There’s Something About Silica

            Bod•ē Strong is proud to feature ingredients like plant-sourced silica, but how much do you know about silica? “Silica, or silicon dioxide, most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms.”[1] Silica can be naturally found in many plants, including “alfalfa, beets, brown rice and oats. Bell peppers, soybeans and leafy green vegetables also provide ample amounts of this nutrient. Other food sources for silicon dioxide include asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, parsley, sunflower seeds and grain husks, such as from barley, oats, millet and wheat.”[2] Silica can also be found in herbs such as horsetail. “Horsetail is derived from huge, tree-like plants that thrived 400 million years ago during the Paleozoic era. A close relative of the fern, horsetail is a non-flowering weed found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. The plant is a perennial (returns each year) with hollow stems and shoots that look like asparagus at first. As the plant dries, silica crystals that form in the stems and branches look like feathery tails and give the plant a scratching effect.”[3]

Interestingly enough, “silicon is the second most abundant element in nature behind oxygen. As a metalloid, silicon has been used in many industrial applications including use as an additive in the food and beverage industry...silicon has been suggested to exhibit roles in the structural integrity of nails, hair, and skin, overall collagen synthesis, bone mineralization, and bone health.” Additionally, there is research to suggest that silica might be helpful with various health complications.[4]

            Who knew that such a tiny mineral could be so abundant or so beneficial to your body? Check out Bod•ē Strong to get your daily dose of silica and see what it can do for you!

[1] Iler RK (1979). The Chemistry of Silica. New York: Wiley. ISBN 9780471024040.

[2] Roizman, Tracey. “Natural Foods That Contain Silicon Dioxide.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, www.livestrong.com/article/518021-natural-foods-that-contain-silicon-dioxide/.

[3] “Horsetail.” Penn State Hershey Health Information Library, Pennsylvania State Hershey, pennstatehershey.adam.com/content.aspx?productId=107&pid=33&gid=000257.

[4] Martin KR. Silicon: the health benefits of a metalloid. Met Ions Life Sci. 2013;13:451-73. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-7500-8_14. Review. PubMed PMID: 24470100.