption to counteract Chernobyl fallout (57). The zeolite apparently exchanges 137Cs and 90Sr in the gastrointestinal tract and is excreted by normal processes, thereby minimizing assimilation into the body.

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    Thing is, Zeolites are insoluble so will only work in the digestive tract to remove nasties present in the digestive tract. They won't work if the nasties have got into the bloodstream. So the claim they will remove radioactive contaminants already in the body sounds pretty dubious.
    – matt_black
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:13
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    @matt_black that depends on the extent to which the metal ion in the blood stream can pass in and out of the gastrointestinal tract. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrointestinal_physiology
    – DavePhD
    Jun 9, 2015 at 14:31
  • Fair point, in general. But many contaminants will not reach an equilibrium with the content in your digestive tract and will preferentially stay in certain organs or bone, for example. I'd change my view if shown some thermodynamic and kinetic data on how contaminants actually equilibrate between the bloodstream and the digestive tract.
    – matt_black
    Jun 9, 2015 at 20:05
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    @matt_black when animals were feed zeolite "the amount of radio-caesium excreted was more than double the amount ingested with the fodder, due to extraction of the radio-caesium stored in the body." sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/004896978990051X
    – DavePhD
    Jun 9, 2015 at 20:46

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