Silicon In Food

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

The absorption of silicon from foods rich in fiber is almost twice as high as from foods poor in fiber. An analysis of children's diets in terms of silicon content showed that refined foods, poor in fiber, are mainly used. The absorption of silicon depends on various mineral components of the diet, which can reduce the solubility of this element. These include iron oxide and aluminum.

On the other hand, a lack of silicon can occur with constant psychological stress, with nervous overload, neurosis, which can also cause congestion in the intestines and constipation. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically observe the use of plants enriched with silicon in food, alternating the intake of different collections in time to avoid getting used to the same herbs.

Silicon deficiency is manifested by skin diseases, hair loss, splitting nails, and poor healing of wounds and fractures. Lack of it is often due to modern Western diets, including flour, white rice, and peeled vegetables.

It is necessary to understand that refining foodstuffs leads most often to the loss of silicon. Often it goes to production waste together with the peel of the fruit. So, when grinding grain and making semolina, flour of the highest quality, the main product is thoroughly cleaned from the shell of the grain, which contains silicon.

Semolina is often designed to feed children, and they need silicon, and five times more than adults. If there is not enough of it in the child's food, anemia begins, which then leads to rickets, diseases of the lymphatic system.

White flour contains only 20% of the silicon contained in wheat grains. This is equivalent to 0.007-0.008% of the element for white flour, while in coarse rye flour it is 0.03%.

High calcium concentrations in drinking water (hard water) can also lead to a silicon deficiency.

Other reasons for its lack: technogenic pollution with toxic microelements - lead, cadmium, aluminum, etc., low physical activity, lack of silicon in drinking water, lack of vitamins. Elements such as boron, manganese, iron reduce the level of silicon in the body, preventing its absorption.

In the body, silicon gets along well with molybdenum, magnesium, fluorine - their presence increases the body's need for this element. Silicon has a friendly relationship with fiber. It should be remembered that calcium, potassium, magnesium and manganese are needed to improve its absorption.

Silicon is found in all plant foods, including grape juice, wine, and beer. It is especially abundant in the husk of grains such as oats, millet and rice. In this respect, wheat grains are much poorer than them. In general, monocotyledonous (eg, cereals) plants contain relatively high amounts of silicon and are silicophiles, as opposed to dicotyledonous (eg legumes), in which the amount of this element is negligible.

Among monocotyledonous plants, there are many aquatic (hydrophytes) and moisture-loving plants. These plants grow in an environment rich in highly absorbable silicon and therefore easily concentrate it in their tissues. The record holders for silicon content among terrestrial plants are the oldest of them - spore horsetails, mosses and plantains. So, in the dry matter of field horsetail contains 9% of silica, and in ash - up to 96%. Up to 10% silicon is contained in rice husks and 8% in Jerusalem artichoke. For comparison: according to some sources, the dry mass of grass contains 0.3-1.2% silicon (0.04-0.13 in clover and 0.1-0.2 in alfalfa). By the way, rice, which is the staple food of many Asian peoples, is of particular interest as a silica plant.

The greatest amount of silicon is found in plants (and their feed) growing in steppe, semi-desert, desert and mountain regions, that is, in the least favorable conditions for existence. Despite the fact that its content in groundwater is very low (20-50 mg / l), it is absorbed by plants in significant quantities. So, for a year from 1 hectare, grains extract 105-120 kg of silicon dioxide, beech - 63 kg, spruce - 54, clover - 20, vegetables - 10, potatoes - 8 kg. Silicon dioxide makes up more than half of the minerals that cereals absorb from the soil.

Scientists have found that silicon is an integral part of all plants, and its content in their live weight averages 0.02-0.15%, and in hay 0.1-3%. It is also found in cellulose-rich plant foods, bran, oatmeal and wholemeal breads. A lot of silicon contains: oats, millet, wheat (whole grain), wheat bran, wheat germ, hulled rice, rice, barley, bran, sprouted cereal seeds, apricots, bananas, brown algae, turnip tops, beet tops, cherries, leaf mustard, raisins, figs (dried), white cabbage and cauliflower, garden and forest strawberries, kohlrabi, corn, onions, alfalfa, marjoram, carrots, cucumbers, dandelion, parsnips, lettuce, beets, celery, sunflower seeds, plums, tomatoes ripe, pumpkin, beans, dates, horseradish, spinach, apples.

Under the influence of silicon dioxide, the absorption of potassium, magnesium, and sometimes calcium by plants increases (usually, the absorption of the latter with an excess of silicon in the nutrient medium slows down). Increasing the proportion of silica in plant nutrition can eliminate the toxic effects of iron, manganese, copper, arsenic, aluminum, strontium-90 and phenols. On the contrary, with a lack of silicon, the accumulation of iron and manganese in plants increases sharply.

Table 1. Silicon content in vegetables, fruits and cereals,%

Name	Silicon amount (SiO 2)
	in dry matter	in ash
Jerusalem artichoke	8.1	-
Radish	6.5	-
Oat grain	2.6	1.0
Barley grain	2.1	0,4
Dandelion	2.4	-
Cauliflower	1.5	-
Turnip	1,3	-
Salad	1,3	-

How to maintain health with plants and silicon

Part 1: The role of silicon in traditional and scientific medicine

Part 2: Silicon in food

Part 3: Tips for using plant silicon

A. Baranov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, T. Baranov, journalist