Health Benefits of Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

You simply MUST NOT INHALE THIS STUFF!

IT IS NOT TALC - IT WILL CRUSH YOUR LUNGS!

I am all for DE, zeolite and bentonite but, for the first two - DO NOT INHALE! It doesn't come back out, and it is alien to your lungs.

I treat mine at arms-length until I can get it into water and, even then, it's fine enough to launch a dust cloud off of the water. Same with zeolite.

Get them into water, avoid that dust, then do as you might.

If you're using food grade diatomaceous earth, for anything, wear a mask! Then you won't breathe it in! In the warmer months, I use it at my door entrances and near the baseboards on the floor to control spiders and beetles. So, before I fill its plastic dispenser with the DE, I put on a mask, and plastic gloves and wear long sleeves so I don't get any of the DE on my skin or breathe it in. I put the bag of DE in the kitchen sink and scoop out what I need with the dispenser. After filling the dispenser, any DE that spills out is in the sink, and I can simply wash it down the drain. Then I throw out the mask and the gloves, takeoff the shirt and put it immediately into the washing machine to launder. Simple.

Another important suggestion, when preparing food grade DE for use: along with wearing a mask and gloves and long sleeves, wear glasses or protective goggles so the DE doesn't get into your eyes!

R: I once tried D.E. orally and experienced ulcerative colitis, so from your report, it appears that you have some "leaky gut" issues which is allowing those sharp Silica mineral fractions to go directly into the bloodstream where they are cutting into the kidneys.

For now take Slippery Elm or Marshmallow to restore Kidneys.

Likely culprit is either Parasite infestation or candida infection or both in the gut. Once these pathogens are removed your intestines should heal back to normal.

I now add D.E. with other minerals for daily footbath and experience the benefits of Silica this way.

Typical detox reaction from parasite die off. Drink plenty of water and stop taking DE for a few days.

Rebecca,

Are you sure it was pure "Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth"?

Art

Steve: From my recollection, you have made many good post here, but I must disagree with you on "typical" die-off reaction, as it appears maybe "possible". I have had much experience with paras & die-off of all sorts but nothing as severe as these reported side-effects.

HI U Timh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the whole world is saying that you must have food grade DE. We buy DE from the co-op in 50 # bags that is destined for livestock. It says food grade on the bag. DE is mined directly and I think without any other processing. So what is the process to get mined DE into this so-called food grade condition?

We also buy our MSM from the farm co-op that is 100% pure. It was made for horses, but it's hard to get bettern 100% pure. Bentonite clay is mined. How do you get food grade clay? It just is or it is not. You can't make it so.

In freshman chemistry we had to make the compound, salt peter. I spread some on a few cookies. All know how this compound affects men. I was SJS because my roommate came in that night and naturally ate my cookies. He got sick as a dog. That taught me a lesson especially the next day when he put a knife to my neck and told me to never do that again. My lab made compound was definitely not food grade. Tex was about 6' 4'' and brought that to my attention.

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There seems to be some confusion about food grade DE and industrial or pool filter DE. The pool filter DE is exposed to high temperature in the manufacturing process which alters it considerably, converting it to crystalline silica and making it not fit for human consumption and it is very important that people realize that fact as it will harm you if consumed and that is why I asked the question in the first place, to make sure,

Sarah, was actually using FGDE as opposed to pool DE or the DE that also has a pesticide in it. I have a bag of the pesticide type DE and it has a very distinctive smell to it........kind of like the smell of moth balls, but milder. In any case, a little safety here can go a long way! Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is what you should look for.

Here is a link that gives a detailed discussion on the difference between pool grade and food grade. Definitely worth reading for people who are considering consuming DE.

http://www.absorbentproductsltd.com/food-grade-diatomaceous-earth-vs-pool-grade.html

Here is an important quote from the link:

Crystalline silica is very dangerous and can be harmful to the health of humans and animals. For this reason, Pool Grade diatomaceous earth should NOT be used for any purpose other than filtration.

Art

I forgot to mention that "Feed Grade DE", not "Food Grade DE" can have more heavy metal in it.

Another quote from that previous link:

What is the difference between food chemical codex grade (food grade) and feed grade diatomaceous earth?

Although these two types are very similar there is one very important distinction between them. Food Chemical Codex Grade (commonly referred to as “Food Grade") DE must meet certain specifications regarding heavy metal content. To be considered Food Grade, the diatomaceous earth must not contain more than 10mg/kg of arsenic and no more than 10mg/kg of lead.

Art

Re: Cloudy Urine from Diatomaceous Earth

Cloudy urine may actually be a good thing. Many think that urine should always be clear, however when the kidneys are filtering properly, there should be fluid also coming out of the lymphatic system that may well contain expelled white blood cells & other detritus. That helps to keep the lymphatic system clear & flowing which is good. If the urine is cloudy it may just mean the body is detoxing correctly.

And small amounts of blood in the urine is not necessarily bad either. It may just be rogue blood cells being expelled from the lymph, or even a bit of blood triggered as parasites detach. Obviously, if it's a lot & doesn't stop & it or other issues get worse then the DE would need to be stopped & further investigation done.

I just wanted to highlight that these may simply be, like other issues we may be spooked by, such as nausea, headaches, odd pains, fatigue, etc, temporary detoxification symptoms.

S: This is a good example of "too much of a good thing". It is not wise to consider D.E. an end all for detoxification as there are many types of detoxification.

Anyway, you have gone beyond the daily limit of D.E. and so need to switch to other detox protocols. What exactly are you detoxing from, or just general detox???

For removing heavy metals, and environmental pollutants consider Detox Foot Spa and/or Detox Foot Pads. Steam Room Sweating or Saunas are good detox methods, as well as Mineral Baths. along with any of the above, there are herbs that hasten the removal of toxins in the body; one in particular is Dr Christopher's "Red Clover Combination", and maybe rotate with "Seaweed Complex".

You can easily replace the D.E. with Bentonite Clay as a gentle and effective chelator. Activated Charcoal is also used to remove toxins in the gut.

Sarah, maybe you are detoxed already and don't need any more?

Sarah,

Are you sure it is " food grade" DE? There is non food grade which is used for pool filters and is toxic. There is another type that has added pesticide for insect control and obviously should not be taken by humans.

Art

I know it's been some time since this comment was posted but joint pains may well be part of the DE detoxification.

Over time calcium deposits around the body inappropriately. We don't always notice it until it's built up enough to trigger arthritis, etc. Silica is apparently part of the nutrients that are necessary to ‘orchestrate' calcium into the bones & teeth, etc, so it may be that the silica in the DE is pulling the inappropriate calcium deposits out of the joint tissue for transfer into the bones or anywhere else it's needed, which may trigger temporary pain.

Those side effects are fairly normal to have when detoxing with DE. Drink lots of water and perhaps take 2-3 days off to give your body a chance to clear out all the toxins and dead pathogens.

Try to cut down on gluten, gluten stops the absorption of nurtrients and vitamins from your food.

For the headaches and mood swings I use PMS Tea by Traditional Medicinals or some Organic Dandelion Root tea. I havent gotten the hair loss under control yet. Please let me know if you find something that helps. GB

I am sorry for your present health issues. What you eat and rest is essential to healing. Depending on the severity of your condition, you will usuall feel worse before feeling better due to the detox effect. It is good to go to bed each night before 10 p. M. Your immune system starts to clean out and build up you body at 10 p.m. at nights. If your body is not given the chance to clean out and rebuild during sleep you will not get well no matter what you take or do. Water is very essential in flushing out the toxins and exercise a must. Here are the eight laws of health--water, fresh air, sunshine, good nutrition, rest, exercise, abstemiousness(keep away from harmful foods and habits) trust in divine power (prayer) and temperence in all things.

Thanks. I've been off gluten for over a year and I cut way back on dairy and eat very little grains. Doesn't seem to be helping all that much. I was doing a lot better for about 4 months or so, periods were starting to get more regular and skin cleared and my hair wasnt falling as much. I was happier and less stressed out. But for some reason it all fell apart. I knew I wasnt being super strict on my diet but I wasnt eating gluten still. I just dont know. Im hoping im going through a detox, but from what ive read others have had much faster results with DE than I seem to be having. I'm late on my period right now and symptoms are worsening. Hair falling a lot, face is breaking out terribly! And I'm emotionally insane feeling. Not literally insane. But very emotional and stressed out feeling.

I research a lot and can only find the good things DE does for skin. Why would it not be helping me? I just don't know why I deserve this. I never had acne growning up. It started when I was 25 and now I'm 30 and it's making me more and more depressed. I don't want to see people or go out anymore. I hate putting makeup on my greasy zit covered face. It just makes it feel even more gross and I dont think I'm fooling anyone with it anyway.

I hate this. I thought I had figured it out and was getting better and now im dealing with it all over again.

To Saraaa from Paradise, Narnia on 6/24/13 -- My heart goes out to you. I felt that way when starting my health journey many years ago. For some reason, many people get introduced to the holistic path through detox. Having tried every experiment out there for various issues over the years, I came to understand that the so-called "healing crisis" isn't necessary or even good for you. From what you describe, I would like to suggest you skip over all this and go straight to an acupuncturist for your issues. Now, everyone says "oh acupuncture is great" – as if it were some generic thing you can just go down the street and there it is. But the reality is, you need to find someone really good or you won't get the amazing results promised with Chinese medicine. Specifically, you need to find someone really, really good – someone who has done it for a looooong time (like 30 years) and has true mastery of the art. And you do that by looking them up online and looking at their bios or their background. If they just graduated a couple years ago, say no thanks. They should be working with a mentor at that stage. If they are directly from China and have practiced for a long time, that is a really good scenario.

On rare occasions, I have had American-born acupuncturists who were excellent, but they had also been in practice for a loooooong time, were on the board of the acupuncture college, etc. So find someone who has mastered their craft and get better NOW. There is absolutely no reason you should be suffering this way. Also, sodas with caffeine can cause acne, so if you're drinking soda, STOP. As for detox, it is a good idea once in a while, but some reason people can get really carried away with it and it all sounds really good – you'll just go through it to the other side kind of thing, and you'll be great on that other side. But the body isn't a garbage can that you can just purge out all the icky stuff. Be aware that detoxing can harm organs and systems in the body (very hard on the spleen especially) – people will tell you it's just "die off" or just "detox" or "healing crisis". Your body doesn't need that. You are having real symptoms and you need to know what is going on and get relief. Chinese herbs and acupuncture address the unique patterns in your body, the imbalances that are causing these symptoms. And the knowledge is 5,000 years old and backed up far more than any other medicine available. When you're having lots of painful and extreme things going on with your body, that is NOT the time to do experiments (such as detox). Hope this helps. There is no reason you should be suffering like this!

Dakina from LA Calif. What a wonderful reply. I agree totally with it. Ayurveda too, thousands of years old agrees, that crisis should not be allowed in healing. It has to be gentle and knowledgeable. My own experience with TCM is very positive except I could not the herbals. Diet plays a major role. All the best. Om

Like Lottie said... Cutting back on gluten. I once ran into a lady at the produce store and she began to tell me her transformation story. She was so sick and the doctor suggested she test for gluten intolerance. He then put her on a gluten free diet. She said immediately she began to come back to life. It took the better part of 3 months until most of her symptoms subsided.

Allergies are the culprit in a lot of case studies that I read up on. Once you can eliminate the allergies then you can allow for the body to heal on its own. If you don't then it would be like putting watered down Draino into your pipes. It does some of the job, but not enough to unclog the pipes. Same with our health.

I also am going to a doctor who also uses natural methods. She tests all her patients to see if they have inflammation markers in their blood work. If inflammation is present.. You are open for a whole lot of diseases. Once you get this under control... healing is quicker.

Dear Smokeypokey from Ironwood, Michigan-

Your symptoms sound alot like PCOS and therefore may not be alleviated by Diatomaceous Earth. You may want to look up the remedies for PCOS on this site.

What I found to help me personally was to go on a strict Paleo diet. You can also go on an organic vegetarian diet. There are lots of natural supplements that you can take. Exercise and detox also helps. Good luck and I hope you feel better!

Going on 6 months now GMO free only eat whole foods that are organic, my itching skin went away, I lost 25 lbs I feel 20 years younger, all the pesticides in our food is making us sick. I had back aches all the time with these 2 cyst in my lower back, back pain is gone and the cyst is way smaller, started on Diatomaceous Earth to see if it would help and so far I see that it is making my real thick and ugly toenails shrink back to normal. You need to get off white sugar and white flour they are fulled with pesticides only eat sugar cane sugar which is found mostly in organic foods. 80% of the food in the grocery store is poison to our body, but look for the Non gmo list on the internet and start getting your health back.

Do you drink milk or eat any dairy products? I once read that dairy products can cause acne so I started paying attention to my body whenever I ate cheese, ice cream or milk. Sure enough, my face breaks out any time I eat any dairy products. I've switched to soy milk and all is well.

The only soy that is healthy for you is fermented soy. Make sure milk is a brand which is fermented.

To Saraaa from Paradise, Narnia on 6/24/13

Based on your symptoms, try going wheat free, (gluten free), and research fully Lugol's iodine, (5 to 7 percent solution). I took 3 drops a day for 9 months and then went to 2 drops maintenance dosage. Try it to see if it won't clear up your skin and cysts, and stop your hair from falling out. Good luck to you.

Donna

Hi! Don't know if you will ever get this, but the following have really helped my skin -

Beef gelatin
Diatomaceous Earth (Its full of silica, and a great detox)
Magnesium oil, magnesium citrate supplements, epsom salt bath (I've heard some people get migraines from a magnesium deficiancy)
High quality fish oil supplement
Or eat lots of fish

Hope this helps! - Nicole

I am amazed of all the greater change in my life now on week 4. Make sure you drink water try to lesson sweets and you will feel like a new person.

Hello, I'm sorry to hear you're out there feeling so low. I hear you ....but I have raised a - many children....and I am going to let you in on a little secret and that is: quit the junk food ... deny it all you want ..pop sugar french fries - or at least cut down to very little junk food ...it going to kill you internal and external ...

if you quit the bad the DE can start to do its job.....With DE you will go through a detox part of it ..cleaning out your system ... so it will get worse before it gets better ...and don't tell me you're not eating junk ..hahah your in that age group ...just be honest with yourself ....okay there is another factor if your on certain medication or any sort of liver malfunction can attribute to the acne ...so if the last two are not the issue... it would than have to do with junk food or..milk has been noted as a cause of acne to especial if you have ADHA too...

also what are you cleaning your face with ....wash your hands faithfully and don't touch your face as it will irritate the acne ..well unless your cleaning it out and use an astringent to close the pours ..and don't mix chemicals like acne pads and astringents that would hurt you bad ...do you use a steroid for medication on your face ....it really is simplistic

If it's not caused by a medical issue.

All the best sweety and don't give up

Do a face mask and add Diatomaceou earth to it!!!

For the headaches and hair loss try pure black seed oil. You can get it on Amazon.

You may have copper overload? Try reading: why am I always so tired by Ann Gittleman. High copper can do all those things you spoke about.

Reading about all your problems I can see what I went through the past 7 years. My health just kept declining and begin getting life threatening health problems, when the source of my problem become apparent. I have Candida overgrowth that even my Dr ignored as significant when I mentioned it. I went on a Candida diet 6 weeks ago and started DE, Candigest and Colostrum 2 weeks ago. This week I finally started to feel better, had more energy, brain fog lifted, headaches finally gone too and my period is stabilizing among many other things. My advice is to you is get yourself tested for Candida or read upon it and start your own journey, because truthfully you can't loose by trying. Hope you will get better soon, kind regards...

Sounds like parasites. Billions of people all over the world are infected. There are many natural herbs and treatments. Some people take borax. 1/8 teaspoon in 1 litre of water. You should use very little. Search the benefits of borax. and get the testimonies. Countless people say it works. It is an old product and some people have been taking it for decades. They urge you not to take too much. Or you can try a combination of many herbs. I hope you choose a winning regiment. Just remember to drink lots of water. You must get the dead parasite bodies out of your body. Many people use coffee enema's. Organic coffee only. Checkout Gerson therapy. Many people swear by it. Be blessed.

I think you are very wise!! I totally agree with what you write!!

You may have estrogen dominance! Try DIM. Best of luck.

Fuji water has silica, so do bananas. Do a temporary stop on DE until you've used the water and had one or two bananas a day for a couple of weeks. For you, DE may have been a shock to your system. If you resume, start slow, very slow. 1/4 tsp for a while. If things get worse, stop. Increase by 1/4 tsp at monthly intervals. Don't know if this will work as everybody is different. Some people never get past 1 tbsp and do just fine. BTW, what's in your tap water? Not all tap water is the same. Reverse osmosis or distilled may be a solution, too. Good luck.

For the acne, try removing all sources of fluoride. Toothpaste, mouthwash, city water, etc. In her book The Hidden Cause of Acne Melissa Gallico traces the science that proves a huge percentage of ance worldwide is caused by fluoride. It made a massive difference in her health and skin when she was able to remove all fluoride from her diet and cosmetics. According to the reviews a lot of other people have had the same results.

... "Estimates are that 60% to 70% of us with FMS have symptoms very similar to costochondritis. No one is exactly sure whether it is true costochondritis or why it occurs with FMS, especially since FMS doesn't cause inflammation."

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Notice the contradiction in FMS definition says FMS does not cause inflammation while costochondritis which most people with fms is ignored. Costochodritis inflammation was the most painful part of the fms condition. The sleep disorder is caused by the physical pain.

Tiredness or difficulty exercising is not distinguishing. Stiff muscles - what does that mean. People can get stiff muscles by just being inactive.

They have fms - "classified as mild cognitive disorders". many fms labeled people would not agree with the word "mild".

One person talking about fms may be world's apart from someone else who has fms. I think the fms label needs to be broken down further. I think infections (inflammation) vs non-infection groups may need to be separated especially symptom wise along with cognitive aspect.

You are not drinking enough DE for your body. I'll bet you haven't drunk DE long enough to see improvements or even enough DE.

Let me give you an example. Although I don't have fibro I suffer from body pain immensely without DE and Boron. Not sure what so have as I do not trust Dr's and haven't been to. Dr's in over 20 years. Nonetheless, I have to take at least 8-10 tablespoons of DE and waited for a few weeks and my pain was almost gone, about 90% of it. Then when I added boron and reaching to about 1 teaspoon daily the rest of my body pain was gone in literally a couple of days. After 8 months I noticed my hair was growing something I have been suffering from for r over 10 years, I almost went bald as a female 😞 but thank the Lord for DE my hair is now back to about 95% when I added boron my head started to itch the feeling of needles poking my head which is hair growing all at one time. I still have inflammation problems and know it will go away within time.

Everyone is different and requires large dosage to even start to address deficiencies in their bodies.

Now I know you have fibro and need to take a much larger dosage to even begin to feel a relief. You haven't given DE enough time and or taking enough of it to address you body issues. So you give up 😞 I would rethink what you are doing and try again only this time keep on upping your DE dosage until you start to feel a relief. I would highly recommend adding Boron at least 2 full teaspoon of the powder not the watered down liquid crap, that won't touch you at all. Don't give up and trust that DE along with Boron will help you in a big way and will eventually heal you. Boron (the 20 mule team) brand only.