What Is Silica?
What is silica? Well, in nature, you’ll find silica taking the form of quartz or sand. Silica (aka Silicon dioxide or SiO2) occurs naturally in the earth’s crust. It can also be found in the planet’s water sources, its animals, and even in various kinds of plants. Furthermore, silicates (any member of a family of negatively charged ions made up of both silicon and oxygen) are also naturally consumed as a part of the human diet.1
But silica has found another purpose within the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, silica has several different uses when it comes to tablet-making for supplements. For instance, it is sometimes employed as an adsorbent (that means it can allow any number of liquids, gasses, or dissolved solids to adhere to it). Sometimes, silica is utilized as a disintegrant, causing therapeutic substances to disintegrate and release when they come into contact with water. Moreover, silica appears to be biologically inert. It is viewed as safe by the FDA.2
Silicon and oxygen are two of the earth’s most abundant natural compounds. In fact, silicon dioxide is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust.3
In the earth’s water sources, however, silicon is somewhat scarce. But here’s what’s so interesting: several microorganisms are able to extract dissolved silica from their aqueous habitats and deposit it into their skeletons in a relatively insoluble form.4
History Of Silica
Swedish scientist Baron Jöns Jacob Berzelius is credited with the discovery of silica in 1823. He deemed silicon an element and discovered it while preparing elementary silicon from potassium fluosilicate. Not only did Berzelius study silicon’s properties, but he also converted it to silicon dioxide by combustion. This proved it was a compound. Berzelius named the new element silicium (which he derived from the Latin word for “quartz”).5
Silicon dioxide is one of the most useful elements on the planet. It’s not only used in supplements, but it is also employed in electronics, ceramics, construction materials, and glass.6
Silica: Top Potential Health Benefits For A Healthy Lifestyle
Again, silicon is the most abundant element that exists within the Earth’s crust, with the exception of oxygen. Furthermore, the use of silicon has come to be associated with health benefits, including its potential to support the following:
- Bone health†
- Collagen production†
- Hair and nail health†
- Heart health†
- Immune function7,8,9†
Which Gundry MD Supplements Include Silica?
Among the Gundry MD line of supplements, you can find silica in Bio-Complete-3, Citrus Polyphenols, and Total Restore.
Bio-Complete-3 was thoughtfully crafted in an attempt to help aid gut health through the powerful combination of postbiotics, prebiotics, and probiotics.†
Citrus Polyphenols is designed to help support heart and cell health.†
Total Restore was designed to help support gut health and more comfortable joints.† If you’re interested in learning more about Bio-Complete-3, Total Restore, or Citrus Polyphenols supplements, please take the time to review them on the Gundry MD website. As always, consult with your doctor before making any changes to your diet, including supplements.
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Sources
- 1-2 https://www.drugs.com/inactive/silicon-dioxide-170.html
- 3-6 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4684-4775-0_11
- 7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24470100/
- 8 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23298332/
- 9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671293/
