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Silicon: solution for bone problems in dogs
Joint wear is caused by degeneration of the joint cartilage. The balance between the build-up and breakdown of cartilage is disrupted. This is a consequence of a combination of joint damage and normal wear and tear. Sometimes cartilage wear is so severe that the bone is also affected. The older a human or animal becomes, the greater the chance of joint wear. The elasticity of cartilage is essential because it protects the bones from the slight shocks caused by your movements and facilitates the movements of one bone (end) over the other. The development of osteoarthritis can be attributed to aging, recurring injuries, and nutrition.
To continuously renew cartilage, one element is essential: silicon. The older humans and/or animals become, the harder it is to absorb silicon in the body, and what is more, modern diets contain little absorbable silicon. Silicon is essential for the production of collagen fibers that also form cartilage. A deficiency of silicon means also a deficiency of collagen, which is precisely the adhesive material that should hold the molecules of our cartilage together.
The buildup of more connective tissue (more collagen) results in stronger ligaments, capsules, and tendons, as well as stronger bones (greater bone density). Moreover, connective tissue protein is essential for the flexibility of the bone.
The mineral Silicon
Silicon (chemical symbol: Si; English term: silicon) is the second most abundant element on Earth after oxygen. The earth’s crust consists of 27.7% silicon. This is significantly more than carbon, which only makes up 0.0018% of the earth’s crust. The most common silicon compound is SiO2 (silicon dioxide or silica). The salts of silica are silicates. Silicates hydrolyze in an aqueous environment into oligomeric forms of silica.
Only the small molecular forms of silica are biologically absorbable. This applies to plants, humans, and animals. Especially mono-, di-, and tri-silica acid are well-absorbed biologically. In the continuation of this informative piece about silicon, silicon refers to the combination of mono-, di-, and tri-silica acid.
Plankton as an example
A compelling example of the importance of silicon for the plant kingdom is plankton. For instance, 40% of phytoplankton depends on oligomeric silica. The unicellular organisms need an active silicon metabolism to stay alive. And without silicon, a large part of the phytoplankton would be lost, resulting in the loss of the entire food chain in the ocean.
Moreover, phytoplankton is responsible for 40% of the oxygen production on Earth, leading to the conclusion that without silicon, there is no life possible on Earth.
Silicon and the body
The first signs of a silicon deficiency are usually found in the skin, hair (read coat in horses), and nails (read hooves in horses). The skin and hair lose their strength and elasticity, and nails become brittle and fragile. These symptoms are common in older individuals, as the silicon concentration in the blood decreases with age.
Supplementing with silicon-rich food counteracts this effect, and their skin and nails will improve visibly.
A more serious condition that is also particularly a result of a silicon deficiency and is associated with aging is osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis and joints
Joint wear is caused by degeneration of the joint cartilage. The balance between the build-up and breakdown of cartilage is disrupted.
This is a consequence of a combination of joint damage and normal wear and tear. Sometimes cartilage wear is so severe that the bone is also affected. The older a human or animal becomes, the greater the chance of joint wear.
Stiff and tight
Older people and animals often feel stiff and tight in their joints, especially when getting up. One of the causes is that the soft cartilage found at the end of a bone is affected.
Cartilage is the soft elastic layer in the joints that is encountered when eating chicken, for example. It is a rubbery, somewhat translucent substance.
The body is constantly in motion. The musculoskeletal system and thus the joint function mainly determine the freedom of movement. Problems with the musculoskeletal system can significantly restrict this function.
The elasticity
The elasticity of cartilage is essential because it protects the bones from the slight shocks caused by your movements and facilitates the movements of one bone (end) over the other.
Cartilage is a unique tissue in the body because it contains no blood vessels and nerves. Consequently, the supply of nutrients is often insufficient.
When cartilage is placed under a microscope, it resembles a sponge. However, when the joint is at rest, the cartilage is filled with fluid. At the moment the joint experiences a shock or is load-bearing, the fluid disappears from the cartilage, just like squeezing a sponge filled with water.
In a healthy process, the fluid returns to the cartilage as the pressure decreases; however, in cases of chronic overload, there may be a strong production of free radicals. These free radicals oxidize the large cartilage molecules in the joint fluid, reducing the sponge effect; the fluid gradually disappears.
The sponge-like tissue becomes dry and brittle and loses its elasticity. The recurring shocks and frictions increasingly damage the dry cartilage, and over time it disappears. The bone ends are no longer protected, and the bone itself is affected and begins to deform.
Pain
The result is pain, which can lead to increasingly less physical activity being undertaken, and that physical activity is precisely necessary to keep the joints flexible.
This creates a downward spiral of degeneration (aging and wear).
Other symptoms or signs may also occur, such as inflammation, deformities, etc.
The usual medical approach is to prescribe various painkillers and/or anti-inflammatories, and due to various side effects of these drugs, a kind of “roller coaster” of medications occurs. Good for the pharmacy but not good for humans and/or animals.
The prevailing medical opinion is that osteoarthritis is irreversible (thus incurable) and that all one can do is slow its development.
That osteoarthritis is irreversible is a misconception!
The main component of cartilage is water. The rest consists of the connective tissue fiber collagen (adhesive substance) and glycoproteins (sugar proteins) that are primarily composed of polysaccharides (complex sugars).
This involves large molecules composed of sugars and proteins, which form the tissue through which the fluid circulates.
Cartilage is formed by chondrocytes (cartilage cells) that ensure there is enough cartilage present and that the cartilage is cleansed of outdated collagen and glycoproteins.
The development of osteoarthritis
The occurrence of osteoarthritis can be attributed to aging, a recurring injury, and nutrition.
To continuously renew cartilage, one element is essential: silicon (silica).
The older humans and/or animals become, the harder it is to absorb silicon in the body, and what is more, modern diets contain little absorbable silicon.
This occurs because as humans and/or animals age, less of a specific acid is produced that is necessary for silicon to be absorbed in the body. This leads to a deficiency of silicon.
Production of collagen fibers
However, silicon is essential for the production of collagen fibers that also form cartilage. A deficiency of silicon thus also means a deficiency of collagen, which is precisely the adhesive material that should hold the molecules of our cartilage together.
Silicon stimulates the production of new bone cells and slows down bone disintegration. Moreover, silicon boosts the calcium and vitamin D metabolism.
This also leads to fractures healing better and faster.
The buildup of more connective tissue (more collagen) results in stronger ligaments, capsules, and tendons, as well as stronger bones (greater bone density). Moreover, connective tissue protein is essential for the flexibility of the bone.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a bone condition. In osteoporosis, the amount of bone tissue and usually also its integrity is reduced. To such an extent that even with minimal stress, skeletal deformation occurs. An important factor is the maximum bone mass. This determines whether someone will experience osteoporosis fractures at an older age. This bone mass is reached between the ages of twenty and thirty. After reaching maximum bone mass, the bone mass remains stable for a few years, after which a period of bone loss begins. Most of the prevention of osteoporosis should therefore take place in the first thirty years of life (in horses, the first 7 years).
The bone mass is determined not only by genetic (congenital) factors but also by physical activity and nutrition. Besides calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, boron, manganese, zinc, copper, and silicon also play important roles. Sufficient calcium in the diet is very important.
For the absorption of calcium, silicon plays a significant role. Silicon acts as a transport medium in the body, causing calcium to be better absorbed and penetrating throughout the body. A similar effect is seen when administering a silicon-containing foliar fertilizer, for example, in apple cultivation. The effect is that more calcium reaches the apple, with all the positive consequences of that.
The relationship between silica and other minerals
Silicon interacts with various other minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, boron, phosphate, zinc, and copper. Almost all data come from animal studies.
Emmerick et al. (1990) demonstrated that the administration of extra silicon led to an increase in copper and the copper-related effects.
Najda et al. (1992) observed similar results concerning copper. They also observed a higher iron concentration due to the administration of extra silicon, while the zinc content decreased. A year later, they found that the administration of extra meta-silicate led to a decrease in magnesium levels and an increase in calcium levels in the serum.
In an article by Calcomme et al. (1997), it appears that the administration of biologically absorbable (stabilized) silica leads to a moderate increase in phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg). More importantly, the calcium increase occurred proportionally with the increased concentration of silicon in the serum.
Seaborn and Nielsen demonstrated in rats that silicon-deficient diets led to a decrease in minerals in bone tissue, such as calcium, copper, zinc, potassium, and phosphorus.
McCrady (2003) showed in rats that silicon supplementation increases calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium concentrations in the vertebrae and skull.
Silicon and Alzheimer’s
High silicon supplementation may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Although it is not known that silicon has a direct effect on the functioning of the brain, it appears that silicon binds aluminum and ensures that aluminum is excreted via urine. Aluminum is a very toxic metal that plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Silicon prevents the accumulation of aluminum.
Interestingly, more than 7,500 French women aged 75 and older participated in a study. At the start of this study, an estimate was made of the amount of silica consumed per day. The amount to which each participant in the study was exposed daily through drinking water. Women who consumed less silicon-containing water performed worse in terms of their cognitive function compared to women who ingested a higher dose of the drinking water.
A subgroup of the population was followed for a period of 7 years. It appeared that the intake of the amount of silicon was determinant for the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Safety aspects
In the years 2005 to 2009, the European Food & Safety Authority (EFSA) examined the safety, toxicity, and permissible quantities of silicon in human applications. This study clarified that silicon in the form of silicates and silica can be fully considered safe. It was also checked whether silicon appeared on any doping list. This was not the case for humans, and it can be assumed that this also applies to horses.
Silicon in the environment
Silicon is, as mentioned above, the second-most abundant element on Earth after oxygen. It is an important basic material for sand. Silicon dioxide, present in the quartz crystals of sand, cannot be consumed by horses, it is not bio-absorbable, making it useless as a food source.
Plants
However, plants use silicon to provide strength in their cell walls. Through these plants and their normal diet, horses receive small amounts of this necessary mineral; however, it seems that in the feed that comes through commercial channels to the horse, there is less and less of this bio-absorbable silicon available.
Despite its presence in nature, surprisingly little is known about the nutritional significance of silicon in the diet for mammals. That said, the American Institute of Nutrition recently reformed its published formulas for conducting experiments with rodents on pure diets by deciding to add silicon as a necessary nutrient.
This change resulted from research showing that silicon led to interactions with other nutrients, with all the possible positive consequences.
Silicon in bone and connective tissue
Most people think that a bone is primarily formed by the minerals lime and phosphorus. Of course, there are many more components that make up the bone than just these two elements. To begin with, the bone is constantly in motion in the sense that old or damaged parts are replaced by new healthy parts.
Silicon plays a role in the formation of new bone and the process of calcification. Interestingly, in the early stages of calcification, the amounts of silicon and lime are low; however, as the mineralization process progresses, these increase. As the bone ages and reaches full maturity, the concentration of silicon decreases while the amount of lime remains the same.
The exact role must still be determined.
However, it seems that silicon is especially important in the young, still developing horse, where the skeleton is still undergoing rapid changes. This theory, involving silicon in an early stage of bone formation, is supported by studies conducted on chickens. The chickens in those studies were subjected to a silicon-deficient diet. This led to an abnormal bone structure.
While the role of silicon in the mineralization process of bones is emphasized, silicon also plays an important role in forming the collagen matrix of bones and blood vessels. The formation of this matrix is necessary to prevent connective tissue from becoming brittle and prone to damage.
When there is a deficiency of silicon in the diet, the formation of the matrix is limited; the consequences of this are even greater than those resulting from the absence of silicon in the mineralization process. In the connective tissue structures of bones and blood vessels, it appears that the formation and growth of the bone supported by silicon is primarily a result of the increased concentration of collagen.
The formation of glycosaminoglycans, the primary polymer molecule of the bone matrix, also requires silicon. Again, if chickens were fed a silicon-deficient diet, it turned out that the amount of collagen in the bones was reduced. The amount of cartilage in the joints was also reduced compared to chickens that received extra silicon through their feed.
At the molecular level, it has been shown that silicon is present in mucopolysaccharides and is jointly responsible for the formation of cartilage in the joints and connective tissue.
This makes it an integral part of the mucopolysaccharide protein complex and stimulates the formation of collagen and connective tissue by silicon.
SilicaDogs is a complementary pet food containing silicon. It is good for flexible joints and strong bones. It also supports your dog’s overall condition.
Silicon improves your dog’s balance. This mineral is crucial for your dog’s health. It also helps your dog remain in good condition naturally.