By Philippe Mathelet
Silicon
It allows the body's supporting structures to exist, to function but also to endure. At the heart of many organs, the skin and bones, it stimulates, remineralises and regenerates.
Silicon and the human body
Silicon, more than a simple trace element, is essential to life. Scattered throughout the human body, it allows its supporting structures to exist, to function but also to endure. At the heart of many organs, the skin and bones, it stimulates, remineralises and regenerates tirelessly.
Silicon is, along with oxygen and aluminium, one of the main constituents of the earth's crust. It is also found in plants where it plays a role in metabolism, growth and the structure of the plant.
In its natural state, silicon is the essential constituent of quartz.
Silicon (Si) is a metal that has the particularity of transforming light into electricity.
Long after the discovery of piezoelectricity by Pierre Curie, the capabilities of silicon were used to manufacture quartz watches, solar sensors or the silicon chips in our computers.
An essential element of the human body which contains 7 g, silicon, due to its electrical specificities, plays a role as a potentiator of a large number of molecules, allowing them to be more active within our cells.
It also ensures ionic rebalancing of the cell and improves the transmission of information in the human body.
It is found in the lungs, spleen, liver, thymus, adrenal glands but also in phosphorus-rich tissues (brain, cerebellum) where its action is essential.
The body's needs for silicon are high, from 20 to 30 mg per day. Note that with age, we have a rapid decline of this element in the body.
Its participation in cellular function and its role as a constituent of connective tissue (cartilage; bone, adipose and vascular tissues) in connection with collagen therefore gives it a prominent place in active defence against ageing.
Silicon thus takes part in many physiological activities by intervening in the synthesis and arrangement of collagen fibres, elastin and glycosaminoglycans.
Its action is beneficial at the level of joints, skin, the cardiovascular system (flexibility of the walls of blood vessels, support of circulation).
It stimulates the mineralisation process.
Some products naturally provide silica to our body: clay, horsetail and nettle.
So to maintain a good structure for your body, think of silicon.
These articles are for information only and are neither medical advice, nor a diagnosis, nor a prescription.
The articles in this section reflect the experience and reading of their author, who does not practise any medical profession. They are published for information and never replace a consultation with a doctor or pharmacist. Food supplements are not medicines. If you are under treatment, pregnant, breastfeeding or ill, ask a health professional before any use.