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Written by Sarah Cain
Monday, 16 November 2009 14:30
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In the past, we have informed our readers about the dangers of ingesting iodine, the frauds of detox foot pads, ionic baths, "energy healing", and "spiritual" healing (faith healing minus the faith). The list will continue to grow as alternative medicine becomes an even bigger profit-maker. Once again, we must step away from the crowd and inform you of a new fraud: silica supplements.
Silica (silicon dioxide) is used in some powdered foods to ensure that they are free flowing. It is also used heavily in the manufacture of steel, thermal insulation, circuit boards and optical fibers. While its industrial uses are many, its health benefits are not.
Silica is a common mineral that is found in soils, and there are people who have made the assumption that it is beneficial to our health based on this. Another basis for the assumptions about silica is the fact that trace amounts of it are found inside fruits and vegetables, which might actually produce some minor contributions to good health. However, supplementing with silica has not been shown to provide any health benefits whatsoever. Silica supplements always contain far more than anyone could consume naturally.
While silica dust is a known carcinogen, lung irritant, and central nervous system toxin, it has been shown to be harmless when filtered and neutralized through the digestive system. That somewhat makes the point: silica is generally destroyed by the digestive system.
The websites that profit from the silica fraud claim that it does all of the following, and more.
Fraudulent Silica Health Claims
- Prevents Alzheimer's Disease
- Prevents atherosclerosis
- Strengthens bones
- Makes the skin "glow"
- Prevents hair thinning
- Increases mucosa during dehydration
- Improves circulation
- Strengthens bones
- Prevents cancer (of course!)
The list of "silca benefits" goes on practically forever, so this is not a full listing of claims, and it would be much easier to list what it cannot do (according to its sales people). For once, we would be supporting the F.D.A. if it prosecuted these companies; but of course, that will never happen. This fraud is ultimately very harmful to its competition (alternative medicine), so we should expect for the F.D.A. to continue ignoring it. One can generally judge the effectiveness of an alternative medicine (or supplement) by the policies of the F.D.A. toward it. If they have a policy of ignoring it, then so should you.
If you have a health condition, and you search for it alongside the word 'silica' using Google, then you will undoubtedly find that it is "the miracle" that you have been waiting for. Some companies have suddenly appeared on the market being dedicated to selling only silica, at prices which exceed even that of any other supplement on the market. They're essentially selling sand as a high-priced dietary supplement. It's sad.
Don't be fooled. If you want to recover, and obtain wellness, then you must eat a good, balanced diet, and exercise regularly. Silica, when obtained from horsetail, can actually induce a thiamine (B1) deficiency. A dirt supplement simply isn't going to be of much use. Eat plenty of vegetables, avoid refined sugars, and avoid chemicals. Sure enough, you'll get trace amounts of silica in your diet, too. However, you will also get trace amounts of other minerals that we would never consider supplementing with, like cyanide. If you research long and hard enough, you will certainly find that cyanide's organic forms also have beneficial properties in trace amounts. I just hope that I'm not giving any supplement companies a new idea.
The Only Known Long Term Effects of Silica Supplements
"Studies in mice suggest that horsetail [source of silica supplements] may change the activity of the kidneys, causing abnormal control of the amount of water and potassium release. Low potassium, which in theory may occur with horsetail, can have negative effects on the heart."
― National Institutes of Health
We really do not know with any certainty the effects of "supplementing" with silica with unnaturally high doses over an extended period of time. No one knows. All we know with certainty is that silica supplementation has never been proven to have any benefits: none, nothing, nada, ziltch. It is like the case with the pharmaceuticals, in which all of us are the test subjects for the sake of profits and broken promises.
Regular vitamins and supplements which contain small amounts of silica are not harmful, but the silica will not present any therapeutic effects, either. We recommend that you avoid the websites which support this scam, at the expense of their customers.
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