Taking supplements and actually feeling the difference? Yes, it is possible!
Meet Bio-Silacumin
A liquid supplement designed with enhanced absorption in mind to help support your hair.
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Contains Ch-OSA, a silicon source 250% more bioavailable than other sources* -
Silicon is an essential micronutrient for natural collagen synthesis
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Liquid formula for easy use in water, juice, or any cold drink
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0% sugar | 0% fat | 100% vegan
Is it normal to feel no difference with supplements?
If you’ve ever taken supplements, you probably know the feeling of “not feeling” anything. This can be especially frustrating when others swear that the same product changed their lives.
So, should you be concerned if you don’t see the difference?
It’s important to note that unlike medication, supplements are typically not designed to make drastic changes in a short span of time. Some people may notice significant improvements if they have a nutrient deficiency. However, if you don’t experience such changes, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not working.
That said, many products are indeed ineffective due to a crucial element missing that’s a non-negotiable for any effective supplement.
Bioavailability: a key to the effectiveness of supplements
Not all supplements are made equal.
Some, our body can use for their intended purpose, while others get destroyed in the stomach or flush through the system without making a change. Part of the difference lies in the bioavailability of the supplement.
Bioavailability is the proportion of a specific nutrient that is absorbed and utilised by the body. Bioavailability is so important that it is in fact more relevant than the total amount of the nutrient taken.
In other words, no matter how much of a nutrient you intake, if it has low bioavailability, it won’t make much of a difference.
The bioavailability of a nutrient is influenced by several factors, including interactions with other compounds and its chemical form [3] (we’ll come back to this more in detail below).
Meet OSA, one of the most bioavailable sources of silicon [1,2]
Silicon is an essential micronutrient for our body’s natural collagen synthesis and the formation of hair. Without sufficient collagen, hair may become weaker, thinner, and more prone to breakage. So it makes sense to up your silicon intake if you’re after stronger, healthier-looking strands.
There’s only one hiccup:
While silicon is abundant in many plant-based foods, its bioavailability (i.e. our body’s ability to use it) from these sources is questionable due to the poor solubility of the chemical forms present in food. [2]
Enter ortho-silicic acid (OSA), the main ingredient in our Bio-Silacumin supplement.
Silicic acids are considered the best sources of silicon due to their high bioavailability (approx. 40%) and natural occurrence in food [7], including OSA, one of the main readily bioavailable sources of silicon for humans [2].
The challenge of OSA in supplements and our solution to it: Ch-OSA
Ortho-silicic acid (OSA) is a highly bioavailable source of silicon. However, in concentrated solutions (i.e. supplements), it has to be stabilised to avoid its rapid polymerisation which results in a decreased silicon bioavailability. [1]
The issue can be solved with choline chloride in aqueous glycerol solution. This creates a liquid formulation known as choline-stabilized ortho-silicic acid (Ch-OSA) [1], the form we use in our Bio-Silacumin supplement.
Choline is a highly demanded molecule that’s instantly removed in the stomach and used for important biological processes. This makes ortho-silicic acid freely available as a monomer (rather than a polymer) with high bioavailability.
A study by the British Journal of Nutrition [8] compared the dissolution of Ch-OSA against the dissolution of other silicon-containing products under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. As the graph below shows, Ch-OSA had by far the highest dissolution rates among all the tested products.
Study finds: Ch-OSA has 2.5 to 3x better absorption than traditional Silica Complex*
5 reasons to supplement silicon, according to science
You may wonder if supplementing silicon is necessary. And while we can’t tell you whether you should or shouldn’t do it, here are 5 reasons science believes it’s a worthwhile investment in the health of your hair and skin.
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Your natural collagen synthesis declines as you age [4], leading to visible signs of aging in the skin and hair [5].
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Silicon plays a key role in your natural collagen synthesis, and its levels also decline with age.
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Reduced collagen levels may result in hair thinning, loss of hair volume, and increased brittleness.
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Silicon stabilises collagen by crosslinking collagen fibres providing strength to connective tissue which, among several other body parts, can be found in the skin and scalp.
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Silicon has ben found to increase the hydroxyproline concentration in the dermis, which is an essential aspect of collagen production. [6]
Footnotes
*Based on a comparative analysis of the dissolution of choline-stabilised ortho-silicic acid (Ch-OSA), Silica Complex, horsertail, collodial silica, magnesium trisilicate British Pharmacopoeia in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. [8] Higher dissolution of a nutrient typically correlates with better absorption in the body.
[1] Boqué N, Valls RM, Pedret A, Puiggrós F, Arola L, Solà R. Relative absorption of silicon from different formulations of dietary supplements: a pilot randomized, double-blind, crossover post-prandial study. Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 13;11(1):16479. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95220-2. PMID: 34389753; PMCID: PMC8363645.
[2] Jurkić, L.M., Cepanec, I., Pavelić, S.K. et al. Biological and therapeutic effects of ortho-silicic acid and some ortho-silicic acid-releasing compounds: New perspectives for therapy. Nutr Metab (Lond) 10, 2 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-10-2
[3] Parada J, Aguilera JM. Food microstructure affects the bioavailability of several nutrients. J Food Sci. 2007 Mar;72(2):R21-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00274.x. PMID: 17995848.
[4] Podolsky MJ, Yang CD, Valenzuela CL, Datta R, Huang SK, Nishimura SL, Dallas SL, Wolters PJ, Le Saux CJ, Atabai K. Age-dependent regulation of cell-mediated collagen turnover. JCI Insight. 2020 May 21;5(10):e137519. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.137519. PMID: 32315288; PMCID: PMC7259530.
[5] Panwar P, Butler GS, Jamroz A, Azizi P, Overall CM, Brömme D. Aging-associated modifications of collagen affect its degradation by matrix metalloproteinases. Matrix Biol. 2018 Jan;65:30-44. doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2017.06.004. Epub 2017 Jun 17. PMID: 28634008.
[6] Barel A, Calomme M, Timchenko A, De Paepe K, Demeester N, Rogiers V, Clarys P, Vanden Berghe D. Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, nails and hair in women with photodamaged skin. Arch Dermatol Res. 2005 Oct;297(4):147-53. doi: 10.1007/s00403-005-0584-6. Epub 2005 Oct 26. Erratum in: Arch Dermatol Res. 2006 Apr;297(10):481. Dosage error in article text. Erratum in: Arch Dermatol Res. 2006 Feb;297(8):381. De Paepe, K. PMID: 16205932.
[7] Sadowska, A.; Świderski, F. Sources, Bioavailability, and Safety of Silicon Derived from Foods and Other Sources Added for Nutritional Purposes in Food Supplements and Functional Foods. Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 6255. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10186255
[8] Sripanyakorn S, Jugdaohsingh R, Dissayabutr W, Anderson SHC, Thompson RPH, Powell JJ. The comparative absorption of silicon from different foods and food supplements. British Journal of Nutrition. 2009;102(6):825-834. doi:10.1017/S0007114509311757
