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Silica:
A Little Known Element Comes of Age
by Rick Wagner
Silica's
importance in overall optimal bodily function has been recognized
for quite some time. As early as 1878, Louis Pasteur predicted
that silica would be found to be an important therapeutic
substance for many diseases and would play a significant
role in human health and consequently nutrition.
Research
During the 20th century, progress was made by pioneering
researchers and scientists such as Carlisle, Butenandt,
Iler, Bergna, Kervran, and Schwartz. Edith Carlisle's
work in the 70's through the 90's at the UCLA School of
Public Health, perhaps more than any other, demonstrated
the necessity of having silica in the body for proper
growth and development. As a result of her research, we
know that silica is absolutely essential for the body
to create and maintain collagen. What was dramatically
shown through Carlisle's research was that when silica
is withheld from normal nutrition, gross abnormalities
develop and normal growth does not take place. While Carlisle's
work was done with chickens and mice, humans have also
been experimenting with silica.
Human experimentation has yielded some amazing results.
Where animal research showed the absolute necessity of
silica for healthy and normal growth maintenance, human
research has demonstrated the effects of silica supplementation
on a much broader spectrum of maladies from youth through
middle and old age.
The necessity of silica for collagen formation and development
is the basis of many of these physiological effects. Collagen
is the tough fibrous material that holds us together.
Many aging problems are a direct result of the body's
inability to maintain adequate collagen. Think for a moment
about the following aging problems: joint deterioration,
brittle bones, hardening of the arteries, dry skin, inability
to digest food properly, weakened teeth and gums, and
atrophying organs. They all are collagen related in one
form or another. When we are young, Silica levels in our
body are high and our bones and joints are flexible. Our
skin is supple and glowing. As we age, Silica levels decline
and without adequate tissue levels of Silica, we manifest
many of the symptoms of aging such as joint disease, weakened
digestion, and wrinkled skin, to name a few.
Nutritional and Therapeutic Applications for Silica
1. Connective tissue strengthening and support
(joint, ligaments and muscles)
2. Bone strengthening and support through enhanced
calcium absorption Within bone, silica is the essential
component making up the collagen matrix upon which calcium
is deposited. This relationship is so fundamental that
it is truly impossible to form bone without both calcium
and silica. In fact, researchers are exploring the possibility
that supplementation of silica, rather than calcium may
be what is needed for maintaining strong bones.
3. Strengthening of teeth and gums
4. Cardiovascular support: Silica in adequate
quantities creates supple arteries and veins and is effective
in removing plaque from artery walls. This has actually
been known since 1958 when Loeper and Loeper found arteriosclerotic
artery walls showed excessively high levels of calcium
and lower than normal levels of in silica.
5. Stomach and digestive disorders : Most disorders
of the stomach and digestive tract involve a degradation
of the lining in the G.I. tract. Silica is an essential
element involved in rebuilding and maintaining these tissues.
6. Immune system enhancement: Our skin is our
first line of defense against naturally occurring bacteria,
virus's, and other pathogens. Silica promotes and maintains
healthy skin tissue.
7.
Wound and burn healing: Silica stimulates the rapid
re-growth of damaged skin tissue.
8.
Thinning hair, brittle nails, and dry skin. All of
these external parts of our body are collagen based.
9.
Aluminum elimination enhancement Silica has been shown
to be a good eliminator of aluminum. Aluminum has been
implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's. While the above
areas may seem quite diverse, in actuality they are directly
or indirectly related to proper collagen formation. Given
that connective tissue is basically collagen, the inability
of the body to rebuild this tissue will result in excessive
injuries, general deterioration, or excessively long periods
of healing time when injuries occur.
To
Supplement or Not To Supplement?
The age-old debate rages on with a definitive swing in
favor of supplementation. The American medical establishment
is also beginning to embrace the need for supplementation
to enhance health and longevity. Why is there a need to
supplement with silica if it is the second most prevalent
element on earth? The reason is threefold:
1.
As we age, scientific measurements have shown that the
human body retains less and less silica.
2.
Silica does not occur in sufficient amounts in a wide
variety of foodstuffs. It is primarily found in natural
oats, millet, barley, wheat and potatoes. If we eat these
foods at all, they are normally refined to a point where
all the silica has been removed.
3.
The average American diet does not contain adequate
levels of essential nutrients especially Silica.
Studies
have shown that the average person ingests between 20
to 60 milligrams of silica daily depending upon their
diet. Results from people who have supplemented with
silica at 375 mg per day support silica's effectiveness
and reinforce the fact that 20 to 60 milligrams per
day is not adequate. According to researchers some form
of daily silica supplementation will be very beneficial.
Link to scientific research on this mineral
Read
what our customers have to say about
Silica
References:
Lemmo, E.Q. 1998 Silica. Keats Publishing
Kaufmann, I 1992 Silica: The Amazing Gel. Canada:
Alive Books
Carlisle,
E.M. 1986. Silicon as an essential element
in Animal Nutrition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
The
Chemistry of Silica. by Ralph K. Iler. John
Wiley and Sons, Inc., June 1979
Bergna, H.E. 1994. The Colloidal Chemistry of Silica.
American Chemical Society
