Why are the minerals and elements that make up our body the same as clay?

Question: Why are the minerals and elements that make up our body the same as clay?
- Keywords:
  body,
  chemistry,
  clay,
  element,
  mineral
Asked by hrdrewett to Alison, Artem, Caroline, John, Gunther on 14 Jun 2012.
- Artem Evdokimov answered on 14 Jun 2012:
  
  Elements (as in chemical elements) are the same by defnition -atoms of one element have the same properties in general – that’s why it’s one element and not more. On the other hand, we are most definitely not like clay – clay is a mixture of silicates, whereas we have not a lot of silicon in our bodies. Microchips are often made of silicon though.

Question: Why are the minerals and elements that make up our body the same as clay?