Working Draft for book titled "Silica Water the secret for Health and Blue Zone Longevity from Conception to Old Age" written by Dennis N Crouse PhD
This book is now available on Amazon Link to Book
Chapter 6 – Supplemental Dissolved Silica
The primary reason for taking
supplemental silica is to decrease the accumulated aluminum burden of your
body’s organs. This will lower the risk of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s,
atherosclerosis, stroke, and cancer leading to greater longevity. In addition
supplemental silica can decrease the symptoms of autism and improve male
fertility. Orthosilicic acid (OSA) acts as a pH dependent selective chelator of
aluminum. Unlike classical metal chelators, such as EDTA, that bind to a wide
variety of metal ions, OSA binds only to aluminum hydroxide dimers at pH
greater than 5.5 (see chapter 2). For
example OSA does not bind to iron3+ that has the same size and ionic charge as
aluminum. Remarkable OSA supplementation facilitates the removal of aluminum
from bones that were once thought to be a stable sink for aluminum in the body.
The following conclusions
were reached with rats on a supplemental silica diet that involved oral
administration of dissolved silica as OSA in water at concentrations of 200 and
400ppm for 5 weeks with and without supplemental aluminum as discussed in
chapter 2:
·
In every tissue and organ
tested, including brain, bone, liver, spleen, and kidneys, the prior
accumulated aluminum is reversed by supplemental OSA.
·
The reversal in aluminum
accumulation is dose dependent averaging 58% with 200ppm of OSA and 79% with
400ppm of supplemental OSA after just 5 weeks.
·
OSA at twice its saturation
level in water (e.g. 400ppm) is more effective at lowering aluminum
accumulation than at its 200ppm saturation level. This implies that insoluble OSA
oligomers (i.e. short polymers), formed in supersaturated OSA, may bind to some
of the supplemental aluminum in the gut preventing aluminum absorption30.
·
There is less supplemental aluminum
in urine with 200ppm OSA supplementation than without 200ppm OSA
supplementation. Therefore because OSA at 200ppm does not form oligomers, OSA
monomers must also bind to some of the supplemental aluminum in the gut
preventing aluminum absorption64.
Orally taking supplemental
OSA at concentrations over its saturation level (i.e. 200ppm) without
sufficient water for dilution can result in painful silica kidney stones. Likewise taking dissolvable OSA polymers or
magnesium silicate without sufficient water for dilution can also result in
painful kidney stones as discussed in chapter 1. Therefore the safest and most effective silica
supplement is OSA in water at a concentration of less than 200ppm.
The Good and the Bad Silica Supplements
In order to lower the body’s
burden of accumulated aluminum the orally ingested silica supplement must
absorbed by the gut and travel in the blood to the organs. This is called
silica bioavailability. The more bioavailable a silica supplement is the more
effective it is at facilitating the elimination in urine and sweat of accumulated
aluminum. Therefore a bad silica supplement has low bioavailability and remains
in the gut to be excreted as feces.
Some low bioavailability
supplements are called “binders” and include colloidal suspensions of silica,
plant fibers containing biosilifications, diatomaceous earth, clays, activated
carbon, zeolites, and silica polymers. These binders are not worth taking,
because the food we eat is a very effective binder for aluminum in the
gut. 99.8% of the aluminum we ingest
with food is not absorbed by the body and is instead bound to the undigested food
and excreted in feces. Some of the
remaining 0.2% of aluminum can be prevented from being absorbed into the blood by
drinking supplemental dissolved OSA during or after a meal64. Some binders, such as zeolites and clays,
contain complexed aluminum that in the acidity of the human gut can become
labile ionic aluminum that is absorbed. Table 30 compares the good and bad
silica supplements by their bioavailability of OSA.
Three to four cups a day of
OSA rich silica water is recommended as a daily supplement. The half-life of
absorbed OSA in the blood is approximately 3 hours. Therefore drinking a cup of
OSA rich silica water every 3 to 4 hours during the day is the optimum strategy
for aluminum elimination. Most people do not have side effects when drinking
OSA rich silica water. However if you do have suspected side effects, cut back
to 1 cup a day and slowly increase to 3 to 4 cups a day.
Note that The European Food Safety
Authority therefore recommends that liquid choline stabilized OSA be taken at a
maximum dose of 10 drops equivalent to 10 mg. of silicon complexed with 200mg
of choline per day472,473.
|
Table 30. Silica Supplements417,469
|
||||
|
Supplement
|
Dose/Day
|
Silicon\Dose\Day
|
Bioavailable
OSA Si/Day
|
Cost/Day
|
|
Natural WatersAK
|
3 - 4 cups
|
25.5-34mg
|
11 – 14.7mg
|
$1.00 - $1.50
|
|
SilicadeBK
|
3 - 4 cups
|
25.5-34mg
|
11 – 14.7mg
|
$0.04 - $0.05C
|
|
Choline Stab OSADK StabOSAD OOSASAD
|
10 drops
|
10mg
|
1.7mg
|
$0.42
|
|
Choline Stab OSAEK
|
2 veg caps
|
10mg
|
1.7mg
|
$0.83
|
|
Colloidal SilicaF
|
30 drops
|
175mg
|
0.15mg
|
$0.60
|
|
Colloidal SilicaG
|
10cc
|
163mg
|
0.40mg
|
$0.59
|
|
BambooH
|
1cap(300mg)
|
99mg
|
0.29mg
|
$0.10
|
|
HorsetailI
|
1cap(500mg)
|
16.5mg
|
0.11mg
|
$0.04
|
|
Diatomaceous EarthH
|
625mg
|
<2.9mg
|
0.07mg
|
$0.01
|
A.Fiji and Starkey – natural waters; B. Silicade – synthetic silica water; C. Excluding cost of tap water; D. Biosil
Choline Stab. OSA; E. Biosil Veg
Caps; F. Eidon – Ionic Minerals
Silica Concentrate; G. Saguna – Silicolgel Colloidal OSA; H. Swanson; I.
Swanson; J. Swanson
K. Samples acidified to pH3.2 for 4 hours all other
samples for 24 hours prior to testing for OSA
Natural OSA Rich Silica Water Supplements
Good silica supplements are
high in dissolved OSA and include OSA rich silica waters and beers. The
commercially available natural OSA rich silica waters that I have tested are
indicated with a ”*”:
·
Starkey Spring Water from
Idaho is available from Whole Foods (94ppm OSA*)
·
Fiji water from Fiji is
available in the U.S. (122ppm OSA*)
·
Volvic water from France is
available in the U.S. and Europe (51 ppm OSA*)
·
Gerolsteiner from Germany is
available in Europe (64ppm OSA*)
·
Spritzer Natural Mineral
Water from Malaysia is available in Europe (69ppm OSA)
·
Acilis water from Malaysia is
available in Europe (88ppm OSA)
OSA is present in beer, non-alcoholic beer, wine, and some sprits due to
the use of silicic acid as a clarifying agent to remove colloidal hazes from
these beverages. Also the grain used for
brewing may add dissolved silica to beer during preparation. The mean silicon
level of 76 different beers has been found to be 19.2ppm449. Some of these beers have high levels of OSA,
such as Clausthaler Premium with 118ppm of OSA79.
Synthetic OSA Rich Silica Water Supplement
In 2009 synthetic silica water containing 73ppm of
OSA was made and tested for its bioavailability in healthy human volunteers
19-40 years of age (16 males and 16 females). (1) Urinary silicon was used as a
surrogate maker of bioavailable Si (7, 14).
The percentage of silicon excreted in the urine over a 6 hour period was
43.1% + 3.6% making it one of the best
sources of supplemental silica available. Serum silicon was also measured
during this 6 hour period and was found to start at 120 mcg/l, peak at 670 mcg/l
after 2 hours and then decline to slowly to 200 mcg/liter after 6 hours. This
work proved that synthetic silica was absorbed in the gut, dissolved in the
blood, collected by the kidneys and excreted in the urine in a matter of 6
hours after ingestion.
The synthetic silica water was made from
concentrated liquid alkaline sodium silicate that was purchased from the
Aldrich Chemical Company (7 mol Si/liter containing 10.5% as Na2O
and 27% SiO2 with a SiO2 to Na2O ratio of
3.22). The procedure involved diluting
the basic sodium silicate in water and then acidifying with hydrochloric acid
to pH 7.0. (15) The final solution
contained 73ppm OSA (21.4 mg Si) as measured by inductively coupled plasma
optical emission spectrometry.
Silicade as a Synthetic OSA
Rich Silica Water Supplement
Making silicon rich water weekly at home is easy and much less expensive
and more sustainable than purchasing water bottled in Fiji or Malaysia. I call this water “Silicade”. Silicade
provides dissolved silica to keep your body-burden of aluminum under control.
Silicade preparation requires only two ingredients and a set of small measuring
spoons that are all easy to purchase online and have shipped to your home. Silicade can be stored indefinitely in the
dark like Fiji water. The chemicals to
make Silicade store well and should be kept out of children’s reach:
·
Low Alkalinity Hydrous Sodium
Silicate: a hydrous powder available from Chemical Store Online. The powder is safer and easier to measure than the liquid form and
has a purity of 99.5% with a ratio of SiO2 to Na2O of
3.22 (Na2O=19.2%, SiO2=61.8%) and a water of hydration to
SiO2 ratio of 1.0 with 20.3% water. Only order “sodium silicate – low alkalinity”. Do not order “sodium silicate – alkaline” from the Chemical Store. Note:
This solid sodium silicate is manufactured by the PQ Corporation of Valley
Forge, PA as Product G with 18.5% water and 89% goes through a 100 mesh filter.
·
Sodium Bisulfate: a white
powder 99.5% pure of micro-prills (i.e. very small pellets) from Professor
Fullwood of LoudWolf Ltd. is available from Amazon. Note that both optional calcium chloride and
magnesium sulfate are available from the same source.
·
Mini Measuring Spoon Set: Norpro
3061D from Dine Company Online. Currently priced under $4 without shipping.
Three measuring spoons come attached to a single ring. Only the dash and
smidgen are used for Silicade preparation. In order to avoid accidental use of
the wrong measuring spoon, remove the pinch from the ring.
·
Spatula: Any small spatula with a straight-edge works to level the contents of
the measuring spoons prior to addition.
By following these instructions you can easily prepare a gallon of
Silicade:
1)
A level dash and two level smidgens (3/16 of a teaspoon, 600mg. with 597mg
as SiO2[NaO2]1/3.22 H2O (mw 88.66) of
hydrous powdered sodium silicate is placed in a Pyrex glass measuring cup,
suspended in 1/8 cup of tap water, brought to boiling in the microwave or on
the stove, and boiled for 30sec. The powder contains 99.5% water soluble sodium
silicate and 0.5% max. of water insoluble materials as required by the American
Waterworks Standard B104-98 for adding
sodium silicate to drinking water.
Note: Do not use more than 1/8 cup of tap water as more water will
lower the pH making the sodium silicate less soluble.
2)
The hot water with dissolved sodium silicate is immediately diluted to
one gallon (3.785 liters) with cold tap water resulting in a 1.29 mM/liter (124ppm)
solution of pH 9.8 OSA.
3)
One level dash (1/8 of a teaspoon, 0.83 gr, 6.9 mM) of sodium
bisulfate is added to the solution of OSA and dissolved with stirring in order
to acidify the solution to pH 4.0 to 5.0. Optionally,
if tap water is more basic than pH 8.5, use a pH meter while slowly adding a
little more sodium bisulfate in order to lower the pH to 4.0-5.0. Etekcity pH pen meter
PH-2011 is a temperature compensated low cost pH meter available online. A pH
7.0 standard solution is recommended for periodic calibration of the pH meter.
4)
The clear colorless acidic solution of OSA is further purified by
filtering through a Brita pitcher style filter (i.e. OB03) resulting in OSA at
a pH of 4.4.
5)
Two level smidgens of sodium bicarbonate (a.k.a. baking soda) are
added and dissolved with stirring in the gallon of filtered OSA, resulting in
Silicade with a pH of 6.5, a TDS of 285 at 25oC, and less than
2mcg/L labile aluminum. Each quart of
Silicade contains 34mg of dissolved silicon as 117.3mg of monomeric (OSA).
6)
Optionally make
Silicade Plus Calcium, if tap water is low in calcium, add two level dashes of calcium
chloride flakes or prills (840mg 36% calcium) 99% pure from Loudwolf/Amazon.
This will increase the calcium level by 80mg per liter, the TDS to 450 at 25oC,
and the pH to 6.6 in a gallon of Silicade + Ca. Labile aluminum in calcium
enriched Silicade is less than 2mcg/L. It has been found that calcium at concentrations greater than or equal to 75mg/L have a
significant protective effect on cognition461. Optionally add a heaping dash of magnesium
sulfate to increase magnesium by 20mg/L.
7)
Optionally make
Sparkling Silicade - Carbonate Silicade resulting in pH 4.5 beverages.
Drink 3 to 4 cups of Silicade a day around
meal times in order to provide a total of 25.5 to 34mg of silicon as monomeric
OSA. This is 7.7 to 10.3 times the 3.3mg of silicon that when consumed as OSA
per day was observed to lower the frequency of AD76. In the
U.S. 160mg per liter of OSA (i.e. 100mg per liter of SiO2) is
generally recognized as safe in drinking water462.
Why This Recipe Works
Why This Recipe Works
The goal of this recipe for orthosilicic acid
(OSA) in drinking water is to use an easily measured solid silica powder and an
acidic microprill that are commercially available online and shipped to anyone,
not just chemical laboratories. Both of these chemicals are high purity (e.g.
99.5%).
·
Solubilize and
hydrolyze sodium silicate to OSA: Boiling powdered sodium silicate for 30
seconds in an eighth of a cup of tap water keeps the pH high enough (e.g. pH =
13) to solubilize and hydrolyze 99.5% to monomeric OSA and short silica
polymers463-465.
·
Neutralize and prevent
re-polymerization of OSA: In order to prevent OSA re-polymerization, immediately dilute the
basic (e.g. pH=13) OSA solution to a gallon with tap water. To render the solution non-hazardous,
acidify the solution to pH 4.0 to 5.0 with the solid acid sodium bisulfate. A
1.29mM OSA solution is well below OSA’s saturation level in water (e.g. 2-3mM)
but requires 7 days to fully stabilize rising from 108ppm immediately after
preparation to 124ppm417. Polymerization of OSA has been observed at neutral pH only well
above OSA’s saturation level (i.e. 42mM)453,464,465.
·
Remove Aluminum: For optimal
aluminum removal acidify the OSA solution to pH 4.0 to 5.0 and then filter through
a Brita pitcher style filter (OB03)417. A significant portion (e.g. 98.5%) of the
labile aluminum introduced in tap water is removed416,417. This Brita filter is a combined activated
carbon and cation exchange resin that removes cations like aluminum but does
not remove OSA417. If the tap
water used for Silicade is between pH 6.5 to 8.5, as per EPA’s secondary
drinking water standard, then after acidification, filtration, and bicarbonate
addition Silicade will be pH 6.5.
·
Optionally add
Calcium and/or Magnesium: Have your tap water checked and if it is low in calcium and/or magnesium, add
supplemental calcium and/or magnesium to Silicade. The Brita filter reduces calcium and magnesium in
Quabbin tap water by one half416. Drinking water with calcium at levels of
80mg/L and magnesium at levels of 20mg/L has been found to be optimal for good
health466. This may be due to calcium and
magnesium competing with aluminum for absorption by the gut451. Calcium catalyzes the polymerization of OSA but
only at pH greater than 8467,468.
Silicade + Ca is pH 6.6 and at this pH OSA in Silicade + Ca
is primarily a non-polymeric monomer417.
