Sand In Your Supplements- You May Be Paying to Damage Yourself
It takes a lot of searching to find supplement products that are clean, unadulterated, with no added ingredients, fillers, binders and free flowing agents. These ingredients contained in your products could be damaging your body making your health decline.
If it’s not food, don’t put it in your mouth.
Silica, silicone dioxide, silicon and others all fall from the same source.
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Critical Reviews In Food Science Nutrition says, “Traditionally, silicas have had a broad spectra of product usage including such areas as viscosity control agents in inks, paints, corrosion-resistant coatings, etc. and as excipients in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In the food industry, the most important application has been as an anticaking agent in powdered mixes, seasonings, and coffee whiteners.”
They go on to say, “Amorphous silica has multifunctional properties that would allow it to act as a viscosity control agent, emulsion stabilizer, suspension and dispersion agent, desiccant, etc.”
There has to be a reason to add an ingredient to a product. The real question remains in the room, sitting there like an elephant, “What does it really do to the body?”
AkzoNobel, a company of over 4,000 scientists, says, “Silica is another name for silicon oxides – the most prevalent type being SiO2. It can be found in nature in crystalline form (as quartz sand), and it is the most abundant component of the earth’s crust. Amorphous silica, on the other hand, is industrially manufactured in a variety of forms – including silica gels, precipitated silica, fumed silica, and colloidal silica.”
They describe silica as sand, opal and flint.
AkzoNoble considers itself, “A pioneering heritage which has created scientific breakthroughs in paints, plastics and chemistry, thanks in no small part to Alfred Nobel, one of our founding fathers.”
Critical Reviews In Food Science Nutrition puts it bluntly, “The utilization of silicas in these potential applications, however, has not been undertaken, partially because of the limited knowledge of their physiochemical interactions with other food components and partially due to their controversial status from a toxicological point of view.”
Yet, we are ingesting it in supplements, taken with food.
Life Sciences says silica leaches into lymph nodes.
They further add, “Through magnetic resonance spectroscopy and atomic emission spectroscopy, silicon compounds were found in the blood of some women with silicone breast implants; silicone and silica have also been found in liver. Well-publicized case reports have raised significant concerns regarding an association between implants and systemic disease.”
The European Union says, “Silica is commonly found in nature as sand. Silica exists in many different forms that can be crystalline as well as non-crystalline (amorphous).”
Diatomaceous Earth is a form of silica, in the natural form (non-crystalline) derived from amorphous silica.
Crystalline silica is a different story. The European Union describes it as, “Hard, chemically inert and has a high melting point. These are valued/important properties in various industrial uses.”
Quartz is a crystalline silica.
When a product lists a silica as an ingredient we really don’t know what form it is exactly. It could very well be Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth, a healthy food grade product used to cleanse the body of toxins and parasites. On the other hand it could be sand, quartz or flint.
It’s common knowledge that a successful business needs to reduce costs to increase profits.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth costs anywhere from $11 for a 10 pound bag like this one, to over $40 for the same size bag. Click here or here to read more on the uses and benefits for cleansing.
A 50-pound-bag of sand, like this, costs $7.
The European Union says, “Quartz is the most common form of crystalline silica and is the second most common mineral on the earth’s surface. It is found in almost every type of rock i.e. igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. Since it is so abundant, quartz is present in nearly all mining operations.”
The European Association of Industrial Silica Producers says, “The silica in the sand will normally be in the crystalline form of quartz. Depending on how the silica deposit was formed, quartz grains may be sharp and angular, sub-angular, sub-rounded or rounded. Foundry and filtration applications require sub-rounded or rounded grains for best performance.”
Silica, as mineral, is needed in the body. It is most predominantly found in our connective tissues, skin, blood vessels, cartilage, bone, teeth, tendons and hair. Much like a web netting it holds us up. Silica is found in high amounts in any vegetable that stands straight up like asparagus and celery as well as palm trees. This is silica in its natural form.
Dr. Andrew Weil, MD says, “Although silica supplements are being widely promoted for the prevention of osteoporosis, I know of no research demonstrating that they actually help increase bone density or prevent bone loss.”
The main problem with using ingredients that fill a capsule instead of food ingredients is the body needs to process that ingredient.
Sometimes it takes a great deal of effort for the body.
In his book Enzymes, The Key To Health, Dr. Loomis says, “The body will compensate for any deviation in the contents of the blood by pulling what it needs from its tissues.” (pXXVI).
He goes on to say, “Most of the vitamins and minerals that you buy at the drugstore and health food store come from the processing of wood or petroleum. Any chemist will tell you that a vitamin is a vitamin – the same molecular structure regardless of the source, natural or synthetic. The problem is science on paper does not nourish a body.” (page 60).
Man will never create a product as well as God himself. He made your body. He made the food that feeds your body. If we eat man’s food, made from man’s ingredients, we will not thrive. you can not feed a body chemicals and expect it to perform in a healthy manner long term.
*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, CGP, D.PSc. who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. She works as a Certified GAPS Practitioner who sees clients in her office, Skype and phone. She has been published in Wise Traditions, spoken at two Weston A. Price Conferences, Certified GAPS Practitioner Trainings, has been on many radio shows, television shows and writes for Nourishing Plot. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia, through food, she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. She is a Chapter Leader for The Weston A. Price Foundation. becky.nourishingplot@hotmail.com
“GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The right of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patent and Designs Act 1988.
