The highest silicon water I can find locally is Fiji water which provides 92 mg/L silica (~45 mg/L silicon).
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22976072
J Alzheimers Dis. 2013;33(2):423-30. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2012-121231.
Silicon-rich mineral water as a non-invasive test of the 'aluminum hypothesis' in Alzheimer's disease.
Davenward S, Bentham P, Wright J, Crome P, Job D, Polwart A, Exley C.
Source
The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK.
Abstract
There has been a plausible link between human exposure to aluminum and Alzheimer's disease for several decades. We contend that the only direct and ethically acceptable experimental test of the 'aluminum hypothesis', which would provide unequivocal data specific to the link, is to test the null hypothesis that a reduction in the body burden of aluminum to its lowest practical limit would have no influence upon the incidence, progression, or severity of Alzheimer's disease. Herein we are testing the hypothesis that silicon-rich mineral waters can be used as non-invasive methods to reduce the body burden of aluminum in individuals with Alzheimer's disease and a control group consisting of their carers and partners. We have shown that drinking up to 1 L of a silicon-rich mineral water each day for 12 weeks facilitated the removal of aluminum via the urine in both patient and control groups without any concomitant affect upon the urinary excretion of the essential metals, iron and copper. We have provided preliminary evidence that over 12 weeks of silicon-rich mineral water therapy the body burden of aluminum fell in individuals with Alzheimer's disease and, concomitantly, cognitive performance showed clinically relevant improvements in at least 3 out of 15 individuals. This is a first step in a much needed rigorous test of the 'aluminum hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease' and a longer term study involving many more individuals is now warranted.
PMID: 22976072 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Commentary from Nutra Ingredients:
http://www.nutraingr...imer-s-benefits
Study details
Exley and his colleagues studied the effects of a silicon-rich mineral water (Spritzer, containing 35 mg/L (ppm) total silicon) in 15 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who were asked to drink one litre of the water each day for 12 weeks.
The team found that after the 12 week period the team reported that the ‘burden’ of aluminium - measured using urinary excretion – was significantly reduced.
In parallel with this reduction in body burden of aluminium, Exley and his team reported some ‘remarkable’ effects on cognitive function in the individuals with AD – with eight out of 15 showing no deterioration in cognitive abilities over the period of the study. Three of these eight, in fact showed clinically-relevant improvements in cognitive functions, they said.
Article from Daily Mail (!) contains some useful tips for selecting a high-silicon water:
http://www.dailymail...-aluminium.html
Drinking a litre of mineral water every day 'can prevent Alzheimer's memory loss'
Silicon-rich mineral water can help remove aluminium which is linked to dementia
By Leon Watson
PUBLISHED: 06:01 GMT, 12 October 2012 | UPDATED: 13:25 GMT, 12 October 2012
Drinking a litre of mineral water every day can prevent cognitive decline in Alzheimer's sufferers by removing aluminium from their bodies, a study found yesterday...
Patients who took part in the new study drank a litre of mineral water every day for 13 weeks - and the majority showed no further signs of cognitive decline.
One patient saw the amount of aluminium in their body drop by 70 per cent and three participants actually showed an improvement in their mental health.
Professor Christopher Exley, of Keele University, who led the research, said the 'surprising' results gave hope to findings ways to combat the devastating disease.
He said: 'There were two parts to our research. The first is that drinking silicon water does remove aluminium from the body.
'When you drink silicon-rich mineral water aluminium throughout the body is gathered up into the blood and then excreted through the urine.
'It seems to purge the aluminium from the body. We now know we can use this silicon-rich "therapy" water to reduce aluminium.
'The second part of our research was looking at the cognitive abilities of people with Alzheimer's and whether these changed as the aluminium was reduced.
Fiji Mineral Water has high levels of silicon which is believed to help prevent Alzheimer's by flushing aluminium out of the body
'The most interesting thing was that we did see this potential relationship between the removal of aluminium and the positive improvement in cognitive function.
'It is highly unlikely to see changes over such a short period of time so the fact we saw changes in cognitive ability was quite a surprise.
'We saw improvement in some cases, cognitive function remained the same in others and it did decrease in others.'
Previous studies have linked the prescence of aluminium with plaques and tangles - two kinds of microscopic damage - in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers examined the aluminium levels of 15 sufferers and their carers or partners - 15 women and 15 men in total.
'While we know a huge amount, we don’t have an effective drug and I think anything that shows some promise should stand a chance of being investigated.'
Professor Exley
The brand of water used in the study - published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease - was a Malaysian water called 'Spritzer', which has high levels of the chemical element silicon.
Brands on sale in Britain with similar levels include Volvic and Fiji water.
Scientists asked the participants to drink a litre of Spritzer water every day for 13 weeks and measured their aluminium levels at the end.
The patients saw a huge reduction in their aluminium levels, with a number showing drops of 50, 60 and 70 per cent.
Participants were also assessed using the ADAS-Cog (Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive) method, which is a recognised 11-part test.
The tests include memory questions and ‘simple’ tasks such as drawing a clock face - people with a deteriorating function may struggle to put the numbers in the right place.
After 13 weeks, cognitive function is eight of the 15 Alzheimer’s sufferers had not deteriorated - and actually improved 'substantially' in three.
Professor Exley added: 'We now want to carry out further research to see if we could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's who seem to be predisposed to it.
'They are usually aged between 40 and 60. If we could get people to include silicon-rich water in their diet in the future and reduce their risk, it would be a great.'
The Spritzer mineral water contains 35mg of silicon per litre.
However, Professor Exley says waters sold - and easily available - in Britain also contain high levels of silicon.
He said: 'Volvic has high levels of silicon, around 20mg/litre. Fiji water has approximately 45mg/litre.
'There is a simple equation you can do to work out the silicon levels in water. If you look at the back of the bottle, it will often state a mg/litre analysis.
'On that list should be "silica", which is silicon with oxygen. If you divide that number by two you get the approximate value of silicon in that water.'
He added that it is more effective to drink the water over a shorter period, such as an hour, rather than sipping it all at once, in order to remove aluminium.
'The major challenge is that we don’t have an effective drug for Alzheimer’s. This is a real tragedy,' Professor Exley said.
'While we know a huge amount, we don’t have an effective drug and I think anything that shows some promise should stand a chance of being investigated.
'I think this deserves a chance.'
The research is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Volume 33, No. 2.
Questions
1) would a silicon supplement (horsetail, bamboo, biosil) provide similar benefits?
2) I'm having trouble parsing this: "it is more effective to drink the water over a shorter period, such as an hour, rather than sipping it all at once".
Edited by blood, 15 September 2013 - 09:27 AM.