Silicon and silica - one of the oldest and most powerful minerals on earth

Silicon is among the oldest elements on our planet and has existed since Earth came into being. In nature, silicon never appears in a pure form, but only in combination with oxygen as silicon dioxide.

The combination of silicon and water is in turn called 'silica'.

After oxygen, silicon is the most common element on our planet and belongs to the category of minerals. It is one of 104 elements of which our Earth is composed. It is above all abundantly present in stone, for example in granite, quartz, sandstone and slate.

Amazingly, thorough research of these nutrients, so important for our health and lives, was relatively late. In the case of trace elements, which are present in our bodies in only tiny amounts, it can take decades until they earn the attention which they have long since deserved.

This fate was also shared by the trace element 'silicon'. While, as early as before the Second World War, some individual scientific treatises by dedicated scientists praised silicon to the skies as a natural remedy, it would take until 1972 before the presence of silicon in the human body was recognised as 'necessary for life' and silicon was given the predicate 'essential'.

For botanists (plant experts), however, silicon was already at the centre of attention in the 19th century. Research into the reasons why certain wafer-thin plants like horsetail demonstrate an incredible stability in their support functions and structure and, moreover, enjoy a tenacious integrity led straightaway to silicon as their most important component, and as it turned out...

...the more silicon these plants have, the healthier and more stable they are!

Should this principle also apply to higher life forms? Maybe for humans, too? That would be a substantial breakthrough in medicine!

The feather of a bird, for example, light and yet stable at the same time, is composed of 70 % silicon, and silicon apparently plays a role wherever stable yet elastic structures are required.

Take the human body: the need for stable and simultaneously elastic elements is very high. Thus our entire blood vessel system, which has a total length of around 100,000 km (including capillaries), consists in our younger years of an elastic and simultaneously stable structure. The entirety of our bodily tissue, the skin, the tendons and ligaments as well as the joint cartilage, need to endure these simultaneous demands for elasticity and firmness. An indispensable nutrient, so that these bodily tissues remain this way for our whole lives, is silicon, and the scientist Hugo Schulz is among the first to have recognised that there is no human tissue which is without silicon and—thus—is not dependent on silicon!

The fact that silicon is present in our bodies only in a low total amount of about 7 g is the reason for silica's classification among the so-called trace elements, just like iron, zinc, copper, chrome, fluoride, iodine or selenium.

Many years passed before the importance of silicon was also acknowledged in medical circles. Maybe the reason for this is that trace elements are present in such minimal amounts in the body that one does not straightaway want to ascribe to them the degree of potential that the potential of silicon represents. This is a major mistake, knowing as we have for quite some time now the essential functions of, for example, the trace element iron.

While, as early as 1878, the famous French chemist and bacteriologist Louis Pasteur prophesied a major role for silicon in healthcare, it was the development of silicon gel (also known as 'silicea') by Dr. Becker after the Second World War that first led to the groundbreaking development in the use of and treatment with silicon. Fascinated by the healing properties of the element as described in the scientific media, Dr. Becker laid an emphasis on developing a silicon product that would enable as efficient an absorption in the body as possible and that could be used both internally and externally. A watery, gel-like solution was to fulfil these criteria. Silicon gel is to this day considered one of the most effective silicon products. But it would take even longer until the potential of silicon could be classified in a scientifically clear way, because, among other reasons, the studies in the early years were distorted by the use of glass test tubes; glass is, of course, made of silicon. Later objective experiments with materials containing no glass and thus no silicon revealed amazing things and ascribed important tasks to silicon and/or silica, for example:

-                   cell metabolism,

-                   cell development,

-                   development and reinforcement of the connective tissue,

-                   strengthening of our immune systems and

-                   the elasticity of our blood vessels.

Not least, silicon was classified as anti-inflammatory and disinfecting. 

Further scientific studies confirmed that silicon is an essential element, necessary for life, even comparable to vitamin C! This is emphasised by the fact that silicon accomplishes important processes within our bodies which are exclusively possible in the presence of silicon.

If we grasp the above-mentioned influence of silicon on cell regeneration, the strengthening of the immune system, the reinforcement of the connective tissue and the elasticity of our blood vessels, we have a nutrient that demonstrates potential for preventing countless illnesses, healing these illnesses and efficiently counteracting ageing processes.

It is well-known that the tribe of the Hunzas, a people in the Himalayas, drink glacier water enriched with silicon. The average age of these people is an amazing 130 years with optimal health!

Silicon is also the only known substance which has the ability to bind itself to 300 times its weight in water. The healthy functioning of our cells is directly related to water-binding ability, which enables an adequate supply of nutrients and functioning metabolic processes.

We are familiar with the degrading development of the human body from older people, whose skin becomes wrinkly in old age due to loss of fluids and therefore the loss of silicon that accompanies age.

Newborns have the highest proportion of body fluids. Over the course of life, the ratio of fluids to dry mass in our bodies decreases more and more.

Via the supplementation of silicon as a substance produced by the body itself, which has the ability to bind itself to 300 times its weight in water, a resource is available to humans to significantly delay biological ageing and to remain healthy and attractive into old age. So silicon is a nutrient that simultaneously makes you healthy, attractive and young? That's exactly right, and not too long ago, science would have never considered such mechanisms possible. Enough reason, then, to more closely examine this very special element as a wonderful gift from Mother Nature!

Did you know that

·       ... silicon is a recognised essential element (necessary for life)?

·       ... silicon directly strengthens our immune systems and, in this way, effectively protects our health?

·       ... silicon activates cell metabolism, renews our cells and thus causes a biological rejuvenation of our bodies?

·       ... silicon strengthens and regenerates our connective tissue?

·       ... wrinkles, cellulitis etc. can be combated both internally and externally with silicon?

·       ... silicon can repair split ends and brittle fingernails and can make the skin wrinkle-free again?

·       ... silicon keeps our blood vessels elastic and can make brittle blood vessels elastic again?

·       ... silicon can even partially reverse atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)?

·       ... silicon (silica) can strengthen our bones?

·       ... silicon keeps our joints young and can even partially reverse arthrosis?

·       ...our bodies begin to break down silicon as early as age 10, even if this process only become visible at 35 years of age?

·       ... silicon is the only substance that can bind 300 times the amount of water to itself and can cause wrinkles to disappear naturally in a few weeks?

·       ... silica (silicon) can not only put the brakes on all ageing processes, it has been proven to reverse them?

·       ... silicon also disinfects and is anti-inflammatory?

·       ... silicon, due to these abilities, can make people attractive and healthy and at the same time substantially lengthen lifespan?

·       ...around 80 % of all people suffer from a silicon deficit and unnecessarily age, become sick and lose the flush of youth?

·       ...only very few doctors know about these findings due to the young state of silicon research?

 

Studies on silicon

Silicon rejuvenates blood vessels and counteracts atherosclerosis

In one study, blood vessels were rejuvenated with colloidal silicon. The protein of the vessels walls was rejuvenated, which led to a reduction of blood pressure and the proliferation of lymphocytes and phagocytes.[1] Other studies on rabbits also showed a decline in atheroma lesions after supplementation of the diet with silicon.[2]

In studies, silicon rejuvenates the skin

Researchers noticed a significant decrease in wrinkle depth in 100 women who were treated three times per day with silicon gel for three weeks. Regardless of which skin locations were treated, 40 % of the treated women still showed a lasting effect in the next six months, and 35 % of the subjects after one year.

Significant rejuvenation of the skin in animal studies

Researchers wanted to investigate the structural changes to the skin of hairless mice with the use of silicon. For this purpose, they subjected the skin of six-month-old mice to a comparison with the skin of 17-month-old mice. The 17-month-old mice were administered silicon daily, starting at the age of 12 months (on five days of the week). In these mice, a restructuring of the collagen and elastin fibres set in, while the interfibrillar spaces and the strength of the dermis remained unchanged despite chronological ageing. The structure of the dermis corresponded to the skins of the six-month-old, untreated mice.

Rejuvenation mechanisms demonstrated in further studies

It is to the two scientists K. Letters and O. Scholl that we owe the knowledge that the primary process of ageing can be ascribed to dehydration, the drying out of the body's cells. The consequence of this dehydration is the demacerating of protein, which causes the flocculation and coagulation of the body's own protein. In 1949, the scientists Scholl and Gobor were able to delay and even ultimately reverse these ageing processes in human tissue with 1 % dissolvable silicon. The silicon content of the blood rose over several weeks, all the way to 400 %.   

Silicon (silica) strengthens hair structure and makes the hair significantly thicker

In a study on 55 women with thin hair at the University Clinic of Hamburg-Eppendorf, the research team of Prof. Dr. Matthias Augustin demonstrated an average hair thickening of 13 % after six months of daily intake of silicon gel (1 tsp/day). This thickening of the hair was reflected in a visible increase in volume and radiant health. It was also stated: 'It can be assumed that an extended intake of silicon gel leads to further strengthening of the hair'.

The scientists described the increase in hair volume as a 'highly significant improvement' and the director of the study believed that the conclusion was that silicon gel can, while considering the benefit-risk profile, be used without restriction for the effective treatment of thin hair.

Another experiment, this time at the Karlsruhe Skin Clinic, even showed an increase in hair thickness of 16 % after six months. By means of a special evaluation scale, the subjects judged the quality of their hair to have improved by 30 %.

Silicon helps with insomnia, tinnitus and dizziness

In human experiments, the scientist H. Gohr remedied insomnia, tinnitus and dizzy spells with a daily administration of 30 ml of silicon.

Silicon helps with osteoporosis

In studies, silicon consolidates bone structure and thus helps against osteoporosis.[3]

 

Silicon decreases blood pressure values in studies

K. Kohler was able to decrease the systolic blood pressure of three patients from 240 to 160 mmHg with colloidal silicon.

Silicon protects against Alzheimer's

It is presumed that aluminium poisoning is the cause of Alzheimer's. Silicon protects the brain from aluminium poisoning.[4]

In another study led by the researcher Sophie Gillette-Guyonnet, the data of a large long-term French experiment with over 7,500 participants in total over 75 years was evaluated.

The researchers reached the conclusion that women with good to very good intellectual ability absorbed approx. 10 % more silica than those with inferior cognitive function.