From helping with digestive ailments (acid reflux, constipation, bloating, etc.) to clearing up skin issues and a host of other maladies, the consumption and/or application of healing clays is supposed to work wonders on your body. This would explain why more than two hundred cultures across the globe participate in the practice, known as geophagy, on a daily basis.

The particles of these "healing clays" carry a negative electrical charge which attract the positive charges present in the toxins in our systems. Proponents of the eons old practice believe that when we eat the clay, "An exchange reaction occurs where the clay swaps its ions for those of the other substance. Electrically satisfied, it holds the toxin until the body can eliminate both."

READ: 7 Skin Care Ingredients We Look for on Labels

Ingest clay. Clay attracts toxins. Clay + toxins get pooped out. The end.

To be fair, the word "eat" is a misnomer here as the clay is typically mixed with water and then drunk. And, please understand that we're not suggesting you run out to the backyard with a spoon, a glass of water and start chugging.

You definitely need to seek out healthy, consumable clays. Bentonite, which is available on Amazon, is a safe and very popular bet for use as both a topical and internal treatment. Also, understand that "eating clay" is much different from "Pica," a disease that's categorized by a pattern of consuming non-edible materials -- including dirt. With geophagy, we are choosing to participate in this activity, not compelled to. Big difference.

Caveat: be prepared for some interesting side effects as the result of ingesting the clay. As Shailene Woodley, star of the upcoming "Divergent" movie told Into the Gloss, "My friend started eating it and the next day she called me and said, 'Dude, my s**t smells like metal.' She was really worried, but we did some research together and everything said that when you first start eating clay, your bowel movements, pee, and even you, yourself, will smell like metal."

READ: 10 Wacky Beauty Products that Really Work