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Thread: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

  1. #21
    made of sugar and cyanide MandyBeth's Avatar
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    I am one of the 4+ year users without side effects. Basically, I've been in areas where the risk is fairly high for a parasitic infection. My immune system is suppressed and goes hay-wire on it's own accord, so I'm fairly likely to get the parasites. I take DE, I've tested clean, I show no signs of parasites, and I don't have to take more nasty chemicals.

    I take a spoonful (table spoon, not heaping full), mix it in with applesauce and take it in the morning. I've also mixed the DE in my morning drink and drank it quick, or put it in a bottle that I could keep shaking (like juice) and took it that way.

    I don't think it does anything for my fibro/RA/SLE. But I can't say it DOESN'T do anything. I'm not worse on the DE, but I do believe if I had to take more chemicals to kill off bugs, I'd probably have a fairly nasty health decline - so in a way, it's helpful.

    As for if the silica is harmful - I likely ingest over the upper limit. I take 5 1,000 mcg tabs of Biotin a day and silica is the 2nd "other" ingredient in the pill. Silica is also helpful for if you have risk for cardiovascular issues and bone/joint issues - of which both RA and SLE have increased risks. My renal problems are from the SLE, which is proven to my doctors, not from an over-dose of silica. Not sure exactly what the overdose even is, I can't find that part. Just that if you do OD on it, you risk renal damage. If there was a clear number or risk, I might be more concerned.

    Which I consider a basic instruction on anything. I can OD on water also, but I'm hardly going to suggest that you don't drink water. I'm going to say that 99% of people I've met don't drink enough water and another bottle (20 oz) daily is likely going to help you.

    Plus - is the damage shown in people, other mammals, rats, fish, what? I can find studies daily that say x chemical/compound/substance causes cancer in lab rats. Having owned rats, daily life causes cancer in them and at the same ages, so something causes cancer. Oxygen does also. I still plan on breathing. While I don't suggest we all go drink vast quanitites of aspartame - to get the same cancer causing as shown in lab rats - you have to drink 21 cans of diet soda every day for 60 years basically. The Ramazzini Foundation found that rats who were force fed OVER 100 times the recommended maximum amount daily lived just as long as control rats - and they were trying to prove how bad aspartame is.
    Last edited by MandyBeth; January 14th, 2010 at 11:47 AM. Reason: Forgot the other part...

  2. #22
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by Yedda View Post
    Do anyone know how much silica is actually in Diatomaceous earth, in g/mg?

    I was looking online and couldn't find those numbers off the bat.
    The Soluble Silicon content in DE is 21.67PPM and accounts for .002761 % of it's composition. That's all I've been able to find, and I'm not sure how to work that out to g/mg.

    Source: http://www.internet-grocer.net/diatome.htm
    Also see spiffy chart giving detailed break down of mineral content in DE: http://www.internet-grocer.net/de-1.jpg
    (I don't want to imbed the image because I don't want to nick their bandwidth and also don't wish to submit people who aren't interested in minutia to info overload.)

    It is important to keep in mind that there are several kinds of silica. The type of silica found in Food Grade DE is Amorphous Silica. DE has been found in human studies to lower blood cholesterol levels. (Studies performed by Institute of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Austria. Source: http://www.diatomitecanada.com/the-s...eous-earth.htm )

    At any rate, you're certainly not raining on my parade Thanks for the heads up, and I certainly appreciate your concerns. At my current dosage of around 1 TBSP/day I don't feel that I'm in danger of exceeding the safely recommended doses. I will continue to take DE as I have experienced several health benefits from it including more restful sleep, (I used to wake up several times throughout the night for no real reason,) a marked decrease in joint pain from my Rheumatoid Arthritis, improved digestion, and a general decrease in the severity of my allergies. (Now if only it could prevent me from catching cold...)

  3. #23
    Persistent Procrastinator teela1978's Avatar
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Based on those numbers (unless I messed up somewhere... which is possible). There'd be 0.02761 mg of soluble silica per gram of diatomaceous earth. So you'd have to eat 3.6 kilos of the stuff to be in the toxic zone.

    On the other hand, it sounds like a banana will give you more of the silica you'd need anyway... and I'd rather eat a banana than dirt.

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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by Akiko View Post
    I saw the chart on the linked site. It says 250mg of banana contains 13.6mg of silica. That cannot be true, can it? I am eating a banana. It weighs 100g. So....

    1000/0.250x13.6=5440 mg of silica in a single banana!

    That's 388-600 times more than RDI. Maybe it is supposed to be 13.6mg silica/250g banana.
    it is say 13.6mg for 250g banana

  5. #25
    Member jaine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by teela1978 View Post
    Based on those numbers (unless I messed up somewhere... which is possible). There'd be 0.02761 mg of soluble silica per gram of diatomaceous earth. So you'd have to eat 3.6 kilos of the stuff to be in the toxic zone.

    On the other hand, it sounds like a banana will give you more of the silica you'd need anyway... and I'd rather eat a banana than dirt.
    I checked your numbers and arrived at the same result. I also ate 5 bananas today. Go me!

  6. #26
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by teela1978 View Post
    Based on those numbers (unless I messed up somewhere... which is possible). There'd be 0.02761 mg of soluble silica per gram of diatomaceous earth. So you'd have to eat 3.6 kilos of the stuff to be in the toxic zone.

    On the other hand, it sounds like a banana will give you more of the silica you'd need anyway... and I'd rather eat a banana than dirt.
    Awesome, thanks for doing the math!

    Regarding Banana vs. DE, I can't really blame you While I'm definitely a fan of DE, I realize that it's not for everyone. It took me months to get past my mental road block of "It. Is. DIRT."

    In the end I gave in because in all of my researches I couldn't find any good reason not to give it a shot. (And to be honest, I've tried crazier remedies.)

  7. #27

    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by MandyBeth View Post
    I am one of the 4+ year users without side effects. Basically, I've been in areas where the risk is fairly high for a parasitic infection. My immune system is suppressed and goes hay-wire on it's own accord, so I'm fairly likely to get the parasites. I take DE, I've tested clean, I show no signs of parasites, and I don't have to take more nasty chemicals.

    I don't think it does anything for my fibro/RA/SLE. But I can't say it DOESN'T do anything. I'm not worse on the DE, but I do believe if I had to take more chemicals to kill off bugs, I'd probably have a fairly nasty health decline - so in a way, it's helpful.
    Raw garlic is a powerful anti-parasitic, and the most dangerous side effect it has on most people is smelly breath and BO.

    Pumpkin seeds are good, too, and delicious.

  8. #28
    Member katha's Avatar
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Wow thanks for that info. Will reconsider my supplements..

  9. #29
    made of sugar and cyanide MandyBeth's Avatar
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by teela1978 View Post
    Based on those numbers (unless I messed up somewhere... which is possible). There'd be 0.02761 mg of soluble silica per gram of diatomaceous earth. So you'd have to eat 3.6 kilos of the stuff to be in the toxic zone.

    On the other hand, it sounds like a banana will give you more of the silica you'd need anyway... and I'd rather eat a banana than dirt.
    Math is about right.

    If 100mg is the toxic dose - eating 2 1000g bananas is toxic. I'm far, far more likely to eat 2 1000g bananas without thinking about it than I am going to be eating 3.6 kilos (or about 7.92 pounds) of DE - which isn't dirt, but crushed diatoms.

    Yes - if you inhale silica as silicon dioxide - it is a hazard. Amorphous silica does not show the same problems at all. And (if you don't inhale it), it appears inert and harmless. USCDC recommends using DE for cleanup of toxic liquid spills. Food grade DE - which is the only one that is recommended by anyone here I believe - is amorphous silica. Pool grade DE - which is NOT recommended - because it's heated and treated with soda ash - reverts to a crystalline form and is not safe.

    For the record - I don't strongly recommend inhaling ANYTHING other than basic air without a doctor's advice. I will say for all of my ideas that it may not do anything really - I do think I do better with DE than without. I would not be surprised to find out some day that my system requires all the silica I'd give it in it's ongoing fight against my immune system that wants to destroy my body.

    Please also keep in mind - I'm very warped. I've had JRA/RA for 21 years. I've has SLE for 13 years ago. In 1950, SLE killed 90% of people in 5 years. I figure I'm living on borrowed time every day, so I just don't worry about it.

    I don't mind cooked garlic, but raw garlic is something that my system will rebel against. Phooey.

    Now, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) - yummy!

  10. #30
    ambivalent long hair Akiko's Avatar
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    Default Re: Diatomaceous earth/silica: WARNING

    Quote Originally Posted by marobader View Post
    it is say 13.6mg for 250g banana
    O, thanks for the now. Now it is in grams! Strange. When I checked this morning, it was 250mg on my screen. I checked multiple times. Weird. Well, anyhow it sounds right now!

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