Is silicon dioxide bad?

When it comes to food additives, people tend to shy away from anything that sounds too scientific or complex. And when you hear the name “silicon dioxide,” you might be tempted to do just that. After all, who knows what this stuff is? Well, luckily for you, I’m here to break it down and make sense of whether silicon dioxide is bad for you or not.

What even is Silicon Dioxide?

Before we get into whether silicon dioxide is good or bad (spoiler: it’s not really either), let’s talk about what exactly it is. At its simplest form, silicon dioxide is a compound made up of two elements: silicon and oxygen (mind-blowing). It can be found naturally in things like sand, quartz crystals, and even the human body (yep surprising!, our bones are actually made up of small amounts of this compound).

In Food industry terms however,silicon dioxide has other uses such as an anti-caking agent among others.

The Pros

While silica does have some health risks at high levels (duh, everything has risk if taken excessively), there are definitely some benefits to having a little bit in your diet:

Anti-Caking Agent

One of the most common reasons food manufacturers use silicon dioxide in their products today so they don’t clump together. When used properly (i.e at low levels) ,it helps keeps things flowing smoothly without adding any extra calories or chemicals.

Improves Product Shelf-life

As already stated above,Silica also bears antibacterial properties helping prolong shelf life whilst maintaining freshness.

Bone Health

Silicon itself plays important roles which include collagen formation and bone strength hence why trace minerals containing Silca are growing more popular given peoples poor mineral uptake through current western diets unless under intentional supplementation via means like tablets.

Ok, so now that we know the benefits of silicon dioxide, what about the risks? Let’s take a closer look

Not easily Absorbed

While it’s not necessarily harmful in small amounts, silica is not easy to absorb by the body,and as such ingesting large chunks of silicon dioxide powder in one sitting may cause discomfort or pain (ouch!).

If you happen to inhale pure Silicon Dioxide particles though,this can lead to increased risk of lungs issues over time.

Side Effects are rare but costly when they happen

Typically,silicon does have health risks at high levels. For long term exposure,lung cancer,Breast Cancer,long term kidney damage amongst others tend to occur which is why most governing Health authorities including FDA require that manufacturers stay within an acceptable standard.

Long continued ingestion also puts additional pressure on Kidney function ultimately leading Potentially permanent damage.

Silica in and of itself isn’t exactly bad for your health if used under controlled levels . However,dangerous effects are seen with long term usage generally above acceptable levels.

Generally speaking,Silicon Dioxide during manufacturing proves much more useful than it would be considered dangerous consumption-wise rendering level-based supplementation via trace minerals safe overall subject n however proper caution especially depending on how your optimal mineral uptake has been going should always be applied when considering taking products containing Silca i.e sticking between daily recommended dosages(better safe than sorry,yeah!)

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