Early in December I started my 8 week trial of Silidyn silicon drops thanks to the invite I got through WeAreThirtyPlus (#30plusblogs).
My trial is now over and I’m glad to say that Silidyn has become part of my daily life. The benefits I’ve noticed throughout this period are fantastic and so from now on I’m making sure I’m not left without a bottle.
You can read about my first 4 weeks here
Silidyn :
Maintains healthy connective tissue
Maintains healthy joints and bones
Can help in preventing osteoporosis
Maintains healthy skin hair and nails
Assist uptake of calcium into bones
Helps delay signs of skin ageing
In all the above areas that Silidyn claims to help with, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in most. The ones I can’t comment on are the calcium intake, connective tissue and preventing osteoporosis but these I believe are benefits that will need a long term intake to show and as I don’t have an issue with them I can’t say I’ve seen improvement.
The areas I’ve seen actual and measurable improvement are my hair, nails, skin and joint pain.
Hair:
My hair as I described in my previous post had suffered a lot and were far from glory. After 8 weeks of using Silidyn I’ve seen a vast improvement in volume, length and strength. My hair grows 20% more than it used to – I used to touch up my roots every 4 weeks, now I need to do so every 3 – and has increased in volume a lot. I don’t shed like I used to and now when I brush my hair there is almost none left on the brush.
Nails:
I have strong nails generally but I’ve noticed an improvement as well around the 4th week onward. My nails now are even stronger and more resilient and the white spots I had on them have almost disappeared.
Skin:
I’ve noticed an improvement in my skin as well. I suffer through winter and my usually very oily skin becomes very dry, sensitive and breaks. These past 2 months though and although winter has been quite cruel, my skin has managed to maintain its hydration and elasticity giving it an overall healthy look with minimal effort from my side.
Joints and bones:
For me this was an actual issue. Like I said previously I suffered from joint pains and since I’ve started Silidyn these have almost disappeared. Even though I walk even more and push myself harder my hip and knee joints where I experienced most of my discomfort don’t ache at all.
So how does this magic work?
I had a lot of questions so I forwarded them to the company’s nutritionist and here are the answers.
Q1: What are the long term benefits of Silidyn?
Adding extra Silicon to the diet restores the skin and nails and improves hair growth and strength. Silicon is also thought to aid in the growth of new bone cells and also inhibits bone breakdown. In addition, it stimulates the calcium metabolism. Lower Silicon concentrations are a factor found in cases of osteoporosis.
Silicon plays an important role in the stimulation of production of keratin and collagen, the main components of our connective tissue. Our bodies are 90% connective tissue.
Keratin is the key structural material making up the outer layer of human skin as well as hair and nails.
Collagen is the main component of connective tissue.
OSA is essential for maintaining healthy connective tissue as we age. The effects of Silicon in humans have shown that nails and hair become stronger, while various skin disorders disappear when the body absorbs Silicon.
Joint complaints such as arthritis as well as osteoporosis (bone decalcification) generally decrease significantly.
Q2: How does Silidyn help the absorption of other nutrients?
The other nutrients are blended in the liquid form of OSA (ortho silicic acid). OSA is the only best form of which a human, animal or plant can absorb silicon.
While absorbing the liquid Silidyn the other nutrients are being absorbed as well.
The function of the other ingredients in Silidyn are:
MSM, (methylsulfonylmethane) helps to keep connective tissue between the joints supple.
Zinc, supports the immune system as well as the skin’s regenerative strength.
Boron, next to calcium and magnesium, an important building block of bone tissue.
OPC, (oligo proanthocyanidins), from maritime pine extract, helps to protect cells and tissues against ageing.
Manganese, helps in the maintenance of connective tissue.
Selenium, plays an important role in the protection against free radicals
Q3: What other foods should we eat to enhance Silidyn's results?
Any food that contains silicon. Greens especially, but also bananas. However the problem with silicon is the absorption. And OSA is the best form. But is instable. Silidyn has a propriatary production process to keep the OSA stable and ready for absorption.
With regards to banana. Bananas are rich in silicon.
About 5,5 mg per 100 gram.An average medium sized banana weighs 130 gram
Thus 7,15 mg per banana. However the absorption rate of silicon in banana is only 2%
Which makes 0,143 mg per banana
In order to get your daily 5 mg of silicon you need to eat 35 bananas a day or alternatively 10 drops of Silidyn.
Q4: Should we take Silidyn every day or take a break after a specific period?
Since silicon is less and less in our food/drinking water and the absorption from food also is poorly it is advised to keep on taking it on a daily basis. Just put it on the sink, every day 10 drops in water and you are ready to go.
Q5. How does Silidyn help with Osteoporosis?
Silicon is an essential nutrient for the health of bones which takes a part in the following 3 processes:
Stimulation of the osteoblastic cells - tissue renovation and regeneration
Synthesis of collagen fibres – tissue is elastic and resistant to traction
Mineralization of the extracellular matrix - high shock absorption capacity
These processes improve among others bone density which is essential to help with osteoporosis.
Q6: Could you give us a quick overview of the scientific evidence for Silidyn’s effectiveness and a quick explanation of the new method of stabilizing OSA so it's absorbed easier and better?
To do this one needs a bit of explanation what OSA and silicon is: In nature Silicon does not exist as a single element – it occurs mostly in the form of SiO2 silicates (rock, sand, minerals in soil etc.). Plants, animals and humans cannot absorb silicates - they can only absorb Ortho Silicic Acid (OSA) – Si(OH)4. OSA is formed by erosion of rock under pressure of water - natural springs and wells contain a lot of OSA. OSA in water is highly unstable, it quickly polymerizes and forms a gel (and becomes then less absorb able)
Orthosilicic acid is a synonym for monomeric silicic acid, this is the smallest silicic acid we know. It is just one silicic acid molecule (mono = 1). According to literature the best bioavailable form to living organisms. Silidyn contains proven detectable amounts of monomeric silicic acid.
The stabilisation process is done by avoiding the monomeric silicic acids to become oligomeric silicic acids and going into colloidal silicic acid. The latter is a gel and the silicon can hardly be absorped from that. Si29 NMR analysis and Silicomolybdic acid-yellow method proofed that Silidyn contains a mixture of monomeric silicic acid as well as oligomeric silicic acids.
This is very interesting since monomeric silicic acids are being absorbed and doing the effect in the body whereas oligomeric silicic acids are not being ingested, but work as a detoxifyer, by connecting to heavy metals and leaving the body the natural way. Actually making Silidyn having a double function.
I hope the above information will help you as well to make the smart decision to add Silidyn to your daily routine and if you’ve tried it and noticed the benefits let me know!