Diatomaceous Earth

totem12

Two things about this (from earlier in thread)-

1. I always hear that bacteria are 'positively charged'. They are not. They are slightly negatively charged.
2. The bacteria that live in your digestive tract are meant to be there, if you disrupt them you do more harm than good.
3. The only thing that CAN disrupt them is antibiotics. Food intake (including probiotics) doesn't do a damn thing in a healthy adult.

Just had to get those off my chest...

moderate39

I don't know if anyone is paying attention to this thread anymore, but I thought I'd throw an actual scientific study into the mix. It's about chickens, not humans.

Effect of diatomaceous earth on parasite load, egg production, and egg quality of free-range organic laying hens.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21673156

In short, it does seem to get rid of some types of parasites. But don't count on it as a weight-loss tool: The hens fed DE were heavier.

As for my own experience, I stumbled upon DE in my lifelong search for better treatments for allergies. I've used it for several months: a rounded teaspoon a day in a full glass of water. Some alternative theories about allergies say that they're caused by "build-up" in the colon. And DE is supposed to help clean out the colon. While DE definitely keeps things moving, it doesn't have any effect on allergies. However, my hair is, without a doubt, shinier and thicker. And I have embarrassingly beautiful, shiny nails (I'm a dude). But the main reason I kept using it was the effect on my digestive system. I used to get bloated a lot, but the DE eliminates bloating problems, and my stomach is flatter.

However, I ended up here because I'm also concerned about the arsenic. Humans live a lot longer than chickens, and even if there's a small amount of arsenic in DE, it may not be worth the risk over the long haul.

In conclusion, yeesh, I don't know. If anyone finds any more scientific evidence, I hope you'll share.

tamera1964

I found this info on the DE. www.vitaletherapeutics.org/immunecf.htm It is by Galen Knight, PhD. I have found other papers by Drs. that talk about using it for cholesterol lowering that has had human trials and found it to be beneficial. hope this helps.

stumblinthrulife

Holy crud, is there anything that people can't be convinced to eat?

Care76

I actually know people that use it for a multitude of health reasons (none of them to lose weight) and they swear it works. It is very important to use human food grade, not animal or garden grade.

stumblinthrulife

Ironically I'm sure there is a large overlap between people who use this, and people who complain about the additives to Taco Bell meat not making it 'real food' anymore.

Alliwan

I don't know anything about it but I DO recall gathering either 4 of 8 of these in Zul'Drak.

As a former WoW nerd, I lol'd.

I did too! almost spit my coffee trying to tell the family why i was laughing. they got a kick out if it too

mathjulz

I don't know anything about it but I DO recall gathering either 4 of 8 of these in Zul'Drak.

As a former WoW nerd, I lol'd.

I did too! almost spit my coffee trying to tell the family why i was laughing. they got a kick out if it too

Yes, I got a giggle out of it … and then tried to remember if there really is Diatomaceous Earth in ZD :laugh: I may have to go check :laugh:


On a more serious note, I'd love to hear a report back from the OP. It's been a year and a half … did you keep taking it? What did it do for you?

Squidgeypaws007

I don't know anything about it but I DO recall gathering either 4 of 8 of these in Zul'Drak.

Haha, that's exactly what I thought when I saw the title :laugh:

AmykinsCatfood

Just so I'm clear, we're talking about dirt, right?

neandermagnon

LOL whatever next...... the asteroid diet? Eating ground up asteroid that's landed on earth....? How about the Uranium diet? Keeps you regular...

it probably contains some minerals that the body needs, but you can get minerals from food. And if you're suffering from intestinal parasites (which is rare in this day and age due to advances in hygiene) you need to see a doctor.

AmykinsCatfood

Two things about this (from earlier in thread)-

1. I always hear that bacteria are 'positively charged'. They are not. They are slightly negatively charged.
2. The bacteria that live in your digestive tract are meant to be there, if you disrupt them you do more harm than good.
3. The only thing that CAN disrupt them is antibiotics. Food intake (including probiotics) doesn't do a damn thing in a healthy adult.

Just had to get those off my chest...

Actually probiotics are food for the bacteria, meaning probiotics are good things to eat, regardless if it's in a "healthy" adult or not. Might be overkill, but I'd rather have happy gut flora than dying gut flora.

chantalgv

Wow. I would expect of people to support someone when they ask a question, not be condescending. Some of you seriously me off due to your lack of respect towards someone who is simply trying to gain some more insight into something she is obviously not sure of. If she had made up her mind already, she would not be asking others for their (INFORMED) opinions.

How is it a waste of time to ask others if they have had any experience with using FOODGRADE DE? If you are unable to formulate an intelligent reply, by all means: don't bother to reply in the first place. The only waste here is the time taken to read your stupid reply.

I have read up on Foodgrade DE and have placed my order. I have gone through the trouble of finding people with actual experience with this product and this is what I based my decision on.

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

JoeCampbell85

And supposedly the "clay" that moves through your digestive tract after you ingest DE is negatively charged and most bacteria is positively charged so it helps to remove impurities. Also, the particles are just jagged enough to impale the exoskeleton of parasites, which removes them in the case that you have any. But are not harmful to internal organs. I haven't read any negative reactions or side effects. I'm just nervous to try something that isn't "main stream"....

As someone who works in science, this sounds like as much psuedoscience as crystal healing.

Bacteria is negatively charged due to teichoic acid (gram positive) and phospholipids (gram negatives). Bacteria adhere to cells through relatively strong interactions with receptors, these are strong and can't be broken by something so simple. Bacterial shedding is usually from dead cells or bacterial overgrowth. If you have parasites, you need to see a doctor.

JoeCampbell85

Wow. I would expect of people to support someone when they ask a question, not be condescending. Some of you seriously p*ss me off due to your lack of respect towards someone who is simply trying to gain some more insight into something she is obviously not sure of. If she had made up her mind already, she would not be asking others for their (INFORMED) opinions.

How is it a waste of time to ask others if they have had any experience with using FOODGRADE DE? If you are unable to formulate an intelligent reply, by all means: don't bother to reply in the first place. The only waste here is the time taken to read your stupid reply.

I have read up on Foodgrade DE and have placed my order. I have gone through the trouble of finding people with actual experience with this product and this is what I based my decision on.

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

You don't have to experience something to know it's dumb. For instance, I have never ingested glass shards, yet I know that doing so would be dumb.

Sabine_Stroehm

Honestly, something used to filter swimming pools, where you are supposed to wear a mask to filter it, is NOT something that I would be ingesting.

There is a food grade variety. That said, I'd skip it.

mathjulz

Wow. I would expect of people to support someone when they ask a question, not be condescending. Some of you seriously p*ss me off due to your lack of respect towards someone who is simply trying to gain some more insight into something she is obviously not sure of. If she had made up her mind already, she would not be asking others for their (INFORMED) opinions.

How is it a waste of time to ask others if they have had any experience with using FOODGRADE DE? If you are unable to formulate an intelligent reply, by all means: don't bother to reply in the first place. The only waste here is the time taken to read your stupid reply.

I have read up on Foodgrade DE and have placed my order. I have gone through the trouble of finding people with actual experience with this product and this is what I based my decision on.

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

First post ... used to necro an old thread and yell at people who are being reasonable (You don't have to drink hemlock tea to know it's not a good idea)

earlnabby

I don't know about any intestinal benefits but I do know a number of people who take DE because the silica is supposedly beneficial to growing hair and nails, and also helps with the formation of collagen in the skin. Silica is also available by taking horsetail or bamboo extracts which are common ingredients in hair, skin, and nail supplements.

LifeWithPie

Wow. I would expect of people to support someone when they ask a question, not be condescending. Some of you seriously p*ss me off due to your lack of respect towards someone who is simply trying to gain some more insight into something she is obviously not sure of. If she had made up her mind already, she would not be asking others for their (INFORMED) opinions.

How is it a waste of time to ask others if they have had any experience with using FOODGRADE DE? If you are unable to formulate an intelligent reply, by all means: don't bother to reply in the first place. The only waste here is the time taken to read your stupid reply.

I have read up on Foodgrade DE and have placed my order. I have gone through the trouble of finding people with actual experience with this product and this is what I based my decision on.

Different strokes for different folks and all that.

You used your first post to resurrect a thread that's 2 1/2 years old? And then yell at people ? LOL...stay classy.

neandermagnon

I don't know about any intestinal benefits but I do know a number of people who take DE because the silica is supposedly beneficial to growing hair and nails, and also helps with the formation of collagen in the skin. Silica is also available by taking horsetail or bamboo extracts which are common ingredients in hair, skin, and nail supplements.

Or you can eat sand, because it's basically the same thing.

I'm not knocking eating sand either. I lived in Saudi Arabia for 5 years. There was sand in the water and I'm pretty sure most of the food too. I probably ingested lots of sand in my time there. But there is an LD50 limit on silica (silicone dioxide), so it's probably not a good idea to consume lots of it.

There is silicon dioxide in living organisms - it's present in a lot of plants and animals; although there's no known nutritional benefit, there could be unknown nutritional benefits - but seeing as humans and human ancestors have lived just fine for millions of years without consuming large quantities of silica on purpose, and that it's present in plants and animals, it's probably safe to say if it is needed by the body, we get enough of it from eating regular food.