Already in the Middle Ages, Saint Hildegard von Bingen in Physica. Classic Work on Health and Healing described the use of precious stones for health-promoting purposes. These stones, such as olivine and jasper, contain silicon. Today, we know that silicates are one of the organic forms of silicon found on the earth, and that like other nutrients, a deficiency or excess can cause a whole range of diseases. Silicon was discovered relatively recently – in 1824 – when a Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius isolated it from silica.
In nature, silicon (Latin silicium) occurs mainly in the form of the above-mentioned silicates and silica with the formula SiO2. The silicon content in the lithosphere is 276,000 [ppm], and in terms of quantity, it’s second behind oxygen. Under the influence of water and carbon dioxide, silicates are broken down into the final product, which is silica, for example, quartz sand. Its best-known form is the transparent mountain crystal, which, similar to black flint, is used to make silicon water.
Folk traditions of using silicon for medicinal purposes (for example, lining wells with black flint to obtain the right water quality) have been proven in contemporary studies, which have shown that in contact with water, silicon begins to produce silicic acid. This is a substance that, when it penetrates into the body, is able to dissolve impurities and sodium deposits, dissolve and help excrete stones and sand from the urinary tract and bile ducts, cleanse the intestines, and strengthen the immune system. Russian scientists have also proved that water activated by silicon becomes bactericidal, kills viruses, lowers blood sugar levels and can have significance in the fight against cancer. It also treats bedsores, burns and ulcers, and is widely used in cosmetics.
THE ENEMY OF SILICON – ALUMINIUM
Elemental hair analysis often finds silicon deficiencies. There are many reasons for this. The first is food that is low in this element. Central Europe has a soil complex of brown earth, podzolic loam and luvisol. They constitute almost 80% of all soils, of which 25% are very acidic soils from which alkaline components are easily leached and are replaced by hydrogen, aluminium, iron and manganese cations, which may pose a toxic threat to plants. Research shows that in 65% of the soils tested, the aluminium content exceeded the acceptable standard and posed a toxic threat to plants.
Humans are at the end of the food chain, eating food of animal and plant origin. However, the animals we eat eat toxic plants. If the proportions of elements are off in the soil, they are even more unbalanced in the human body. There are many substances harmful to human health in soil, water and air, and these include aluminium, which is a silicon antagonist. This means that when it occurs in excess, it displaces this valuable element from the body.
In nature, aluminium binds to sparingly soluble silicates and aluminosilicates. The progress of industrialisation, mechanisation and urbanisation has led to an increase in acid rain, which in turn reduces the pH of water and soil, and contributes to the occurrence of toxic forms of aluminium, which have an extremely negative impact on plants and living organisms. Therefore, in an acidic environment with a low pH (for example, 4-4.5), with a high concentration of aluminium, it accumulates in the body and disturbs the osmoregulation balance. This is how scientists noted one of the causes of fish kill.
Excess aluminium in plants that are consumed poses a threat to human and animal health, and the process of soil acidification can lead to the death of trees and their symbiotic mycorrhizal bacteria and fungi, which protect them against diseases and strengthen immunity. Plants that are particularly sensitive to aluminium include lettuce, beetroot, barley and timothy-grass, marjoram, basil, black pepper and tea. However, the most aluminium is accumulated by fodder plants, cereal grains, leaves and tuberous roots. If we add aluminium accumulated in the air; the use of drugs to treat, for example, hyperacidity; cosmetics and food products stored in cartons and foil, the aluminium content in the body increases, thus lowering the silicon, which competes with it in this environment.
Scientists from Great Britain conducted a study on patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease by giving them a litre of water rich in silicon every day for 12 weeks. The result was that the urine excreted by these people had high levels of toxic aluminium, and its overall content in the body decreased significantly. On the other hand, in the control group, which was not given the silicon water, no such results were found.
SILICON DEFICIENCY
Silicon is essential in every living organism. It’s found particularly in life-giving fluids, such as chlorophyll in plants and haemoglobin in the human body. The research shows that a human adult has approximately 6-7g of silicon, and some tissues accumulate more than others, especially those related to the immune system, such as the lymph nodes, lungs, spleen and aorta, as well as all connective tissue cells. It’s in connective tissue that the role of silicon is the most important. Our hair, nails and firm skin need it very much. This is because silicon is indispensable for the synthesis of collagen and the building of hyaluronic acid, which are substances needed not only for health, but also for beauty. It’s worth mentioning that all endocrine glands contain a large amount of silicon, and a deficiency can significantly disrupt their work.
Our bodies have countless microbes – viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasites. The latter can rob our body of silicon particularly effectively. So it’s worth looking after the acid-base homeostasis in order to prevent the proliferation of pathogens.
Russian scientist M. Voronkov proved that silicon absorbs and binds fungi, including Candida and other mycotoxins that affect dysbiosis. However, it turns out that symbiotic bacteria from the Lactobacillus family don’t have the ability to “stick” to silicon solutions. This is an extremely valuable discovery. Thanks to Voronkov, we know how important the symbiotic balance in our intestines is for human immunity. Many scientists claim that silicon is involved in the metabolism of calcium, fluorine, sodium, sulphur, aluminium, zinc, cobalt and many other elements. There is much information out there that approximately 70 other elements are not absorbed when we are deficient in silicon. This also applies to problems with calcium absorption and excessive absorption of strontium, which in turn displace silicon, being more active.
ADVANTAGES OF PHYTOTHERAPY – WHICH PLANTS CONTAIN SILICON?
In addition to water, which contains a lot of silicic acid, you should eat foods rich in this element, provided that it comes from pure, organic farming. Oats, buckwheat and raw millet contain a lot of silica. In addition, it’s also worth using herbal remedies. Large amounts of silicon compounds are found in bamboo shoots, oat straw, horsetail, knotweed, nettle, lady’s mantle, coltsfoot, aquatic and swamp plants, bedstraw, hempnettle, Iceland moss, borage, lungwort and fenugreek.
Unfortunately, the consumption of powdered herbs or infusions in the form of tea often doesn’t bring the desired results. The best form are decoctions, which means that the herbs are boiled for at least 10 minutes. When silica dissolves in water, it turns into a colloidal form, and it’s only then that our bodies absorb it well.
The best-known and most widely available is horsetail (Equisetum). Horsetail can be soaked in water for several hours in a glass or ceramic dish, or in a good-quality enamel pot. Avoid pots made of steel, especially aluminium, because valuable silica released from the herb can react with the metals contained in the pot. Pre-soaked herbs can later be cooked. A horsetail decoction should be cooked for approximately 5-10 minutes, and preferably approximately 20 minutes, on low heat to release silicon compounds in a friendly and high dose of colloidal silica. After straining, the tea can be drunk or used for bathing. The bath should last at least 20 minutes. Field horsetail baths can be used cyclically every 2-3 days.
Drinking teas from horsetail decoctions or taking baths is a very safe way of delivering silicon to the body. Herbal preparations with silicon are recommended for everyone, particularly for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and the elderly, who have the greatest demand for this element. It can be a way of avoiding excessive bleeding during menstruation, bleeding during pregnancy, bleeding gums, nose bleeds and spider veins, because silica has a very positive effect on blood clotting. Silicon in such preparations may also be useful in treating osteoporosis.
Everyone, especially women who want to prevent premature skin ageing and look after their hair and nails, should take preparations and baths that are silicon-based.
Please remember that horsetail contains an enzyme called thiaminase, which has the ability to break down vitamin B1, so don’t overdo it (even horsetail baths).
It’s worth mentioning Father Sebastian Kneipp, who is especially popular in Germany. This priest, who lived in the 19th century, successfully treated patients using baths and herbs, even without knowing their phytochemical structure. Today, we know that the positive effect of the oats or oat straw he used was due to their silicon content. In his book My water cure, he described the use of oats in the following way: – Long boiling releases juices from the oat grains… I often agonise over the fact that poor people, who above all need new, healthy blood, are offered a variety of other beverages, but not ones like this. Making the beverage is simple: rinse 1 litre of oats 6-8 times in clean water, then cook in 2 litres of water until half evaporates. Add 2 tablespoons of honey to this boiled and strained decoction and boil for several more minutes.
Today, we no longer have to guess whether we’re deficient in silicon or if our levels are normal. We can check this easily, ideally using elemental hair analysis. For silicon, it’s worth checking its relationship with the antagonistic aluminium, as well as the level of calcium and phosphorus and the impact of their interrelationships with silicon.
Natalia Chmielecka, Oczyść organizm i wzmocnij jego odporność -fitoterapia a uzupełnienie niedoboru krzemu [Cleanse your body and improve immunity – phytotherapy and eliminating silicon deficiency] DietPoint, 1(2)/2019, s. 30-35.
