Horsetail Grass (Equisetum arvense)

Heavy Metal Toxicity

A high concentration of aluminum in drinking water may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. It is likely that certain environmental factors play a role in this disease. Because of its proven neurotoxicity, aluminum may be one such factor.

Hoping to the help patients with aluminum induced dementia, researchersd assessed silica intake for its ability to reduce dementia. What they discovered was that when participants increased their silica intake by 10 mg/day, incidences of dementia subsided. The change was drastic. [Am J Epidemiol. 2001 August; 154(3): 288–290]

This discovery coincides with the expert analysis of Dr. Chris Exley, PhD. [Exley C, Pinnegar JK, Taylor H. Hydroxyaluminosilicates and acute aluminium toxicity in fish. J Theor Biol 1997;189:133–9.]

At a January 2011 vaccine safety conference in Jamaica, Dr. Exley talked about ways to reduce the toxic effects of aluminum in the body. He talked about the importance of silica and mentioned two brands of silica-enhanced water, Volvic and Spritzer. After conducting several urine tests, Exley and his team of researchers proved that high-silica mineral waters help remove aluminum from the body. In a presentation involving victims of Gardasil’s adverse reactions, Exley showed how silica improved the damages caused by aluminum-laced vaccines. Based off 20 years of study, Dr. Exley recommends drinking a liter of silica-rich water daily to reduce the burden of accumulated aluminum in the body.

Thankfully, silica mineral water isn’t the only place to obtain this important mineral. According to the 1993 book Silica: The Forgotten Nutrient, by Klaus Kaufmann, silica can be found primarily in the following foods (Silica content is measured in mg.):

Oats: 595

Millet: 500

Barley: 233

Potatoes: 200

Whole wheat grain: 158

Jersusalem artichoke: 36

Red beets: 21

Corn: 19

Asparagus: 18

Rye: 17

One of the sources of silica not mentioned above is horsetail. Respected as a strong diuretic and astringent herb, horsetail is a fern-like, nonflowering weed that is loaded with silica. [Natural News January 21, 2014 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer]

Lyme Disease

Osteoporosis / Risk

Horsetail contains silicon, and it has been suggested as a possible natural treatment for osteoporosis. One study has examined horsetail for osteoporosis. In that study, 122 Italian women took horsetail dry extract or Osteosil calcium 270 mg twice daily (a horsetail-calcium combination used in Italy for osteoporosis and fractures). Although both groups who took horsetail did improve bone density, the study was poorly designed.