Silicon—The Strength and Flexibility Mineral We Take for Granted

Silicon is the second most abundant element on earth (oxygen is first). It is present as silicon dioxide—common sand and various kinds of quartz crystals. There is no official recommendation for how much silicon a person needs in their diet, and it is ubiquitous, so it is very hard to get a truly deficient state of it that can be recognized by scientists. So, it is easy to take silicon for granted, until you see what optimal levels of silicon can do for you. (Nomenclature: Silicon is the name of the element, which occurs in the form of silica (silicon plus oxygen) in nature. The body takes up silica, not silicon from foods. When babies are born they have high levels of silicon in their bodies—in their skin, connective tissues and bones. Children absorb silica from foods more readily than adults. As we age, unless we replenish our stores of silicon, we become depleted. Our skin loses about 30 percent of its silicon as we age. Teenagers have about 4 times as much silicon in their aorta as adults. Overall, silicon content in the whole body decreases about 1 percent per year, so it really adds up over a couple of decades.

What Does Silicon Do in the Body?

As Felix Corraliza stated in our webinar “How Silicon Benefits You,” silicon is important for our bones, skin, joints, heart, immune system, and even our brains. Silicon makes our bones more elastic, denser and stronger. Silicon functions as a catalyst for the absorption of other minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus. If a person increases the intake of calcium without silica it can lead to accelerated leeching on bone minerals. In our skin silicon helps produce collagen and helps the connective tissues to retain moisture. This helps maintain a youthful appearance. Our ligaments and tendons are made of strong forms of collagen. Cartilage cushions our joints, whereas a decrease in collagen can lead to pain and injuries from simple every day movements and increased risk of injury when playing sports. Silicon can even help our brains by removing aluminum out of our body and brain¹. Silica combines with aluminum, which can keep it from being absorbed from the GI tract. It can also combine with aluminum plaques on nerve endings so that nerves fire more efficiently. Our lymph nodes also contain a lot of silicon, as it is involved in making antibodies to viruses and foreign proteins. So, silicon has various roles in our bodies and we have stronger bones, healthier joints, youthful skin and even better hair texture.

Where to Get Silicon from Foods?

There have only been a few surveys of dietary sources of silicon completed, with one of the latest in the USA published in 1991. A British database was published in 2005 and some of the interesting values of foods are shown here in Table 1. It was estimated that in the USA the daily intake of silicon is between 20 and 50 mg per day. People who eat a lot of animal-based foods and refined grains would be on the lower end, while people eating whole food, plant-based diets would probably be off the scale on the high end. Followers of the Hallelujah Diet would also be off the high end as well, but it is hard to calculate because of missing values for many foods. Oats, dates, brown rice, green beans, cucumbers and mixed salad greens look like great sources of silicon. Drinking water, if not demineralized, can also be a significant source of silicon because of the large quantities consumed. Adding HydroBoost to your purified water will increase your intake of silicon as well as it is part of Dr. Willard’s catalyst. Table 1. Silicon Content in Common British Foods.² So, a diet rich in plants is rich in silicon. However, absorption from various sources can vary considerably. Small, monomeric silica (with just one atom of silicon present) are best absorbed. Many foods contain polymers of silica that are much harder to break down and efficiently use. One study found that overall absorption of silica from a meal was 40 ± 36%³. Silica in grains was absorbed at about 49 ± 34%, silica in fruits and vegetables absorbed at about 21 ± 29% and silica in drinking water was absorbed at about 50-86%. Bananas are known to be high in silica, but repeated testing shows that absorption of silica from bananas is less than 5%. Absorption between different people varies tremendously (thus the wide plus/minus ranges quoted above), perhaps due to their individual microbiome and overall gut health.What is the Best Way to Supplement Silicon?If you have issues with painful joints, loss of bone strength, injury to your skin, joints or bones, or you are just plain getting up there in years, you may want to consider supplementing with silicon. It is one of those minerals that will help you stay younger longer.A British study compared absorption of silicon from eight different sources, shown in the Figure below.⁴ The alcohol-free beer and MMST (monomethyl silanetriol) were well absorbed at 60 and 64% of their doses, respectively. Green beans were also great, at 44% absorption and ortho silicic acid (OSA) at 43%. The choline-stabilized silicic acid (ChOSA) was absorbed at 17% and only 4% of the silica from bananas was absorbed.MMST is the form of silica that is found in Hallelujah Diet Collagen Booster dietary supplement. We have sought out the best form of silica in order to give you the best product for building optimal health. This MMST is the same form of silica that is found in the popular liquid product called Living Silica. Plus, we have added in other ingredients, like ceramide-pcd that also helps retain moisture in skin and improve skin roughness. The ingredients L-Lysine, L-proline, zinc, magnesium and vitamin C (from camu camu), are also included because they help produce collagen.So, you may have taken silicon for granted, but now you know another benefit of following the Hallelujah Diet—silicon. It is part of how the Hallelujah Diet helps you stay looking young and feeling energetic and staying away from injuries. God is good! Truly He fills our mouth with good things, so that our strength is renewed like the eagles.Figure 1. Absorption of silicon from 8 Different Sources. (OSA = ortho silicic acid, ChOSA = choline-stabilized ortho silicic acid, Magnesium trisilicate BP = an antacid British Pharmacopoeia, MMST = monomethyl silanetriol.)

References

Jones K, Linhart C, Hawkins C, Exley C. Urinary Excretion of Aluminium and Silicon in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. EBioMedicine. 2017 Dec;26:60-67. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2017.10.028. Epub 2017 Nov 1. PMID: 29128442; PMCID: PMC5832610. - Powell JJ, McNaughton SA, Jugdaohsingh R, Anderson SH, Dear J, Khot F, Mowatt L, Gleason KL, Sykes M, Thompson RP, Bolton-Smith C, Hodson MJ. A provisional database for the silicon content of foods in the United Kingdom. Br J Nutr. 2005 Nov;94(5):804-12. doi: 10.1079/bjn20051542. PMID: 16277785. - Jugdaohsingh R, Anderson SH, Tucker KL, Elliott H, Kiel DP, Thompson RP, Powell JJ. Dietary silicon intake and absorption. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 May;75(5):887-93. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/75.5.887. PMID: 11976163. - Sripanyakorn S, Jugdaohsingh R, Dissayabutr W, Anderson SH, Thompson RP, Powell JJ. The comparative absorption of silicon from different foods and food supplements. Br J Nutr. 2009 Sep;102(6):825-34. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509311757. Epub 2009 Apr 9. PMID: 19356271; PMCID: PMC2744664.

Food	Mg Silicon / 100 g
Wholegrain bread	4.78
Muesli, Swiss style	5.59
Porridge oat, dry	11.39
Rice, brown, boiled	3.76
Wheat bran	10.98
Apple, raw	0.21
Avocado, fresh	0.64
Banana, raw	4.77
Blackberries, raw	0.23
Dates, dried	16.61
Grapefruit, raw	0.40
Grapes, green and red	0.49
Mango, fresh, raw, smooth	3.15
Peaches, raw	0.64
Pineapple, raw	3.93
Strawberries, raw	0.99
Black-eye beans, boiled	1.15
Hummus	0.97
Lentils, green and brown, boiled	1.95
Lentils, red, boiled	4.42
Red kidney beans, boiled	1.14
Green beans, fresh, boiled	8.73
Broccoli, green, boiled	0.78
Cabbage, white, raw	0.53
Carrots, fresh, raw	0.10
Celery, raw	0.29
Cucumber, raw	2.53
Peas, frozen, boiled	1.75
Peppers, red, raw	0.22
Potato, fresh, peeled, boiled	0.34
Salad, mixed leaves, fresh, raw	1.76
Sweet potato, peeled, boiled	0.27
Brazil nuts	0.28
Cashew nuts, roasted	0.60
Tahini	1.99
Water, mineral, non-English, sparkling	0.70 (2.48 for 12 oz.)
Water, mineral/spring water, sparkling	0.39 (1.38 for 12 oz.)
Water, mineral or spring, still	0.54 (1.92 for 12 oz.)