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KNOWN AND USED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES...
Stories and legends:
In popular belief, each type of Rock has a special " magic " function.
To avoid a sheep becoming diseased, the shepherd would rub the face of the animal with three stones or makes it drink water from a bucket containing of these stones.
In China, rubbing the skin with a plate of jade plate improves its appearance. Jade (calcium and aluminium silicate) was also considered to cure nephritic colic.
Bezoars (from the Persian " pad-zahr" = " drive out-poison"): stones found in the internal organs of animals (intestine, stomach, brain, gall bladder or the urinary passages ). These were reduced to powder by rubbing on a grinding stone with a little water. Their absorption was supposed to help fight fever, weakness and poisoning. They are still used by Arab, Indian and Chinese doctors today.
The Aztecs would cover a wound with a balm containing obsidian powder to help it heal. With over 60% of silicon oxide, obsidians are genuine natural glasses. A recent study showed incisions made with obsidian scalpels healed more quickly than those made using traditional metal blades.
Until the 19th century, populations regularly experienced great epidemics. Pasteurs imitators then Ð wrongly Ð advanced the notion of " contagion ". Pasteur, on the other hand, had put forward another theory :" we drink 90% of our diseases; it is only because of the polluted state of the water throughout history, that the great epidemics of the past have been propagated.
It was noted, however, that certain groups remained strangely unaffected by these epidemics. The inhabitants of MARSAT, for example, benefits from an immunity that has never been disproved (despite not using vaccines). In fact, these people have, throughout the centuries always had abundant sources of VOLVIC water at their disposal, a water with a significant silicon concentration.
Herbal Medicine
Horsetail (Equisetum arvense L): it is a genuine reservoir of silica; its ashes contain up to approximately 80%. Known in herbal medicine for its depurative, diuretic and remineralizing virtues, it was prescribed equally for tuberculosis and anaemia suffers, as well as convalescents.
Some authors even considered it to be irreplaceable. Galien said it was " remarkable for closing wounds however large they may be". Pliny noted that it " stopped nosebleeds, caused urination and cured ulcers ".Used to heal badly curing wounds, ulcers, bleeding, nosebleeds or against chronic skin disorders (eczema, acne, scabs,... etc), horsetail also had an internal healing action. In traumatology, experiments on animals made it possible to observe an acceleration of the process fracture repair, as shown by the reduction in the elimination of catabolites by the proline.
As a diuretic and depurative, it was recommended against urine retention, hydropsy (ascites), generalised oedema, as well as against rheumatism.
Composition
It is only very recently that a systematic study of the composition of all the mineral springs in France was initiated by the Ministry for Health (analyses centralised in Nancy in the laboratory of hydrology of Prof. BoulangŽ). Water such as Chatelguyon or Siloas (island of La Réunion) reaches 80-90 mg of silica (SiO2) per litre; the mineral water of Salvetat has 72 mg/l, that of Chateldon exceeds 100-110 mg/l.
In comparison, mains tap water is generally below 10 mg/l because of the process of flocculation, in particular with aluminium hydroxide, for which Silicon has a very strong affinity.
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