Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Ingredients: Microcrystalline Cellulose, Vegetable Cellulose, Silica, Vegetable Magnesium Stearate. Each vegan, cellulose capsule of this nutritional supplement contains 25 mg of elemental silica and 100 mg of calcium carbonate, which amounts to 40 mg of elemental calcium. To derive full benefit from the calcium, this supplement should be taken with food, because calcium carbonate requires stomach acid to dissolve and digest. There are many different brands of silica in the marketplace. The advantages of this particular brand are as follows: —Derived from oceanic red algae rather than horsetail, which is the silica source for all of the other brands I have used in the past. It is not advised to take horsetail long term because it contains thiaminase, which breaks down the vitamin thiamine (B1). A B1 deficiency has a negative impact on the heart, brain and nervous system. —Solgar has been around a long time, and it has a good reputation. It is located in New Jersey, and the company states that their product ingredients are sourced from the US and that their supplements are manufactured here. —Vegan friendly, using cellulose capsules rather than gelatin. I personally take silica as one of multiple supplements (calcium, magnesium, MK-7, D3, strontium, and boron) which synergistically promote bone health, but silica has many other benefits as well as that, including the following: —It promotes healthy hair, nails and skin. —It promotes healthy teeth. —It promotes healthy tendons and ligaments. —It enhances the immune system. —It supports pancreatic function. —It helps prevent cardiovascular disease by strengthening blood vessels and lowering high blood pressure. —It protects lung tissue. —It helps decrease swelling (edema) in the body. —It helps prevent kidney stones, heal infections in the urinary tract, and it is a natural diuretic. —It helps prevent or heal intestinal inflammation and prevent both diarrhea and constipation. —It helps heal hemorrhoids. —It helps heal infections of all types. —It helps with osteoarthritis and rheumatism. —It helps to strengthen nerve cells and connective tissue in the brain and spinal cord, which helps to prevent memory loss due to age and Alzheimer’s. RELEVANT RESEARCH de Araújo, L. et al. Use of silicon for skin and hair care: an approach of chemical forms available and efficacy. An Bras Dermatol. 2016 May-Jun;91(3):331–335. Gillette-Guyonnet, S., et al. The potential influence of silica present in drinking water on Alzheimer's disease and associated disorders. J Nutr Health Aging. 2007;11(2):119-124. Jurkić, L., et al. Biological and therapeutic effects of ortho-silicic acid and some ortho-silicic acid-releasing compounds: New perspectives for therapy. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2013;10(1):2. Marcowycz, A., et al. Digestive absorption of silicon, supplemented as orthosilicic acid-vanillin complex. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2015 Aug; 59(8):1584-1589. Martin, K. Silicon: The Health Benefits of a Metalloid. In: Sigel A., Sigel H., Sigel R. (eds) Interrelations between Essential Metal Ions and Human Diseases. Metal Ions in Life Sciences, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. 2013. Martin, K. The chemistry of silica and its potential health benefits. J Nutr Health Aging. 2007;11(2):94-97. EXPLANATION OF INGREDIENTS Flow Agent AKA Anti-Caking Agent: Two typical flow agents are magnesium stearate and microcrystalline cellulose, which are both contained in this supplement. Flow agents are used in pharmaceutical drugs and nutritional supplements to ensure a consistently homogenous mix and also to prevent powdered therapeutic ingredients from clinging to encapsulating equipment in a manufacturing facility. Both of these things help to ensure quality control, such that the amount of the advertised active ingredients of the drug or nutraceutical is the same from capsule to capsule. Flow agents are also used in many different packaged foods as a texturizer, a fat substitute, an emulsifier, an extender, and a bulking agent. According to the Select Committee on GRAS Substances, microcrystalline cellulose is generally regarded as safe. Magnesium Stearate: It is a simple salt made of two common, safe substances, the mineral magnesium and the saturated fat, stearic acid. It is used as a flow agent, AKA anti-caking agent, in many packaged foods, pharmaceutical drugs, and nutritional supplements. Both magnesium and stearic acid naturally occur in many different foods. They are not merely safe to consume and easily digested, but both are actually beneficial to human health. Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC). This is a form of indigestible fiber which is derived from refined wood pulp whose primary purpose is as a flow agent AKA anti-caking agent. It is utilized in that manner in pharmaceutical drugs, nutritional supplements and packaged food. Vegetable Cellulose AKA Modified Cellulose. This is a common additive in the processed food industry, and it is also used as a flow agent in pharmaceutical drugs and nutritional supplements. It is commercially produced most commonly in the USA from wood pulp and cotton, but it can also be produced from corn cobs, corn stalks, sugar cane stalks, rice hulls, soybean hulls, oat hulls, wheat straw, sugar beet pulp, bamboo, flax, jute, and ramie (a flowering plant in the nettle family native to eastern Asia). It is chemically processed with either acids or alkali. In contrast, dietary cellulose is an insoluble fiber naturally present in whole, unadulterated foods, including: fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts and legumes. My presumption is that the capsules that this supplement is contained in are made of a specific type of vegetable cellulose called hydroxypropylmethylcellulose AKA HPMC AKA hypromellose. There are usually only two ingredients in vegetable capsules, HPMC and purified water.