Silicon.
Research-backed mineral with potential health benefits. Trace element. Second most abundant in Earth's crust after oxygen.
Reviewed March 2026
- Category
- Mineral
What Silicon is, and what it does.
- Does it work
- Multiple studies suggest bone and skin benefits. Not conclusive yet.
- How much to take
- Start with 5 to 10mg of silicon a day. 25mg turns up as a research condition. The form decides how much arrives as the small dissolved molecule the gut takes up.
- Time to feel it
- About 20 weeks of daily use.
- The first dose
- Absorbed passively and cleared in urine the same day. Day one is measurable in a urine sample rather than in anything you notice.
- With regular use
- Because none is stored, weeks and months of daily intake are what keep circulating silicon topped up. Connective tissue and bone measures are the long-window read.
- How well tolerated
- Well tolerated at supplement intakes and cleared quickly by the kidney. If your kidney function is reduced, check with your doctor before adding it.
- How it feels
- No sensation to report. It shows up in a urine or blood measure the same day and in nail and hair condition across months.
- The overlooked benefit
- The silicon dioxide low on an ingredient list is a flow agent, highly polymerised and largely unabsorbed. Seeing it there is not a silicon serving.
5 to 10mg a day is where Silicon works.
Source: Jugdaohsingh, 2007; Spector et al., 2008; no established RDA
In a randomised double blind placebo controlled trial, 50 women with photodamaged facial skin took 10 mg of silicon a day as choline stabilised orthosilicic acid, or placebo, for 20 weeks. Skin roughness rose in the placebo group and fell in the supplemented group, with the change from baseline significantly different between groups for two of the roughness parameters, and self rated brittleness of hair and nails was lower at 20 weeks than at baseline in the supplemented group. Serum silicon was higher in the supplemented group at 20 weeks. The nail and hair readings were visual analogue self ratings, not instrument measurements. The window is recorded for soluble orthosilicic acid, which is the form the trial fed.
The proof, claim by claim.
These words describe the research, not the molecule's worth. Research strength is how much work stands behind one claim, and it is never a product score.
Silicon is documented in the library; the clinical read is in the queue. Nothing about the strength of the research prints until the read is done.
- hair and nail strengthRandomised trial
- skin elasticity and surface conditionRandomised trial
- bone mineral density association with dietary siliconCohort study
- silicon absorption as orthosilicic acidRandomised trial
- silicon at the mineralising front of forming boneAnimal study
Why these belong in the same formula. Each row says what the basis is, from settled biochemistry through to a trial that measured the pair.
Silicon, absorbed as orthosilicic acid, has been shown in cell studies to support the prolyl hydroxylase activity the body uses to build collagen type 1, while collagen peptides supply the glycine and proline that collagen is assembled from. The two support the skin and connective tissue matrix from opposite ends of the same pathway.
Silicon supports formation of the collagen framework of the bone matrix, and calcium is the mineral that deposits onto that framework, so the two act at different stages of normal bone building. They complement rather than compete, since silicon works on the organic scaffold and calcium on its mineralization.
Both nutrients feed the same collagen-building step. Vitamin C is the cofactor the hydroxylase enzymes need to stabilize new collagen, and silicon supports collagen type 1 synthesis through that same enzyme activity. Taken together they support connective tissue and skin formation.
Biotin drives the carboxylase reactions behind protein and fatty acid turnover in keratin-forming tissue, and silicon is associated with the connective scaffold underneath. The pair covers two separate inputs into nail plate quality.
MSM supplies sulfur for the disulfide bonds that stiffen keratin fibres, while silicon is associated with the glycosaminoglycan network they sit in. Neither one substitutes for the other.
Copper sits in the active site of lysyl oxidase, which cross-links collagen and elastin. Silicon is associated with the same matrix at the proteoglycan stage, so the two act on assembly and on cross-linking.
Manganese activates the glycosyltransferases that build proteoglycan chains in cartilage and skin. Silicon is associated with that same fraction, so the mineral supplies the enzyme step behind the structure.
Zinc is required by the enzymes and transcription factors behind skin and nail protein renewal. It acts at a different point from silicon, which is why the two are routinely formulated together.
Boron modifies how calcium, magnesium and vitamin D are handled at bone, and silicon concentrates where new matrix is being laid down. The pair addresses the organic and mineral phases separately.
Hyaluronic acid holds water in the dermal glycosaminoglycan network and silicon is associated with that same network. The pair supplies the hydrated and the structural side of the matrix.
Vitamin K2 carboxylates osteocalcin so calcium binds into bone matrix, while silicon is associated with the collagen scaffold that matrix deposits on. The two cover template and mineral loading.
Magnesium is a structural component of the bone mineral phase and a cofactor for the enzymes that build matrix, while dietary silicon is associated with connective tissue and bone matrix formation. Both appear together in bone-support formulas for that reason. The pairing rests on parallel roles rather than on a combination trial.
Vitamin D drives the calcium absorption that any mineralising matrix requires, and silicon is associated with the organic matrix side of the same process. Formulas pair them so that both the matrix and the mineral supply are addressed. The relationship is complementary rather than a direct chemical interaction.
Collagen triple helices depend on a repeating glycine-proline-hydroxyproline motif, so proline supply is a substrate constraint on matrix synthesis. Silicon is associated with connective tissue formation and is dosed alongside collagen substrates for that reason. The combination supplies substrate and a connective-tissue-associated mineral in one formula.
Glycine is the only residue small enough for the interior of the collagen triple helix, which is why it appears at every third position. Formulas that pair it with silicon are supplying helix substrate alongside a mineral associated with connective tissue. This is substrate logic, not a measured combination effect.
Lysyl residues are hydroxylated and then oxidised by lysyl oxidase to form the covalent crosslinks that give collagen its tensile strength. Silicon shows up in the same connective-tissue formulas, and copper is the cofactor that makes the crosslinking step run. The three are usually formulated together on that logic.
Bone mineral is calcium phosphate in a hydroxyapatite lattice, so phosphate supply sits alongside calcium in any mineralisation account. Silicon is found at the mineralising front of forming bone. Regard the pairing as structural chemistry rather than a tested supplement combination.
Strontium ions can occupy calcium positions in bone mineral because of their similar ionic radius, which changes lattice composition and also interferes with densitometry readings. Silicon acts on the matrix side rather than the mineral lattice. Where a formula stacks both, the strontium confound in a bone density measurement is the practical thing to know.
Colloidal and polymerised silica presents a large surface that can adsorb divalent cations in the gut, and iron is one of the more susceptible. Monomeric orthosilicic acid behaves differently and is absorbed as a small neutral molecule. Separating the doses is the ordinary way to sidestep the question.
Absorbed silicic acid is not stored to any meaningful degree and leaves in urine, so renal function sets the exposure ceiling rather than intake alone. Electrolyte handling and fluid volume move on the same organ. The connection is one of shared clearance, not of an additive effect.
Nothing specific on file for Silicon. Match the label to the daily amount above, and tell your doctor what you take.
Not medical advice. Show the label to your pharmacist.What Silicon actually does.
Only one form of silicon is absorbable, orthosilicic acid, a small uncharged molecule that slips across the gut wall on its own. Linked-up silica and silicate polymers stay put until they break back down into that single unit.
Your body doesn't stockpile silicon. It leaves in urine, so a blood or urine reading tells you what you took in recently rather than what you're carrying.
The silicon dioxide used to keep powders and tablets flowing is a tightly linked amorphous silica that mostly passes straight through. Seeing it on an ingredient list doesn't mean you're getting a dose of silicon.
Plants lay silicon down as solid silica in their cell walls. That's why materials like horsetail and bamboo test high for total silicon while most of it sits in the linked-up form that's poorly absorbed.
Where Silicon comes from.
It comes either from purified sand chemistry or from plants like horsetail and bamboo that store silica in their stems. The element is the same; what differs is how much of it is in the small dissolved form the gut can take up.
The same molecule is reached more than one way. Which route a given product used is a manufacturing choice, and the finished compound is the same either way.
Mineral routes start from high-purity silica sand. Botanical routes start from harvested horsetail (Equisetum arvense) or bamboo (Bambusa) stems, which accumulate amorphous silica in their cell walls.
Mineral silica is fused with sodium carbonate to sodium silicate, then acidified to release silicic acid. Plant material is instead extracted in hot water or dilute alkali to bring the silica into solution.
Sodium and other cations are stripped by ion exchange and the solution is filtered, since residual alkali would accelerate repolymerisation.
Liquid orthosilicic acid products are stabilised with choline or similar and held at low pH to keep the monomer from polymerising. Botanical extracts are standardised to a declared total silica percentage, which is a total-silicon figure and not a monomeric one.
Finished as a dilutable liquid concentrate, or dried onto a carrier and pressed or encapsulated as a silica-standardised powder.
Getting Silicon from food.
The whole-food sources on file. A supplement closes the gap, it does not replace dinner.
A gram-for-gram figure (how much of each you would eat to match a dose) will appear here once it is sourced and reviewed. This page will not print a number it cannot cite.
The forms it comes in.
The essence, in one line each.
- In 2,847 Framingham Offspring participants, higher dietary silicon intake tracked with higher hip bone mineral density in men and younger women, with differences of up to about 10 percent between the highest intake group (over 40 mg a day) and the lowest (under 14 mg a day), and no association in women after midlife.Cohort study. Jugdaohsingh et al., 2004 (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research). PMID 14969400 ↗
- Over 12 months in 136 women with lower than average bone density, choline-stabilised orthosilicic acid added to calcium and vitamin D raised the bone collagen formation marker PINP at 12 months on the 6 and 12 mg silicon doses, without a clear dose response, while spine bone mineral density did not change.Randomised trial. Spector et al., 2008 (BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders). PMID 18547426 ↗
- In 50 women with sun-aged facial skin taking 10 mg silicon a day as choline-stabilised orthosilicic acid for 20 weeks, forearm skin roughness fell (Rt down about 16 percent versus up 8 percent on placebo) and self-rated hair and nail brittleness scores dropped from baseline.Randomised trial. Barel et al., 2005 (Archives of Dermatological Research). PMID 16205932 ↗
- Twenty-two women taking 10.5 mg silicon a day as monomethylsilanetriol for 4 weeks had significantly higher fasting serum and urinary silicon than on placebo, with no reported adverse effects or serum biochemistry changes.Randomised trial. Jugdaohsingh et al., 2013 (Nutrition and Metabolism). PMID 23622499 ↗
- An umbrella review found dietary silicon intake associated with bone mineral density in observational data, while human supplementation trials remain few and small, so the effect size in people is still unclear.Systematic review. Pritchard et al., 2024 (Nutrients). PMID 38337624 ↗
- Dietary silicon supplementation was linked to egg production performance and antioxidant measures in late-phase laying hens; a livestock feeding study, not human evidence.Animal study. Chen et al., 2026 (Animals). PMID 42278162 ↗
- A systematic review of micronutrient supplementation around adult gastrointestinal surgery in which silicon is named among the micronutrients considered rather than tested on its own.Systematic review. Salman et al., 2025 (Frontiers in Nutrition). PMID 41459083 ↗
- Silicon supplementation altered how a plant system handled copper stress, including copper chaperone expression; a plant model that speaks to silicon and copper chemistry, not to human dosing.Plant study. Pradhan et al., 2024 (Molecular Biology Reports). PMID 38642191 ↗
- Silicon supplementation changed callose deposition and cell wall chemistry in plants under water stress, illustrating silicon's structural role in a cell wall matrix.Plant study. Diana et al., 2024 (BMC Plant Biology). PMID 39722029 ↗
These are the studies our verdict leans on, chosen from the 1,148 we read for Silicon. The full linked list is below.
The studies, linked.
3 sources behind our Silicon verdict: peer-reviewed studies and registered clinical trials. Every one links straight to PubMed, the journal, or ClinicalTrials.gov. Read them yourself.
- Clinical trialEffects of Naturally Occurring Silicon in Drinking Water on Bone MetabolismClinicalTrials.gov ↗NA · 19 participants · Completed
- Clinical trialPhase I Trial of PC 4-PDT (NSC 676418) for Cutaneous MalignanciesClinicalTrials.gov ↗PHASE1 · 3 participants · Terminated
- Clinical trialThe Effect of Subdural Drain Placement After Burr Hole Evacuation of Chronic Subdural Haematomas on Recurrence: a Prospective Randomised-controlled Multi-centre StudyClinicalTrials.gov ↗PHASE3 · 260 participants · Unknown
Evidence surfaced via Semantic Scholar (Allen Institute for AI) and ClinicalTrials.gov. Ranked by study type and citation weight, not cherry-picked.
Problems people have reported.
Read this carefully. These are 9,421 voluntary, unverified reactions reported to the FDA (openFDA). The number mostly reflects how popular Silicon is, not how risky it is. A report is not proof Silicon caused anything. It is a signal of what to watch for, nothing more.
Source: openFDA adverse-event reports. Voluntary reporting, not an incidence rate.
FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.
