Description

Silica Supports Skeletal Health

When we think of strong bones, we usually think of calcium. For years, nutritional researchers have known silica for its role in collagen synthesis and connective tissue integrity. But today, researchers are also acknowledging silica plays a vital role in the mineralization of the bone matrix. Dr. Edith Carlisle, a research scientist at the UCLA School of Public Health, studied silica extensively in the 1970’s. She demonstrated beyond any doubt that silica played an essential role in bone formation and health. She demonstrated that regardless of the amount of calcium in the diet, without silica, the achievement and maintenance of healthy bone and other connective tissue was impossible. She hypothesized that silica created the collagen matrix with which calcium and other minerals could attach. In fact silica is the catalyzing mineral for the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) enzyme required by the body to build collagen. It consequently is utilized throughout the body in the continual creation of collagen.

The precise modality of how silica works to enhance the mineralization of the bones is not completely clear. But what is clear is that it hardens bones similar to how it hardens concrete. Without silica, concrete cannot harden. Without silica, neither can bones.

Silica and Connective Tissue

Silica is one of the most abundant elements in connective tissue, which includes cartilage, vascular lining, tendons and ligaments. It provides strength, flexibility and resilience to collagen and elastin connective tissues.* It also helps structure the mineral matrix of soft tissues such as the skin, hair, nails, teeth and gums.*