Re: Silica sources?

 Is there a better way to get silica other than the D.E.?

Not really.  The really nice thing about using DE is that it can be added to water and left there.  Herbal sources if put in water will mold over time.  So I like the DE since it forms the orthosilicic acid in the water and sits there waiting for you to drink it.  And the additional advantage comes from the higher daily levels being absorbed.  To understand this lets say a capsule of silica contains 500mg.  And let's say that the body only absorbs 1mg each time you take a capsule.  If taking capsules 3 times daily as most capsules are supposed to be used this would a total of 3mg being absorbed daily. That is based on people actually complying and taking 3 times daily like they should.  Now if you absorb 1mg per glass of water with DE dissolved in it and you drink an average of 8 to 14 glasses of water throughout the day we can see you end up with a lot more silica in your system at the end of each day.

I take D.E. for ALL it's wonderful benefits, but apparently the silica is not absorbed until the D.E. sits in the water is that correct?

If you were to down a spoon full or even a capsule of silica some will still convert to orthosilicic acid. But as I show above you will not absorb much as the conversion to orthosilicic acid, and thus absorption, is poor.  So adding to your drinking water will still provide the best overall absorption.

Just chugging down the D.E. has lots of benefits but getting a big dose of silica would not be one of them if it's taken this way, is that correct?

You will get some benefit, but not the maxiumum unless you are doing this throughout the day, which is not practical.