Silicon and Osteoporosis.
OSTEOPOROSIS: Silicon, an essential element to effectively combat it
By Dr. Yves Baccichetti.
Formerly more rare without being exceptional, it was the main cause of the dreaded hip fractures in elderly individuals. Currently, it is growing into a true scourge and becoming a public health problem in all Western countries.
1. Statistics.
Epidemiological data shows that by the age of fifty, 50% of women and 25% of men are affected. The ten-year risks of hip fractures are 20%, increasing by 5% over five years. All corrected data shows that fractures are affecting increasingly younger individuals.
2. Causes.
The traditionally mentioned hypotheses – deficiencies in vitamin D, hormonal causes, calcium deficiencies, calcium fixation deficits, lack of physical exercise, excess tobacco, and alcohol – are only partially accurate because the therapeutic solutions they lead to are not very effective and have significant side effects. They do not explain the current explosion of the disease and its impact on younger individuals.
3. Two more recent hypotheses:
Some authors find similarities with autoimmune diseases and tend to consider osteoporosis from this perspective. In autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, the body secretes cytokines that also overactivate osteoclasts, cells that resorb bone.
Aluminum intoxication mentioned by Professors GHERARDI and EXLEY.
This surprising hypothesis verifies for several reasons:
Its development occurs concurrently with other diseases caused by aluminum, such as fibromyalgia, which did not exist thirty years ago, and Alzheimer’s disease, in which aluminum’s responsibility is indisputable.
Aluminum blocks numerous enzymatic reactions, leading to inflammation, free radicals, tissue destruction, immunological disturbances, cytokine formation, and bone resorption.
Aluminum disrupts collagen synthesis, a crucial tissue for bone formation.
4. Silicon is an antidote.
In nature, there is a natural antidote to aluminum: silicon. It eliminates abnormal proteins with aluminum, allowing them to return to their initial state, increases renal excretion of aluminum, and decreases its intestinal absorption. Due to its chemical properties, silicon naturally binds to aluminum in nature and inactivates it. This silicon-aluminum bond is found in nature, forming the basic structure of clay as aluminum silicate.
5. Silicon and bone construction.
Furthermore, silicon is a fundamental element in bone formation, structure, and maintenance. Carlisle’s experiments published in the prestigious journal SCIENCE and Schwartz’s experiments published in the equally prestigious journal NATURE showed that silicon-deficient animal fetuses had significant morphological abnormalities with fragile and brittle bones. Subsequent studies on large mammals showed that silicon was essential for bone growth.
6. Mode of action.
Bone is not an inert block. It is constantly remodeled and in balance between bone resorption by osteoclasts and new bone formation by osteoblasts. They produce a collagen matrix for hydroxyapatite crystals and calcium to attach to, following complex and little-known regulatory mechanisms. In osteoporosis, the balance is disrupted, and resorption processes predominate, especially after menopause.
7. Silicon intervenes at all stages:
It shifts the osteoblast/osteoclast balance in favor of osteoblasts.
It is necessary for collagen formation, ensuring stability through hydrogen bonds between hydroxyproline and hydrolysine due to their -OH groups. Silicon helps bridge the -OH groups. Collagen cannot exist without silicon.
Silicon is associated with glycosaminoglycans and polyuronides: chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, keratan sulfate, heparan sulfate, and heparin.
It is necessary for calcium fixation; as demonstrated by Kervan’s famous experiments: hens normally fed with calcium but experimentally deficient in silicon were unable to produce eggshells after some time, normalizing with silicon supplementation. This author also showed that fractures healed faster with silicon supplementation. These findings have been demonstrated in scientific studies published in some of the most prestigious journals, yet curiously ignored by most bone tissue specialists.
8. Practice confirms these challenges.
Studies conducted in Scandinavia and major cities in North America have shown that when drinking water is rich in silicon, the frequency of osteoporosis is lower.
Authors who have experimentally used silicon all report beneficial effects.
Better results are seen when silicon is administered during the premenopausal phase, especially when organic silicon is used, which remains effective at any age.
9. All forms of silicon are not equivalent.
The type of silicon used is fundamental as intestinal absorption varies depending on the type of silicon.
Mineral silicon SiO2 is poorly absorbed and is like sand in terms of assimilation.
Orthosilicic acid, Si(OH)4, falsely called “organic silicon” by some, is also poorly absorbable as it becomes oxidized upon contact with gastric juice and the body is unable to break the Si-O bonds.
Chemical-derived organic silicon (methylsilanol, monomethylsilanol, dimethylsilanol, trimethylsilanol) comes from the petroleum industry and is not natural. They were banned by the EU in 2009, but certain derivatives continue to be marketed.
Only natural organic silicon from vegetables and plants allows for daily intake. However, vegetables and cereals are increasingly deficient, as evidenced by the rise in osteoporosis, and it is necessary to turn to specialized plants. Among them, nettle and horsetail are the richest in silicon. In nettle, Si is bound to proteins and sugars, making it the most bioavailable in this form. In addition to its richness in organic silicon, nettle contains many absorbable minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant substances that enhance the action of silicon. It is the ultimate remineralizing plant.
10. Silicon has a versatile and vital role.
To illustrate the vital role of silicon, a surprising study by Professor SAMBROOK of Sydney deserves to be mentioned: he studied bone remodeling markers and found that certain individuals had a higher bone turnover rate (meaning they destroy and rebuild their bones much more quickly and frequently). Interestingly, this was not correlated with an increased risk of fractures, but with a higher overall mortality rate. In fact, these individuals need to create more bone mass and therefore consume much more silicon.
In cases of dietary deficiencies, the body draws silicon from the richest organs – the aorta, skin, tendons, brain, and kidneys – which degrade progressively. This highlights the versatility of silicon and the importance of regularly supplementing it, especially from around the age of fifty. The latest research shows that the body needs 50 mg of silicon per day.
Silicon and osteoporosis, by Dr. Baccichetti.