‘A Multi-talented Micronutrient’; Silicon and Atherosclerotic Disease
In summer man is bound up with Nature, but, if he has the right feeling and perception for it, objective spirituality comes towards him from out of Nature's interweaving life. And so, to find the essential human being during the St. John's time, at midsummer, we must turn to the objective spirituality in the outer world, and this is present everywhere in Nature.
-Rudolf Steiner
The main features of atherosclerosis in a human being, sometimes referred to as ‘hardening of the arteries’, include thickening of the inner lining of blood vessels, inflammation, and vascular calcification (formation of hardened plaques on the walls of blood vessels). All of of these are considered a consequence to vascular stress or injury. This thickening, swelling, and hardening of the blood vessels leads to a loss of their elasticity, flexibility and resilience, and can even impede the flow of blood. While this process represents an unhealthy ‘building up’ activity in response to stress, it is possible to respond to stress in a different way. Silicon plays an indispensable role in how the fluid-related processes of our body, including blood circulation, negotiate stressful influences.
Anthroposophical medical understanding refers to the aspect of the human being which unfolds its activity primarily in the watery/liquid realm, as the human ‘etheric body’ which may be compared to a ‘body of formative forces’. Human beings, animals and plants share the characteristic of having, as part of their bodily organizations, individual etheric bodies which respond to forces coming from our periphery and have a general quality of promoting growth and health. In contrast, anything that is visible on earth has a physical/mineral body which is subject to forces from the center of the earth (gravity). Since silicon is a mineral which dietarily is present almost exclusively in plant foods and drinking water, we can begin exploring it’s relationship to human health from the realm of the etheric/plant world.
In relation to the plant kingdom, Sajad Majeed Zargar, et. al., introduced their 2019 study entitled ‘Role of silicon in plant stress tolerance: opportunities to achieve a sustainable cropping system’, by remarking: ‘Silicon is considered as a multi-talented micronutrient because of its versatile role in providing several benefits for plant growth particularly under stress conditions.’ According to this same study, some benefits that plants sustain from silicon include: ‘enhancing growth, yield and crop quality, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and providing tolerance against abiotic and biotic stresses such as extreme temperature, UV radiation, metal toxicity, nutrient deficiency, drought, salinity, pathogen and fungus attack’. The authors further comment that; ‘Since the silicon-derived benefits are more obvious under stress conditions, it is widely considered as a quasi-essential element.’
In an analogous example pertaining to the human being, J. Loeper, et. al. in 1978 found that, ‘Silicon is needed for synthesis of elastin and collagen, of which the aorta contains the greatest quantity in the human body’. Their research revealed a protective effect of silicon against hardening of the aorta. It found that ‘silicon partially inhibits lipid deposition by maintaining the normal caliber of elastic fibers, with occasional thickening and proliferation of these fibers. It also conserves the integrity of mucopolysaccharides and heightens the impermeability of the endothelium, resulting in a reduced penetration of lipids.’ With silicon, there is ‘thickening’, ‘conservation of integrity’, and ‘heightened impermeability’ in contradistinction to the above- mentioned thickening, swelling, and hardening! Indeed, it has been more and more so in recent years that silicon, with its strong relationship to the plant kingdom, has been increasingly recognized as a necessary nutrient in both plant ecology and human health.
Many of us grew up with impressions of silicon as a threat to health. News in the medical world told of the devastating effects of lung disease from breathing silica dust and asbestos (a group of silicate minerals) and of systemic poisoning from silicone gel breast implants and cosmetic injectable silicone. There had been a pronounced lack of popular knowledge concerning the health promoting aspects of silicon, how it’s compounds are employed in the healthy body, and to what extent it is even necessary for bodily function. As an aid to healthy bodily function, it seemed as if almost invisible.
The words describing various ‘silica-situations’ can be confusing and may even be mistakenly used interchangeably. ’Silicon’ refers to the element itself in the periodic table. It very rarely occurs naturally in its pure form and, after oxygen, is the second most common element in the earth’s crust. When silicon and oxygen combine as the compound SiO2, it is called ‘silica’, ‘silicon dioxide’ or ‘quartz’. In the earth’s crust, this combination holds first place as the most abundant chemical compound! A ‘silicate’ is a silicon and oxygen combination which unites with a metal. Silicates form the large majority of the earths’s crust. Just add an ‘e’ at the end of the word ‘silicon’, and you get ‘silicone’, which refers to a man-made compound that includes silicon, oxygen, carbon and hydrogen and has varied commercial uses.
In its pure form, silicon is extremely rare in the earth’s crust. It’s shiny, dark gray crystal is structurally similar to diamond, and extremely stable and strong. Promiscuity, at temperatures compatible with human life, is not one of its characteristics. Silicon allows only fluorine gas to interact with it. However, at extremely high temperatures, silicon will participate chemically with many elements and form compounds which are stable even upon return to normal temperatures. One of silicon’s favorite partners is oxygen - with whose help it may become active in living processes. When active biologically in soil and in living bodies, silicon has a characteristic of participating as a selfless ‘bridge’ among various substances and systems. In the human body, the primary scenes of silicon activity are concentrated in connective tissues (such as skin, hair, nails, bones, the inner surfaces of blood vessels, and other tissues that support and delineate organs); and in the sense organs. In the context of the senses, silicon acts again as a selfless bridge; this time between the outer world and our inner world. A healthy sense organ transmits its impressions faithfully; it is we ourselves who can misinterpret or even consciously contradict these impressions (as in with a lie - an ‘ability’ that is unique to the human being!).
It is in the semi-precious stone amethyst where silica/quartz appears in a form which most clearly reveals its relationship to thinking and to the higher nature of the human being. In Greek, methyo means ‘to be drunk’ and amethystos means ‘sober’ or ‘capable of resisting the exhilaration of insobriety’. Amethyst ranges typically from clear to a translucent pink or purple color, and often takes its pure hexagonal column form which effects a special relationship to the play of light in and through it. Amethyst is dichromatic, which means that its crystal structures show different colors if looked at from different directions. Blue and red/magenta, in a nod to the blue and red blood of veins and arteries, give way each to the other, to result in a display of purple, with neither individual color dominating the scene. In general, silica-rich/quartz-like minerals are often found in granitic high alpine areas; and water flowing through these areas becomes rich in silica. In the animal kingdom, silica appears most prominently in bird feathers, showing yet another affinity of silica to the heights. In the human being and in nature, silicon carries qualities of independence, stability, strength, idealism, purity, resilience, flexibility, and selflessness in relationship.
A very modern aspect in the repertoire of silicon’s ‘talents’ lies in its ability to act as a semi- conductor. A semi-conductor has electricity-conducting qualities that lie somewhere between a good conductor such as copper, and an insulator such as glass. Silicon has such properties and is produced in laboratories for use in the semi-conductor industry. ’Doping’, the process of adding minute amounts of ‘impurities’ to pure silicon, has the effect of altering conductivity; and when two differently doped pieces of silicon exist in the same crystal, a semi-conductor junction is created. This junction may act as a type of switch or amplifier, and is activated by applying a specific level of voltage that allows electric current to flow through the junction. This phenomena of ‘voltage-gating’ is at the very basis of modern computing and most electronic technologies. The semi-conductor and related electronics industries represent an enormously powerful force for enhancing human capabilities in certain areas of daily life.
However, this mighty new tool of humanity also presents us with equally mighty personal, social and environmental health challenges in the form of ‘electromagnetic field (EMF) sensitivity’. The phenomenon of EMF sensitivity, which in some people extends to life-threatening health situations, ironically may even exclude participation for these people in activities of daily life. Dr. Martin Pall, through a thorough review of scientific literature, found that ‘Voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC’s) are essential to the responses produced by extremely low frequency (including 50/60 Hz) EMFs and also to microwave frequency range EMFs, nanosecond EMF pulses, and static electrical and magnetic fields. VGCC’s are found in our cell membranes and participate in essential bodily processes; especially ones which require immediate and/or large scale responses. For example, the two major coagulation pathways in the blood are triggered by the calcium ion acting as a ‘messenger’ which facilitates a ‘coagulation cascade’; a process which causes rapid amplification of the blood clotting process.
The coagulation process must be kept in balance in order to maintain healthy blood flow. For this to happen, the blood vessels must offer guidance and minimal resistance to flow. The inner lining of the blood vessels, the ‘intima’, needs to be kept smooth
Silicon is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre.
in order to offer least resistance to blood flow. If the intima is damaged due to inflammation or injury from any cause, the calcium mediated coagulation pathway will kick in, and repair the potential breach by depositing cholesterol and eventually calcium onto the damaged area. Excessive activity of this coagulation process or activity in the wrong place or at the wrong time will impede the flow of life-bearing blood by either physically blocking the pathway, or causing the delicate intima of the blood vessels to become hardened and brittle, thus making it vulnerable to even more damage. The areas at the periphery of the body (‘end of the road’ for the oxygen-rich arterial system), such and fingers, toes, and brain, tend to be affected first when circulation becomes compromised. This is because oxygen in the blood that may already be deficient due to illness or other factors has been already ‘used up’ on the way to these areas.
Just as a tree doesn’t ‘need’ its flexibility until the wind blows too hard, perhaps in a similar sense, we don’t ‘need’ the silicon-processes as noticeably until we are under stress. In any case, the silicon/silica process goes on working in its selfless way (without needing to put its own stamp on it or proclaim itself) in connective tissues which provide support for interactions among our organ systems and in our senses which faithfully (and not adding anything of itself into it) transmit impressions of the outer world to our inner being. It also works in the world of semiconductor technology where the human being has brought about by its own agency silicon ‘doping’; i.e. a process which in nature takes place in realms where only higher spiritual beings maintain consciousness (very high temperatures). Implied here is the responsibility that comes with creative power within any realm; meaning the exercise of the human being’s highest faculties of discernment, sensitive understanding, and powers of judgement.
With these ideas in mind, here are some suggestions for providing healthy upbuilding support for our blood vessels:
Keep a balanced approach to your diet including plenty of foods high in silica. These include whole grains like millet and oatmeal (ideally soaked overnight before cooking), vegetables including beets and green beans, and silica-rich water (Fiji water is one example). Water from areas rich in silica has been shown to actually remove aluminum from the body when drunk daily for at least three weeks. Pectin (very rich in the inner peel of citrus; see recipe ) is exceptionally high in silica. This will help keep the inner lining of your blood vessels smooth, strong, and flexible and lessen severity of age and stress related hardening of the arteries. Both nettles and horsetail provide awe-inspiring healthy archetypes of the silica process to our body. The Stinging Nettle plant, which may be used as a dietary green (cooked!) or as tea, are covered in tiny hollow hairs with little silica tips on them. These tips are broken off when you brush by them, and they act like a little needle which injects histamine, serotonin(!), and acetylcholine into your skin causing pain and inflammation. Check out this very interesting link about how nettles sting. Horsetail, which should be used only in limited quantities therapeutically, is also very high in silica. It actually excretes its silica in the form of miniature opals on the surface of its stalk!
Pay attention to the health of your skin. Skin is not just all about vanity! This silica rich organ maintains our boundary with the outer world, and is also quite permeable to allow entry of both nutrients and toxins! Skin is also a good indicator of general health. The skin tends to show stress in the form of rashes or boils only after the inner detoxification organs have become overloaded, and it tries to ‘help out’. Sweating helps with detoxifying your body, and can save your inner organs some work. The practice of ‘dry skin brushing’ before your shower in the morning can also help for similar reasons.
Check into what your electromagnetic environment is like. There are relatively simple things that can be done to greatly reduce unnecessary over-exposures to electromagnetic fields. Measures as simple as changing the location of your bed or favorite chair, putting your phone in airplane mode when not in use, or hard-wiring your computers instead of using wifi can make a big difference in your health. For more expert help with this sometimes complex field, contact a ‘Building Biologist’. See this link to find individuals who have focused formal training and experience in evaluating and guiding remediation and renovation efforts.
Homeopathic medicines can offer significant support in this domain. It is often the case, as with both silica and calcium, that an individual is not actually deficient in the sense of how much of the nutrient is present in the body, but rather the nutrient is is present in the wrong amounts in the wrong places at the wrong times. An example is when too much calcium is deposited in tissues and organs making them hard, brittle and impeding their function. This can happen even while a laboratory test shows a person to have normal or even deficient calcium available in the blood! Homeopathic remedies can provide to the body an archetypal image that can guide the bodily intelligence back towards healthy function.
Practice good sensory hygiene. Just as we have to digest food and drink, we also have to digest sensory impressions. Rapidly changing and over-stimulating sense-impressions cause the soul and nervous system to have to work very hard. Digitized sound and images are associated with poor sleep quality and mental fatigue which are stressful to the regular healthy function of our bodies. These kinds of stressful sensory impressions are toxic to our overall health. Perceiving the true, the beautiful and the good nourish health on many levels. Here is a relevant lecture by Rudolf Steiner, co-founder of anthroposophical medicine, propounding this aspect of healthful behaviors.
‘The man who is untruthful denies his spiritual past; the liar severs the threads between himself and his spiritual past. He who disregards beauty is building himself an abode on earth where the sun of spirit never shines, where he wanders in spiritless shadow. The man who belies the good renounces his spiritual future; and yet he would like this future to be bestowed on him, may be by means of some outer remedy’. -Rudolf Steiner
Note 1: A wonderful resource to help grasp a sense for the formative aspect of the ‘watery’ world in general is Theodor Schwenk’s book, ‘Sensitive Chaos’
