Silicon belongs to the micronutrients and is probably an essential trace element.
"I have beautiful hair! I've got beautiful hair!..."
Do you know this song? Presumably this person has a regular consumption of silicon. It strengthens our connective tissue and thus our hair, skin, nails as well as cartilage and bones. In this respect it counteracts skin ageing!
Perhaps you know silicon under the name silicic acid, a compound of silicon and water. Silicic acid is abundant in field horsetail. It is also often called horsetail. It has not yet been possible to find out its content, but one suspects a very high content of silicum/silicic acid in this herb. Why is this? The name horsetail did not just come about. In ancient times, pewter vessels were scrubbed with the field horsetail, which was especially successful because of the silicon content.
Well then, field horsetail can be picked for free in meadows, but special care is needed with similar herbs, which have a weakly poisonous effect on us. It is therefore advisable to seek careful advice before consuming it.
With 5-10mg, the daily requirement of an adult is covered.
And did you know that silicon is the second most abundant element on earth after oxygen? That's not particularly surprising, because silicon is a component of sand.
Overview
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Function of silicon
Connective tissue | Silicon strengthens hair, nails, skin, joint cartilage and bones. It thus provides stability and elasticity.
Therapeutical use
Silicon is used for various diseases:
▽ ACNE is a very visible skin change, which often puts a lot of stress on the patient. Of course, an overall analysis is the prerequisite to start an acne treatment, but in any case it is worthwhile to briefly analyse the silicon level in acne. This also applies to other skin diseases such as psoriasis and rosacea. In this context, natural body care is also relevant.
▽ Bone formation | Not only a sufficient supply of vitamin D, calcium and K2 help to strengthen bones. Silicum is also an important building block in this interaction. Not only for strengthening, but especially for elastic stability. Bamboo is a wonderful comparison. Bamboo is rich in silicon, a very strong, elastic product that is very flexible but not brittle.
▽ Children in growth | It may enjoy special focus in children during growth. Together with phosphorus, silicon supports bone growth. The need varies greatly, so very active children need more silicon than less active children.
Silicon is often used in cosmetic products in the form of silicones because of its ability to strengthen connective tissue (read more about ingredients in cosmetic products here). In fact, it does what it promises. Behind the scenes, however, it looks a bit different, because silicones, similar to paraffins, form a water- and air-impermeable layer on skin and hair and thus prevent natural regeneration. After a chemical-free hair treatment, we often observe how the suffering hair appears. It is dry, brittle and unruly. Moreover, silicone is very difficult to degrade in nature.
30 years ago, scientists from the USA were able to determine on rats that silicon is a successful antagonist for too much aluminium in the body. In this respect, it is now often used therapeutically for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
Plantbased sources
These top 5 foods meet the daily requirement of 5mg:
2g millet & oats each
5g potatoes
55g asparagus
250g spinach
500g beans
Other foods (sorted by content, top to low)
Field horsetail/tinweed, nettle...
Recognise a deficiency
Brittle nails are a typical feature of silicone deficiency. However, this alone would not necessarily confirm a deficiency. Further indications are dry and therefore brittle hair, weak ligaments and tendons, wear and tear of the joint structure (e.g. arthrosis, osteporosis...) and premature or extreme skin ageing.
xoxo your good-life coach Claudia 💋
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