Hi,
What do you know about this? I see it's suppose to help with hair, skin, nails and collagen. I have heard it's good for building bone also. That's why I'm interested.

Thank you
Di

Hi Di,

I actually took silica religiously throughout my 30's for my hair, skin & nails. It was another one of those things that I took faithfully & blindly NOT really sure if it was working... ...

It may be worth starting up again if it in conjucntion with calcium & magnesium can help to prevent bone loss & possibly even rebuild.

Let's see what Dr. Pickart thinks... ...Where is he anyway??? I have a "mangled eye" that I am trying to prevent from scarring... ....Right now I am going on my own intuition. Hope that's good enough!... ...

Hi Stoney,
Yes, It will be interesting to see what Dr. Pickart has to say about it. I have read that it can help with bone loss. So I'm hoping to get more infromation on it, like how much to take and what's the best kind.

Ooooh Weeee!!! I did see a picture of your eye. Ouch! That looks like it hurts. I hope it gets better soon. I read about something the other day that can be used to heal a bruse faster. I cant remember what it was now.

Thank you
Di

Biosil is a superb supplement for silica.

It is unlikely that people lack enough silica. I can find no studies on silica and skin health except negative actions of too much silica breathed into the lungs.

Silica is silicon dioxide. Or basically sand. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. It is a principal component of most types of glass and substances such as concrete. Silica is the most abundant mineral in the earth's crust.

It is difficult to lack silica in your diet since it is abundant in plants. Silicosis is lung damage caused by breathing in silica and a serious problem in some industrial work. Silicosis is the most common occupational lung disease worldwide, it occurs everywhere but is especially common in developing countries. From 1991 to 1995, China reported more than 24,000 deaths due to silicosis each year.

Silicosis is an occupational hazard to mining, sandblasting, quarry, ceramics and foundry workers, as well as grinders, stonecutters and those continually exposed to silica dust.

There is some concern that cannabis contaminated with silica which is currently found on the blackmarkets of most European countries may cause silicosis in users. The amount of contaminated cannabis available in the UK has greatly increased after the UK governments crackdown on cannabis growers in 2006. As of 2008 far smaller particles of silica, as well as other chemicals, are being used to 'bulk' up the shipments which can only increase the risk to the health of users.

There is abundant silica in foods.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 75, No. 5, 887-893, May 2002
© 2002 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
Original Research Communication
Dietary silicon intake and absorption1,2,3
Ravin Jugdaohsingh, Simon HC Anderson, Katherine L Tucker, Hazel Elliott, Douglas P Kiel, Richard PH Thompson and Jonathan J Powell

1 From the Gastrointestinal Laboratory, The Rayne Institute, St Thomas' Hospital, London (RJ, SHCA, and RPHT); the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston (KLT); the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London (HE and JJP); and the Harvard Medical School Division on Aging, HRCA Research and Training Institute, Boston (DPK).

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that silicon is important in bone formation. The main source of silicon for humans is the diet, but the bioavailability of silicon from solid foods is not well understood.

Objective: We estimated the dietary intake of silicon by adults, separately for men and women and for different age groups. Foods that were major contributors to silicon intake were identified. We then estimated the gastrointestinal uptake of silicon from major food sources and studied how uptake correlated with the silicon contents of the foods.

Design: Silicon intakes were determined in cohorts from the original Framingham Study and the Framingham Offspring Study by using a 126-item food-frequency questionnaire. Gastrointestinal uptake of silicon from foods was estimated in 3–8 healthy subjects by using urinary silicon excretion as a surrogate measure of silicon uptake.

Results: Mean silicon intakes in men (30 and 33 mg/d in the original Framingham and Framingham Offspring cohorts, respectively) were significantly higher than those in women (24 and 25 mg/d in the 2 cohorts, respectively; P = 0.0001). Silicon intake decreased with age (P < 0.001, adjusted for sex). The major food sources were beer and bananas in men and bananas and string beans in women. Silicon was readily available from foods; a mean of 41% of the ingested silicon was excreted in urine. The silicon content of the foods consumed was significantly correlated with urinary silicon excretion (P = 0.019).

Conclusions: Solid foods are a major source of available silicon. The association between dietary silicon intake and bone health should now be investigated.

Thank you Dr. Pickart. That was very infomative and what I wanted to know.

What I'm trying to do is take something natural to help with my osteoporosis. I dont want to take prescription meds they cause me a lot of problems so I was thinking also about using something called Strontium Citrate. They use Strontium (R) in Europe. I have heard some are having good luck with that.

Thank you
Di

From http://www.raysahelian.com/strontium.html

Dr. Ray Sahelian sells strontium supplements and had much more good information.

Strontium Supplement Facts:
Strontium (as strontium citrate) - 340 mg *
Suggested Use: 1 strontium capsule with breakfast a few times a week or as directed by your health care provider. Do not use if you have kidney disease.
* Strontium daily value not established.
Note: Long term studies with strontium citrate supplement are not available and therefore it may be a good idea to limit the use of this mineral to a few times a week until more research is available.

Strontium and Bone

Strontium ranelate has been shown to stimulate bone formation while inhibiting bone resorption. Strontium is used in the treatment of osteoporosis as a ranelate compound, and in the treatment of painful scattered bone metastases as isotope. Treatment with strontium ranelate safely reduces the risk of vertebral and nonvertebral fractures in older women with osteoporosis. In vitro, strontium ranelate increases collagen and non-collagenic proteins synthesis by mature osteoblast enriched cells. Strontium ranelate appears to be an effective treatment of vertebral and non-vertebral osteoporosis, however long term risks are not fully known. But are strontium supplements better than calcium and vitamin D as a treatment for osteoporosis? It appears that strontium supplements are effective for increasing bone strength but it is not clear whether they offer any advantages over calcium and vitamin D and whether all three supplements can be combined, and if so, what the appropriate dosages would be.

Thank you Dr. Pickart for the website and other information.

We don't know what the long term side effects of Strontium will be, but they cant be any worse than the long term side effefts of Fosamax either.

Thank you very much, that really helped me decide on what to do.

Thank you LoveDoves, for the Biosil information. I'll look at that one. Do you use it??

Di

Di,
Just remember at the time of your next BDT to tell the Radiology tech that you are taking Strontium. The reading radiologist will need to factor that in when making his assesment of your actual bone denisty.

Hi Sirius,
I have heard that. I'll make sure the person knows. That might not be for another year or two. I hope I don't forget.

Thank you
Di

Hi,

I've been taking 1000 mg. of Alta Silica daily for about 5 months to strengthen my hair and to prevent loss. I can honestly say that within 1 month my hair was very noticibly stronger and healthier. Since then it's just gotten better. I am not promoting this product, but it has made a huge difference for me.