Image by Iris Hamelmann If purpose, then, is inherent in art, so is it in Nature also. The best illustration is the case of a man being his own physician, for Nature is like that—agent and patient at once. -- Aristotle, Physics The most conclusive evidence for the healthful effects of clay points to protection and detoxification as its primary benefit. There are numerous research reports, articles, ethnomedicine anecdotes and even clinical studies that corroborate this.