Diatomaceous earth - anyone have bad side effects? page 3

[JamesS]

We use it in the pool filter~ also it's used in the garden to kill things like snails/slugs. Somehow, even if it's food grade, I can't imagine actually eating the stuff

The DE used in pool filters is not pure food grade DE. It has other chemicals added to it.

[Chaohinon]

I've been using it to ward off bed bugs, shredding them to pieces like the horrible little bastards they are. Never thought to put it in my facehole.

You really don't want to breathe large amounts of the stuff in, so what's the incentive to eat it?

[tamo42]

The concerns about breathing DE in are with regard to the pool filter variety, not the food grade variety.

People, including myself, use it as a dietary supplement because the silica in it is an essential mineral for the formation of bones, hair, nails, etc as already stated. IIRC, there are about 300 reactions in the human body that require silica. Our food supply and general environment have become so clean that we don't get enough dirt in our systems any more. That's where DE comes in.

[JamesS]

I've been using it to ward off bed bugs, shredding them to pieces like the horrible little bastards they are. Never thought to put it in my facehole.

It does not really shred the bugs. As an abrasive it can scrape the waxy coating off the insects causing them to dehydrate. If they ingest the DE it can cut up their insides. It does not do this to humans though due to size relativity. Think about it this way. Pierce an insect with a tiny rose thorn and you can kill it. Pierce our skin with the same thorn and it won't do much of anything. The DE in relationship to the size of the insects is like knives to humans. But to the human intestinal tract the DE only acts as a harmless mild abrasive powder.

You really don't want to breathe large amounts of the stuff in, so what's the incentive to eat it?

Inhaling silica powder for extended periods of time can lead to silicosis. Inhaling water for even shorter periods of time will kill you. This does not mean I am going to stop drinking water.

[Paleobird]

DE is not sand. It is the skeletal remains of diatoms, a type of phytoplankton. It is taken internally primarily for killing intestinal parasites and for its high percentage (80%) silica, which is essential for the formation of hair, bones, teeth, nails, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, blood vessel walls, etc.
Silica also aids in the absorption of calcium and is responsible for the mineralization of bone.

No, it is not sand. Again, it is the skeletal remains of diatoms. Sand is strictly silica. DE is 80% silica, 10% metal oxides (calcium, magnesium, etc.) and 10% moisture on average.

Actually according to Wiki DE is 80-90% silica. Wiki also says "the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica" Ergo DE is sand folks.

Do you ever take any pharmaceutical drugs? Many of the tablets and capsules use DE as a flow agent. It is also added to some foods to kill weevil eggs.
Ingesting DE orally is not harmful. It is too fine to damage the intestinal lining,

Next time I have a weevil problem that will be good to know.

It does not really shred the bugs. As an abrasive it can scrape the waxy coating off the insects causing them to dehydrate. If they ingest the DE it can cut up their insides. It does not do this to humans though due to size relativity. Think about it this way. Pierce an insect with a tiny rose thorn and you can kill it. Pierce our skin with the same thorn and it won't do much of anything. The DE in relationship to the size of the insects is like knives to humans. But to the human intestinal tract the DE only acts as a harmless mild abrasive powder.

Inhaling silica powder for extended periods of time can lead to silicosis. Inhaling water for even shorter periods of time will kill you. This does not mean I am going to stop drinking water.

Oh, well if it's only a MILD abrasive powder, I guess that's OK.

And that last statement has go to be about the most non-sensical thing ever written on MDA. Silicosis is a very horrible and very avoidable condition. Just don't breathe silica. Nobody breathes water (not anyone who types anyway). Saying that water will kill you if you breathe it but is safe to drink and therefore silica is safe to eat makes no sense at all.

[bloodorchid]

if you rub sand between your fingers, what happens?

if you rub sand on a mucus membrane what happens? same thing that rubbing lettuce will do, just be uncomfortable and slightly pokey

if you eat sand, what happens? i don't see it doing much of anything, if your stomach and intestines can handle daily bile habitation

[Paleobird]

if you rub sand between your fingers, what happens?
if you rub sand on a mucus membrane what happens? same thing that rubbing lettuce will do, just be uncomfortable and slightly pokey
if you eat sand, what happens? i don't see it doing much of anything, if your stomach and intestines can handle daily bile habitation

You could probably rub the inside of your mouth with sandpaper too and survive just fine, but why do it?

[bloodorchid]

because sandpaper is harsher than sand

[doublehelix]

DE is not sand. It is the skeletal remains of diatoms, a type of phytoplankton. It is taken internally primarily for killing intestinal parasites and for its high percentage (80%) silica, which is essential for the formation of hair, bones, teeth, nails, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, blood vessel walls, etc.

Silica also aids in the absorption of calcium and is responsible for the mineralization of bone.

Exactly. I put it around my house to keep the scorpions out. It's well known that it tears up their exoskeletons when they walk through it.

[JamesS]

Actually according to Wiki DE is 80-90% silica. Wiki also says "the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica" Ergo DE is sand folks.

You are still wrong Paleobird. A quartz crystal is also silica, but that does not make it sand. Our bones contain silica as well, but this does not make them sand.

But since you keep bringing up Wikipedia let's see what they say diatomaceous earth is:

Diatomaceous earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae"

Fossilized remains, in other words skeletal remains, or a type of hard shelled algae. Those hard shell algae are known as phytoplankton. So where did we hear that DE is the skeletal remains of phytoplankton previously? Since you like Wiki so much:

Diatom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Diatoms[1] are a major group of algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. "

Therefore, as we can all see DE is not sand. Sand was not part of a living organism like DE to begin with.

I don't know why you insist on continually arguing over things you know nothing about. That's why you have lost every single time you have tried to argue against me. No, I don't know everything, but I don't start arguments over things I don't know.

Oh, well if it's only a MILD abrasive powder, I guess that's OK.

Nothing new. But I am sure that everyone else understood the concept I explained about how DE does not harm the intestines. Especially when I gave another simple analogy about that as well. We are not talking about ingesting large shards of quartz glass. We are talking about ingesting a very fine powder. Let me try another analogy that even you should be able to figure out. Let's say you try to walk barefoot across a bed of broken window pane glass. Now compare that to walking barefoot across some sand dunes. Why would the first one cut up your feet, but not the second one even though they are both silica? When you finally figure out the answer then consider the fact that DE is significantly finer that the sand in sand dunes.

And that last statement has go to be about the most non-sensical thing ever written on MDA. Silicosis is a very horrible and very avoidable condition. Just don't breathe silica. Nobody breathes water (not anyone who types anyway). Saying that water will kill you if you breathe it but is safe to drink and therefore silica is safe to eat makes no sense at all.

I am sorry the analogy went so far over your head. But I am not surprised at all.