SILICON

 

Silicon, the Architectural Element

A silicon rich diet protects against aging and degenerative diseases including cancer, arthritis and osteoporosis.

Silicon (Si) is a non-metallic hexagonal shaped element, with atomic number 14 in the periodic table. The element Silicon rapidly oxidizes to form silica or “sand.” SiO2 arranges itself into the highly ordered spiral configuration of quartz crystal. By mass, silicon makes up 25.7% of the Earth's crust and is the second most abundant element on Earth, after oxygen. It is found as biogenic silica in plants, animals and in most living organisms. It is present in the cell walls of various plants (including edible ones) to strengthen their structural integrity. Bird feathers are composed of 70% silicon. The silicon in tissues is usually bonded to glycoproteins such as cartilage, whereas the silicon in the blood is almost entirely found as either free orthosilicic acid or linked to small compounds.

This trace element really helps to bind protein molecules together in the blood vessels and connective tissues. Collagen is the "body glue" that holds our skin and muscle tissues together and silicon a component of collagen. Collagen protein comprises the connective tissue of the trachea, the aorta, skin, bone, hair, nails, cartilage and ligaments. Silicon is found in almost all body tissue and has numerous functions, not all structural, including assisting removing mercury from the body. Silicon is involved the water binding and protein swelling necessary for all plasma life processes. Aging involves dehydration of the cells and consequent desiccation and denaturing of protein through disruption in osmotic exchanges. In that silicon works to prevent dehydration it helps prevent aging.

Silicon is converted in the body to orologosilicate salt and incorporated into the colloidal structure of the connective tissue. Silicon plays an essential role in the synthesis of collagen, the most abundant protein found in the body.  The bulk of connective tissue in the body is greater than regular cellular substance, in all tissue except fatty tissue. Because it has so much connective tissue 2% of muscle tissue is composed of silicon. Collagen fibers are constructed from chains consisting predominantly of the amino acids glycine and proline woven together to form fibers.  These strands are the primary structural proteins of the body, whether they be thin layers forming the skin, rope-like tendons, or the collagen fibers shaped into the scaffolding of the bones. Both carbon and silicon are semi-conductors, readily either donating or sharing their four outer electrons. Silicon and carbon have very similar bonding properties, as illustrated by the fact that they appear in the same column of the periodic table. They both form 109.5 degree bonds in a tetrahedral configuration. Silica may have played a part in the origins of life.

“A curious fact is that terrestrial life-forms utilize exclusively right-handed carbohydrates and left-handed amino acids. One theory to account for this is that the first prebiotic carbon compounds formed in a pool of "primordial soup" on a silica surface having a certain handedness. This handedness of the silicon compound determined the preferred handedness of the carbon compounds now found in terrestrial life.” http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/siliconlife.html

Hypothetically we could say that silicon in its hydrophilic relationship to water provides the lubrication and electrical potential through which the atoms in the body form...according to the morphogenic fields which ultimately can be traced back to the cleaving or chiral/asymmetric interplay of the Unified Field as it steps down into dual charge (positive/right-spin and negative/left-spin) of manifestation.

According to a Life Extension magazine report the human body contains approximately 7 grams of silicon and it is necessary for the body's silicon stores to be maintained at this level to promote good health. Most forms of dietary and supplemental silicon are poorly absorbed and as we get older, our ability to absorb silicon from our food decreases due to age decline in hydrochloric acid. Silicon deficiency is common due to our agricultural methods, type of diet and food processing methods. Deficiency of this most abundant mineral occurs because we remove much of the coarse, fibrous plant material that contains the most silicon (husks, stems, peelings, cores). Primates generally eat very fibrous diets and obtain considerable energy through fiber fermentation by bacteria in the intestines. No doubt it is this bacterial fermentation of huge amounts of fiber that gorillas eat, which makes more silicon available for absorption…thus giving gorillas their enormous physical strength. Gorillas eat bamboo shoots—the highest silicon source in nature.

“Consider the high fibrous diet of mountain gorillas; their intake includes 86% leaves, shoots and stems, from some 58 plant species. At least 50% of their plant intake is herbaceous foliage (greens) such as thistles, nettles, and celery. One of their favorite foods is bamboo shoots...the ultimate sprout. Only 2% of their intake is fruit. This low sugar intake will preserve their alkaline reserves and bone calcium and prevent their teeth from acid and bacterial decay. Gorillas are not as omnivorous as chimpanzee, yet they do still eat some grubs, snails and the occasional termite. They also supplement their vegetable diet with bark, roots, mushrooms and soil from ridges rich in calcium and potassium during the dry season.” Phoenix Rising, Jana Dixon

Silicon is active in both magnesium and calcium use in the body. It changes the arrangements of the atoms within the calcium molecule, thus enabling it to enter the bone cell. Diets heavy in phosphorus foods may overload the calcium ion and prevent its use unless adequate amounts of silicon are present. Without the silicon, which is often missing in the diet, calcium attaches to the outside of the bone but is unable to enter within the bone mass itself. In the bone forming osteoblast cell, silicon is found in the highest concentration in the mitochondria, or energy factories of the cell.

I think that youthful bones are the key to longevity, because they are the “structural” core and they make the blood and immune cells.  Silicon is an element that works with calcium to improve the strength and flexibility of the structural system of the body.  Silicon is required for the proper functioning of the enzyme prolyhydroxylase that functions in the formation of collagen in bone, cartilage and other connective tissues. Silicon’s contribution to strong bones and nerves should be looked into to support kundalini awakening. I suspect silicon might also greatly improve eyesight, and the strength of the nerves in resilience to kundalini light flow.

Keeping the spine open and flexible is essential to full utilization of the brain’s capacities. Loosening the spine and joints to improve flexibility really helps to get the juices flowing. Body armor is the physical correlation to neurosis. The flaccid, static body is a sign by nature that this person is "too old and decrepit" for sex and reproduction and so the pituitary hormones "obey" our sedentary behavior and go into decline. Our spiritual awakening, our intelligence and quality of life depend directly on our sex hormone production as the basis of our mind and body. The spine will do—the heart will do—the head will do.

“The whole of yoga tries in many ways to make your spine alive, brilliant, filled with light, young and fresh." Osho, Meditation: The First and Last Freedom

“Chronic muscular contraction wastes huge amounts of energy, energy which otherwise could be channeled into the raising of kundalini. When there is not a strong flow of nerve energy up the spine our higher centers cannot be adequately energetically fed and our autonomic systems are lax. The stronger the kundalini energy up the spine the more of our soul we experience.” Phoenix Rising, Jana Dixon

Silicon Deficiency—High silicon increases the rate of healing and prevents against aging, cancer and other degenerative diseases. Silicon deficiency could show up as a weakness of connective tissue; poor hair, nails, skin and brittle bones; lymphatic and immune weakness, susceptibility to infection, hemorrhoids, ulcers and cancer; sluggish circulatory system and heart disease, gastrointestinal, kidney and bladder disorders, and a general low rate of healing. Psycho-emotionally silicon deficiency shows up as insecurity, neurosis, excessive moralizing, rigid conventionalism, gullibility and inability to think outside the box. Also head congestion symptoms like headaches, tinnitus, vertigo, poor eyesight, seizure and sinus infection related to sluggish blood and lymph systems coupled with high blood pressure and carbo-craving. All skin conditions are improved with silicon supplementation including, eczema, acne, wrinkles and age spots. Silica helps to re-mineralize the skin, and it also has a softening effect. Silica can improve the appearance of the skin, hair, and nails by its strengthening, hydrating action on connective tissue.

Kundalini Protection—After 10 years of kundalini I found that I had burned through my collagen and so my skin and muscle was sagging. To rebuild my reserves I take 4 drops of Biosil a day in my drinking water, and a daily intake of 1 tsp of horsetail powder in capsules and about 1 tsp of cornsilk powder in a smoothie, along with oatstraw-horsetail sun tea. I am focusing on silicon as a means of avoiding cellular inflammation due to oxidation, coagulation, flocculation and glycation of the tissues, caused by the high metabolism (radiation) and extra nerve energy of kundalini. The colloidal matrix of our body is the “ground” of our structure. The thickened nature of the body’s colloidal matrix on a cooked food diet is apparent in the thicker saliva, phlegm, ama, plaques, sluggish blood and lymph etc…This thickening of fluids would reduce both detoxification and nutrient assimilation by the cells, slow metabolism and reduce energy efficiency. Silicon pumps up cells and holds water in the tissues allowing a more perfect electrolyte, hydroelectric, colloidal environment for metabolic processes.

Nerves—Silicon is also a component of myelin nerve sheaths, which protects and insulates the nerve fibers. The gel-like nature of cerebrospinal fluid is largely due to the high content of colloidal silicon in it. Supplementing with silicon increases brain activity, concentration and reduces stress and depression. Since there is a lot more activity in the brain and nervous system during a kundalini awakening it stands to reason we need a high silicon diet to maximize the effectiveness of our cerebrospinal fluid and nerve sheaths. Also during an awakening we need extra silicon for collagen as our connective tissue undergoes a renewal and lengthen process as the body armor gives way to the spiritualized body.

Cancer and Zeta Potential—Since silicon increases the zeta potential of the body's colloidal capacity, boosts the immune system and oxygenates the tissues it is a major ally in cancer prevention and cure. Silicon regenerates the white blood cells of those with cancer and instigates normal protein synthesis, as well as stopping the growth of malignant tumors. The largest concentration of lymph nodes in the body is in the abdomen, neck, groin and armpits. Connective tissue plays a significant role in the lymphatic and immune systems. Supplementation increases the reticular-endothelial connective tissue thereby increasing lymphocytes and phagocytes. Silicon concentrates in the lymph nodes and has a positive, broad spectrum effect on the immune system; and strengthening the connective tissue of the lymphatic system contributes to the healing of practically all illness and dis-ease. In cancer cells a swelling of the mitochondria and cells occurs. Silicon helps to restore normal protein synthesis as a consequence of normalizing alkalinity, oxygenation, hydration, and zeta potential. 

GI tract—Mucus possesses its slimy properties because it is a solution of mucopolysaccharide and you will find rapid repair of the mucus membranes with a high silicon diet. Silicon also reinstates correct motility, permeability and slickness of the GI tract and protects against growth of bad bacteria, candida and parasites. Preventing mucus lining inflammation has a beneficial effect on energy generation and metabolism as well as taking the stress of the immune system. Silicon has a soothing and disinfecting action on the GI tract, absorbing gases and toxins and calming inflammation. It is also a disinfectant for the bladder and kidney and prevents kidney stones.

Cardiosystem—Silicon rejuvenates vascular walls increasing the protective lining of the arteries, improving their structural integrity, elasticity and permeability. Silicon may be useful in reducing blood fats & cholesterol and in preventing lesion of the vessel walls and the laying down of plaques. Thus as blood flow increases blood pressure is lowered, and this lessens symptoms of headache, head congestion, tinnitus, vertigo, insomnia and heart palpitations etc… Plus silicon helps to keep the blood plasma alkaline so that cells and cholesterol do not lose their negative charge and stick to vessel walls. Also by building up the collagen in the smooth muscle layer of the walls of the arteries, they become resilience to free radical damage. In heart disease the muscle walls of arteries are damaged by free radicals and calcium is laid down on this oxidation damage, then cholesterol builds up on the calcium blocking the arteries.

Radiation Protection—Because silicon is super-hydrophilic (water-loving) and strongly attracts water molecules, it helps to maintain the colloidal matrix and electrolytic potentials of the body fluids. Therefore there is a good chance that it will prevent the depolarization, precipitation, flocculation and coagulation caused by radiation of all forms. Including that caused by computers, TV screens and the sun. Also Himalayan salt, by providing the nano minerals for strong electrolyte charges  also aids in protecting the body fluids from precipitation due to electrosmog and radiation exposure. A strong ionic zetapotential is necessary to keep the electrical voltage gradients, osmotic pressures and capillary force intact. This coupled with adequate hydration ensures the correct structure building intelligence of the proteins, enzymes, DNA and all molecular construction.

Albumin—Serum albumin is the most abundant blood plasma protein, is produced in the liver and normally constitutes about 60% of plasma protein. It is essential for maintaining the osmotic pressure needed for proper distribution of body fluids between intravascular compartments and body tissues. Serum silicon might be only weakly bound to carrier or storage proteins such as albumin. Albumin is negatively charged; the net charge of albumin is defined as its own charge plus the charge of all bound ions. Albumin is the principle serum transport protein to which drugs and hormones bind, and it contains a large number of multiple fatty acid binding sites for metals. In order to be conveyed around the body the minerals in life are held in colloidal bonds (chelated) with hydrophilic substances such as gelatin, albumin, collagen and mucopolysaccharides. In their chelated bonds minerals have 98% assimilation capacity by the body. Despite the low total protein concentration, the level of albumin (60% of total CSF protein) and immunoglobin is very high in cerebrospinal fluid.

COLLOIDAL SILICA GEL

“In the aging process, the protein in living tissue “unswells” and the surfaces shrink. This leads to a cessation of enzyme reactions. As particles enlarge, less water is available. Therefore the process of tissue aging is primarily a colloid physical change of proteins. A reduction in the size of the “inner surface” occurs. It is, however, the inner cell surface or boundary area that forms the basis for the life processes.” 46, Silica: The Amazing Gel by Dr Klaus Kaufman

“The hydrophilic affinity for swelling is greatly helped by the presence of polar constructed hydroptropic silica, which promotes swelling, thereby preventing shrinkage, coagulation and hardening of tissues.” 51, Silica: The Amazing Gel by Dr Klaus Kaufman

If you read Dr Klaus Kaufman’s “Silica: The Amazing Gel” and “Silica: The Forgotten Nutrient” you will learn that colloidal capacity or zeta potential is the key to health…this is so because life is a liquid crystal. Enzyme efficiency, optimal speed and the free structural arrangement of molecules requires a certain ideal hydration level and zeta potential. All disease, injury or degeneration is accompanied by swelling and stasis in blood and lymphatic circulation. Aging involves the buildup of deposits, toxins and pathogens that disrupt the water-binding ability leading to structural disintegration, flocculation, coagulation, hardening and shrinkage of tissue. Silicon restores optimal colloidal conditions to reinstate healthy metabolism, reintegration and structural integrity.

Dr Klaus Kaufman says that silica gel is more easily assimilated than horsetail and plant based silica. You can rub the gel on your skin and use it in your hair as well as taking it internally. It does however leave a white film on the skin, so horsetail infusion would be best for topical application during the day. Gel in the hair also makes it stiff, while horsetail infusion makes the hair incredibly smooth and shiny. The gel therefore would be better for rubbing into the scalp prior to sleep. Colloidal silica gel is indeed much stronger than horsetail for chapped-athletes feet.

BIOSIL

Biosil (Si[OH]4), a stabilized concentrated orthosilicic acid is 20,000 times more soluble than the silica (SiO2) found in horsetail and colloidal gels and 2.5 times more bioavailable than other forms of silicon! Biosil is sold by Jarrow Formulas in capsule and liquid form. It is likely that food fiber does not contribute significantly to the bioavailable pool of silicic acid in the intestinal tract and may even interfere with the absorption of free silicic acid. Over a wide range of dietary intakes, serum silicon levels are maintained within a narrow range because of a very efficient kidney clearance system. Therefore Biosil might be a good way to go to build up silicon reserves in the body as well as taking the dietary supplementary sources in herbs, teas and silicon rich foods. www.vitadigest.com/ja-biosil.html  —For one of the cheapest sources of Biosil.

BAMBOO SAP

The highest plant source of silicon is bamboo extract, it contains over 70% organic silicon. This is more than 10 times the level as found in Horsetail (5-7% silicon). Bamboo extract is a gel is called Tabashir that is used in Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine as a stimulant, astringent, febrifuge, tonic, diuretic, antispasmodic, and aphrodisiac.  Its medical applications include tuberculosis and other wasting diseases. It has been adopted as a popular remedy for common cold, sore throat, sinus congestion, cough, clears heat, resolves phlegm, is an anti-convulsive, used for seizure and epilepsy and also for spasms, convulsions caused by phlegm and heat. The bamboo plant has unusually high levels of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter in animals and humans). Bamboo Extract has potent antioxidant properties, helping protect skin from damaging free-radicals. Studies are showing that bamboo has excellent antitumor effects and reduces cellular inflammation.

Bamboo leaves are utilized as a source of flavonoids (e.g., vitexin and orientin), used as antioxidants. The flavonoids may reduce inflammation, promote circulation, inhibit allergy reactions and for treatment of some chronic ailments, including diabetes. Bamboo stem shavings are used for stomach heat syndromes that produce incorrect flow of Qi, commonly causing nausea and loss of appetite, as well as symptoms of hiccups, vomiting, irritability and insomnia. Bamboo shavings are still used today in the treatment of epilepsy and other convulsive disorders.  No doubt bamboo leaf and shavings can be used to make a great sun-tea.

HORSETAIL (Shavegrass)

After bamboo sap, the two richest sources of organic silicon in the plant kingdom are Dulse and Horsetail. Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is a descendant of ancient plants that grew as tall as trees during the carboniferous period of three hundred million years ago and members of this family gave rise to many of our coal deposits. For both ORMUS and silicon we might be able to use swamp plants such as horsetail and calamus, if they have been wildcrafted from vital wilderness areas. Growing everywhere but Australasia, horsetail is a wetlands plant that is traditionally used for its silicon, for no other herb is so rich in silicon. Horsetail has the ability to accumulate gold in its tissues as well as cadmium, copper, lead and zinc.

The Chinese use horsetail to cool fevers and as a remedy for eye inflammations, dysentery, flu, swellings, osteoporosis, sprains, dislocated joints, pulled hamstrings or torn ligaments and hemorrhoids, benign enlargement of the prostate gland and also for kidney stones.  Horsetails, both field and swamp versions, contains the enzyme thaiminase, which is a bone marrow toxin that can rob the body of the vitamin B complex. But the enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase. But you can use the “dried” horsetail (course ground in a coffee grinder) for making sun tea and you can take the dried horsetail as a brewed tea as well. Use the older rushes for teas, the younger more acidic ones for topical infusions and capsules. Keep a bottle in the fridge to spike your drinking water with.

To make an infusion collect some of the young shoots of horsetail. Chop up into 1/2 cm chunks and put in a small amount of water over a low heat, without even simmering, for 1.5 hours. Cool the mixture, strain and apply to the hair and scalp with your hands. It heals and flattens out the cuticle structure making hair strong, shiny and more youthful. You can also apply this tea to your skin as well with a small mister bottle. You can use this strong infusion to spray onto hair, skin and plants, but run it through a coffee filter or tissue first in order to prevent blocking up your spray bottle. Horsetail is the ultimate herb for healing any kind of skin condition whether it be acne, eczema, chapping, fungi or bacterial infection or burns.

Horsetail solution increases the elasticity, smoothness, healing rate, dermal thickness and water holding capacity of the skin. As with the hair, it gives the skin a smooth youthful sheen. As well as giving instant results in reducing the appearance of ageing, I intuit that it will make the collagen-based tissues of the body more resistant to environmental forces and aging in general. My sense is that it helps return integrity and strength to the cell structure and shores them up against damage by oxidation, free radicals, UV rays, drying and weather. By holding water in the skin and maintaining structural integrity silicon helps to prevent the oils in these tissues from being turned into free-radical transfats, thus reducing inflammation, glycation and oxidation of the tissues. Silicon application to the skin will also prevent fungal and bacterial and viral infection through its disinfectant action and strengthening of collagen.

You can make silicon rich capsules containing powdered cornsilk, dulse, horsetail, combined with papaya enzymes for increasing the absorption of silicon into the body. Or you can make a soup stock base out of horsetail along with cornsilk and dulse flakes for irritable nerves. As a mouthwash horsetail (or silica gel) can be used for mouth ulcers, bleeding gums and sore throats. Use as a footbath for feet problems.

CORNSILK

Cornsilk contains high amounts of silicon, and moderate amounts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and phosphorus. It is also an excellent source of B vitamins and PABA, chlorophyll, resin and mucilage. It contains maizenic acid, which acts as a diuretic reducing fluid retention in the body, thus is used for bladder infections, edema, heart trouble, high blood pressure. It is also a wonderful remedy for acute inflammation and irritation of the genito-urinary system, such as cystitis, urethritis, prostatitis and is used for urinary stones, gravel, hepatitis, albuminuria and kidney disorders.  Corn silk clears toxins, catarrh, deposits and irritants out of the kidneys and bladder, and has a gentle antiseptic and healing action. By aiding elimination of toxins and wastes from the body corn silk may relieve gout and arthritis.  Corn silk's healing and soothing properties are helpful for relieving skin irritation and inflammation and for healing wounds and ulcers. Cornsilk also contains Vitamin K which controls bleeding and thus for the normal clotting of blood.

BANANA STEM JUICE

Banana stem juice contains silica, potassium, soda, lime, magnesia, alumina, chlorine, sulfuric anhydride, carbon anhydride, polysaccarides, polyphenols, phytoalexins, sterols and sterolins. The gallic acid in the juice is an antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant. Musa stem juice is also anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer and anticancer; inhibiting cancer cell development. It is given to young infants and is a well-known remedy for snakebites to flush out poison.  It improves the functional efficiency of kidney and liver and heals hemorrhoids. Banana stem juice has been found to be of great help in the treatment for the removal of stones in the kidney, gall bladder, and prostate. It clears the excretion organs in the abdominal region of toxins and helps to eliminate them in the form of urine. Juice from the stem is used as a scalp application for thinning hair.  I once ate the meat of an animal that had banana stem regularly in its diet and it was the most juicy, tender, fleshy meat ever. www.active-immune-booster.com/index.html

CEREAL SUN TEA

The immune supporting action of cereal sun tea is what gives it the power to generate the sense of well-being and reduces appetite!  You can make a silicon rich sun tea from the ripe ears of oat, barley, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, chickweed and wheat, or indeed with many wild grasses. Cereal-ear sun tea seems to be even more energizing and fortifying than wheatgrass itself, stabilizing both mind and body and eliminating hunger. You get an immediate sense of wellbeing through the boost to the immune system with silicon, B17 and other factors. It will also provide you with the cancer fighting agent Beta-glucan. Beta-glucan, the water-soluble polysaccharide commercially derived from the cell wall of yeast. Beta-glucan is a natural gum polysaccharide which has anti-tumor and immune effects. Beta-glucans acts as a free radical scavenger and macrophage stimulator of phagocytosis, and increases interleukin production. Beta-glucans are most abundant in barley and oats and also in the bran of other cereal grains buckwheat, wheat, rice and rye and indeed in wild grasses. As well as the seed heads you can also use chopped dried or green cereal straw for sun tea. Add some chopped horsetail to your cereal straw mix, but use the older reeds of horsetail because the younger ones have an acid taste that is not good for teas, but is great for pills or topical infusions for the skin. If you don’t have any cereals growing around, then soak some unhulled cereal berries for 2 hours, throw away the soak water and add these to your sun tea jar along with the straw. Lemon grass, bamboo shavings, bark of banana stem and the bark of sugar cane also make great silicon rice sun teas. There is a high deposition of silicon in the hemicellulose and pectin-rich layers of the cell walls of the outer layer of sugar cane stems, so this might be a fine source for nutritional silicon. Solarizing water increases the hydrogen perioxide in the water, which may contribute to the removal of heavy metals from the body. During winter, to make sure your herbs are still well brewed in the cold, bring the tea water to the boil first before placing your sun tea in front of a sunny window. To grow cereal grasses for sun tea, throw some kamut, wheat, barley, oat and birdseed around the garden in spring.

OTHER SILICON SOURCES

Plants absorb orthosilicic acid from the soil and convert it into polymerized silicon for mechanical and structural support. As the silicon from plant extracts cannot be readily absorbed through the stomach wall, the bioavailability of these products requires healthy levels of stomach acid in order to produce soluble orthosilicic acid. Silicon rich foods include: Bamboo sap, algae, onions, beets, bean sprouts. Silicon is found at high levels in grains such as oats, barley, millet and rice. Good food sources of silicon include the parts of food which are often discarded e.g., fruit and vegetable peel, cucumber skins, husks and the 'stringy' parts of mango, celery, asparagus, rhubarb, green leafy vegetables, beets,  parsnips, apples, strawberries, grapes, raw almonds, raw sunflower seeds raw flaxseed. Besides cornsilk and horsetail other herbal sources of Silicon include: Alfalfa, bilberry, birch, black cohosh, black walnut, burdock, caraway, celery, chaparral, chickweed, couch grass, dulse, echinacea,  eyebright, feverfew, gentian, ginger, ginseng, oatstraw, oregon grape, parsley, peppermint, lemon grass, licorice, Nettle, sarsaparilla, rose hips, sage, shave grass, stevia, thyme, Uva ursi.

SILICON IN HORTICULTURE

Diatoms are algae and phytoplankton with an ornate cell wall made of biosilica (hydrated SiO), first appearing around the early Jurassic Period. It was diatoms in the ocean, through their production of oxygen that went on to make earth habitable for other lifeforms. After just several hours of silica deprivation diatoms cease photosynthesis, protein synthesis and their metabolism comes to a halt.  Levels of selenium greatly affect the production of biosilica in sponges and diatoms. Silica has an affinity for water, and diatomaceous earth, which is the remains of the silica rich diatom algae, holds more moisture in the soil than any other silica clay soil amendment.

In horticulture the use of Pyrophyllite clay as a soil amendment was found to reduce fungal infections due to the increased available silicic acid. For plant protection a fungicide spray preparation can be made from finely powdered hydrated silica or hydrated silicic acid. There are products on the market like “Prosilicate.” Using Prosilicate reduces disease and insect problems, increases stem strength and leaf positioning, improves photosynthesis, and increases heat and drought resistance. Colloidal silicic acid solution is also used as an environmentally friendly wood preservative.

It is interesting that scientists are using the plant disease causing fungus Fusarium oxysporum, in a bioleaching process for synthesizing silica in nanoparticle size. http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/4/4/9   I assume that it is nano-silica produced by microbe decomposers in the soil which gives living-water its structural levity properties. Viktor Schauberger considered silicates essential to healthy water. He surmised that it is the fine dispersion of minerals and silicate in the upstream flow of water which gave it the levitational energy (electrical potential) necessary for trout or salmon to jump up high waterfalls. Nanosilicon probably facilitates the microcrystalline structures in living-water allowing greater Oxygen carrying capacity and must be a factor in sonoluminessence. The Brown’s Cell and Joe Cell researchers need to experiment with adding nanosilicon to their electrolysis systems.

Trace Minerals in Food by Kenneth Thomas Smith, p-392-398

Nature As Teacher: How I Discovered New Principles in the Working of Nature by Viktor Schauberger