47 Dietary Compounds You Absolutely Must Eat! 33
Silicon is the most abundant mineral in nature, and
yet we still don’t know everything it does for the
human body. It is clearly connected to skin, bone,
blood vessel and connective tissue development.
Deficiency causes major issues with growth and
development of hair, nails, skin, joint cartilage
and the aorta. Deficiency even makes it harder
for your bones to heal. Research also suggests
that it affects aluminum absorption in the brain,
which is a major contributing factor to Alzheimer’s.
Fortunately, it is pretty hard to become deficient in
silicon, as it is so widely present in any soil grown
food source (i.e. just about any fruit and vegetable).
Sources: barley, oats, dried fruit, spinach,
whole wheat, nuts and seafood
38. Silicon
Yes, arsenic, the highly dangerous, potentially life
threatening poison…and necessary trace element
that is used in a variety of medicinal applications.
Arsenic, although extremely diluted, has been used
for centuries in homeopathic medicine to treat
everything from insomnia to obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD) to hemorrhoids. Traditional
medicine even employs arsenic compounds to
treat certain cancers, and it appears to destroy
cancer cells in leukemia.
Despite all of that promise, high levels of arsenic will
put you down for the count. Arsenic poisoning leads
to vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, organ failure,
hemorrhaging, coma and death. The European
Union classifies arsenic as “toxic” and “dangerous
for the environment,” it is internationally known
as a carcinogen and the US regulates the amount
allowed in food and beverage, including public
drinking water. Basically, stay away from this stuff.
Sources: seafood, chicken, rice, mushrooms,
dairy products and some medicine
39. Arsenic
Bonus fact: Silicon is a part of
cement, silly putty, some types
of glass, semi-conductors and
baking ware. Mmmm…eat up.