Silica hydride as a dietary supplement
Silica hydride is marketed as a dietary supplement with claims of promoting wellness, preventing disease, and potentially curing various illnesses. The term "silica hydride" refers to a combination of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, though its precise chemical definition is unclear. Proponents assert that these supplements can counteract the purported negative effects of positively charged hydrogen ions found in tap water by providing negatively charged hydride ions, believed to act as antioxidants and enhance cellular energy production. However, from a scientific perspective, the stability of hydride ions is questionable, as they are highly reactive and would likely disappear upon contact with moisture in the body, rendering any proposed benefits ineffective.
The origin of silica hydride's popularity can be traced to Patrick Flanagan, an inventor associated with various health claims, including those linked to the health and longevity of the Hunza people of Pakistan. Despite the mythical narratives surrounding the Hunza, there is no factual basis supporting the claims of their extraordinary health or longevity attributed to their diet. Scientific studies on silica hydride reveal no substantial evidence of health benefits, with limited research showing that its effects are equivalent to a placebo. Typical dosage recommendations suggest 250 milligrams twice daily, and while no serious adverse effects have been reported, the ambiguous nature of "silica hydride" makes it difficult to assess safety comprehensively.
Silica hydride as a dietary supplement
DEFINITION: Natural substance combination used as a dietary supplement for specific health benefits.
- PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: Disease prevention, general well-being
Overview
Supplements labeled “silica hydride” are marketed as a kind of universal cure, said to promote wellness, prevent disease, and potentially cure virtually all illnesses. As a chemical term, “silica hydride” is not well defined, but supplements sold under that name appear to contain a mixture of silicon and oxygen (silica), along with hydrogen (supposedly in the form of hydrides) and various minerals. Proponents of this supplement claim that much of human illness results from the presence, in ordinary tap water, of too many positively charged hydrogen ions. Silica hydride supplements, proponents claim, remedy this by providing negatively charged hydrogen ions (hydride ions). These hydride ions are said to act as powerful antioxidants to increase the cellular production of energy and provide many other benefits.
From the point of view of standard chemistry, enhancing health through hydride ions is highly problematic. A hydride is a negatively charged hydrogen ion that carries two extra electrons. In its natural state, a hydrogen ion possesses no electrons and, therefore, carries a positive charge. When a hydrogen ion is forced to carry extra electrons, it becomes highly unstable and reactive. Hydrides are so reactive that as soon as they contact a molecule of water, they rip the water molecule to pieces. The result: the hydride disappears, leaving behind hydrogen gas (a substance that, within the body, is relatively inert) and hydroxide ions (the essence of alkalinity and the active ingredient in the household product Draino). Thus, if silica hydride supplements provided hydride ions, the ions would instantly disappear when they contacted anything moist, such as the mouth, stomach, or intestines. During its short existence, the hydride would have no time to act as an antioxidant or perform other functions. It would only leave behind a residue of alkalinity, a goal that could be accomplished more easily by, for example, consuming baking soda.
Silica hydride supplements were popularized by the controversial Patrick Flanagan, an American inventor who was previously responsible for the idea of “pyramid power.” In brief, this is the notion (once widely popular) that it is healthy to sit in or wear pyramidal objects. Flanagan has had numerous interests, one of them being silica hydride. It is his contention that silica hydride supplements enhance health by simulating the especially healthful water naturally consumed by the Hunza.
The Hunza people living in the Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan are known for their longevity and diet. In the mythology of the Western health-food tradition, the Hunza people are an emblem of health and longevity. Based on stories told by a few nonexpert travelers, it became a well-known “fact” that the Hunza never got cancer and commonly remained spry and healthy long past one hundred years. Whole villages were said to be full of people older than 140. This cartoonish and ultimately disrespectful caricature of real people figured prominently in the marketing campaign that made yogurt a common food in the United States. They were called the “healthy Hunza,” and the source of their health was said to be the yogurt that figures prominently in their diet.
Purveyors of silica hydride, “Hunza water,” and “Hunza bread” claim their products as the source of the Hunza’s healthiness. However, there is no factual relationship between the actual Hunza and their use as an advertising emblem. Like all humans, the Hunza people get cancer, and the tales of their amazing longevity were long ago debunked. This phenomenon is well known to anthropologists—people who say they are 130 years old on one visit might say 120 on the next visit and 140 when asked the question one year later. In many tribal areas, reported age is a matter of emotion as much as of years; thirty or forty years may be added to a person’s actual age (if that actual age is even known) to indicate status in the community. The actual life expectancy among the Hunza appears to be unremarkable.
Scientific Evidence
No meaningful evidence indicates that silica hydride offers any health benefits. Websites promoting silica hydride cite a host of supporting studies that supposedly prove the product's benefits. However, many of these studies remain unpublished in the manufacturer's archives, while others are based on diagnostic techniques that also exist on a far fringe. There are many published and apparently reasonable articles by the product's inventor and people associated with him, but aside from the obvious conflict of interest, their conclusions are merely theoretical, analyzing chemical reactions rather than medicinal effects.
Only double-blind, placebo-controlled studies can actually prove a medical treatment effective. A literature search uncovered two such studies of silica hydride supplements published in medical journals. Both of these trials were inspired by the highly questionable claim that silica hydride enhances energy production through effects on adenosine triphosphate, a substance involved in the energy economy of the body. The larger of these studies examined whether a widely marketed silica hydride product could improve sports performance. These independent researchers found that silica hydride products did enhance exercise capacity, but so did a placebo, and the two were equally effective. In other words, the supplement did not work. The other study is often reported as positive, but in fact, it measured exercise capacity in too indirect a manner for its results to be meaningful.
Most research involving silica hydride as a supplement was performed from 1980 to the early 2000s. Some further research has investigated silica hydride’s use in altering the chemical structures of drugs to facilitate better study of molecular compounds of drugs, allowing scientists to create new medications. However, silica hydride has failed to offer beneficial use as an individual supplement.
Dosage
Supplements labeled “silica hydride” are commonly recommended to be taken at a dose of 250 milligrams twice daily.
Safety Issues
No serious adverse effects were reported in the two published human trials. However, because the term “silica hydride” does not have a precise chemical meaning, it is difficult to make a general statement regarding the safety of substances said to contain it.
Bibliography
Glazier, L. R., et al. “Effects of Microhydrin Supplementation on Endurance Performance and Metabolism in Well-Trained Cyclists.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, vol. 14, 2004, pp. 560-73.
Ploumen, Carly, et al. “The Utility of Silica Hydride-Based Stationary Phases for Dual-Mode Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography Separation of Synthetic Cathinone Positional Isomers.” Journal of Separation Science, vol. 43, no. 17, 2020, pp. 3449–57. doi.org/10.1002/jssc.202000599. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
"Silica Hydride" Western New York Urology Associates, www.wnyurology.com/content.aspx?chunkiid=214756. Accessed 20 Aug. 2023.
"Silica Hydride." Peace Health, www.peacehealth.org/medical-topics/id/hn-3950001. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Stephanson, C. J., A. M. Stephanson, and G. P. Flanagan. “Antioxidant Capability and Efficacy of Mega-h Silica Hydride, an Antioxidant Dietary Supplement, by In Vitro Cellular Analysis Using Photosensitization and Fluorescence Detection.” Journal of Medicinal Food, vol. 5, 2002, pp. 9-16. doi.org/10.1089/109662002753723179. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
Stephanson, C. J., A. M. Stephanson, and G. P. Flanagan. “Evaluation of Hydroxyl Radical-scavenging Abilities of Silica Hydride, an Antioxidant Compound, by a Fe2+-EDTA-Induced 2-Hydroxyterephthalate Fluorometric Analysis.” Journal of Medicinal Food, vol. 6, 2003, pp. 249-53. doi.org/10.1089/10966200360716661. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.