OMG!!! Tell me we're not killing ourselves.

[LuXious]

Biogenic silica and esophageal cancer?!?!

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a913629139&db=all

[sibylla]

Thank you for sharing this information!I have to check that I don´t have any products with silica in them. I try to avoid it if I can.

[Bast]

I'm not able to read the whole thing, just the abstract...do you have access to the whole thing?

[Cirafly24]

Almost everything is a carcinogen these days. :rolleyes:

If you are referring to DE and/or silica supplements that are used by a lot of us, I don't believe those are spicule shaped. Also keep in mind that the study was done on mouse skin models, not people. From what I read, it specifically references sugar cane workers and browsing cattle, which leads me to believe the study was done with long term, heavy exposure to that specific kind of silica in plants.

Probably nothing to worry about.

[ArienEllariel]

That's why I'm very hesitant to start taking a suppliment or herbal remedy (or even perscription medications) without checking it out first in great detail. While things like (just random examples) primrose oil or ecchanacia are "natural" and therefore supposed to be "good" I always have to check carefully because they haven't been laberatory tested in general. Remember, Arsenic and Poison Oak are "natural" too.

One of my friends eats all sorts of plants out of her garden (some of which haven't really been verified as safe to eat) and takes all sorts of natural suppliments and she (to be honest) doesn't look very healthy to me. I'm not saying this is true of everyone but you do have to be very careful. Everything is permisable but not everything is beneficial. Just my :twocents: :)

[dropinthebucket]

Many vitamins and over-the-counter meds contain silica as a non-medecinal ingredient (including my MSM capsules), so i'm definitely going to be on the lookout for more on this!

On the one hand, if we stayed away from everything that might be a potential carcinogen we'd have to seal ourselves away in a hermetic bubble - even our air is toxic to some degree, at this point; on the other hand, the FDA has approved some pretty heinous things in the past (silicone breast implants, for one) after *apparently* sufficient study. Dunno what to think on this yet -- please post more info. if/when you find it!

[Arctic_Mama]

While I tend to take any study proclaiming a substance go be carcinogenic with a grain of salt, in lieu of additional studies and evidence besides to support its' conclusion, it's always good to have more information at our hands than not.

I'm not taking any silica supplements, and I do not believe the vitamin store supplements contain that particular type of silica, but I'll keep my eyes open, just in case :)

[faeflame]

Does anyone know if the silica supplement Biosil is different than the form of silica that is in this study? The Biosil label says it is Choline-Stabilized Orthosilicic Acid and is better absorbed than the silica say in horsetail supplements.

[LuXious]

I looked around a little bit more, and it appears that the dangerous silica is crystalline, which is only .5% of food grade DE or from inhaling it over long periods of time. So, stay away from crystalline silica, don't breathe in the dust when you're mixing DE into food and you should be okay. Thank goodness. I'll be ordering my DE now.

[jera]

Silica is known to aggravate some autoimmune diseases, like lupus, and for this reason I don't take any form of silica orally. Better to be safe when it comes to potential health issues. :)

[Flynn]

Does anyone know if the silica supplement Biosil is different than the form of silica that is in this study? The Biosil label says it is Choline-Stabilized Orthosilicic Acid and is better absorbed than the silica say in horsetail supplements.

Yes, it is. It's soluble silica, basically.

[Flynn]

I think the problem here is not the silica itself, but the shape of it. Basically, you're eating tiny needles. It's kind of similar to why asbestos gives you respiratory cancer.

If anyone desperately wants the full article, I have access to it. I think handing it out might be a violation of the terms of use of the database, but if you really want it, PM me with an email address I can send it to.

[girloctopus]

It appears as if the study linked to is from 1986. Are there any more recent studies along the same lines?