Diatomaceous Earth (D.E.)

[happinesshill]

Has anyone here ever taken D.E. orally? (Diatomaceous Earth)
I bought some late last year and we have been taking it daily for months. It seems to really make your hair grow in thicker, your nails grow faster and stronger and any acne clears up (my son, who is 15, really noticed this!)
It seems to be amazing stuff. Just wondering if anyone else consumes it?

[Biciclista]

i didn't even know you could eat it!!

[happinesshill]

By the way, we take it in a little applesauce or some juice. It's not the best taste in the world. We've even started using it in tooth powder we make...1/2 jar of baking soda, 1/3 D.E. and 1/3 salt. It's not too bad.

It *HAS* to be food-grade. Some D.E. is silica which is toxic.

[Biciclista]

so what you are saying is that there is SAND in Diatomaceous earth (Silica) and the food grade would have (most of) the sand removed. Interesting.

[OakLeaf]

??? I thought diatomaceous earth WAS silica - the exoskeletons of diatoms. What else is it???

[Eden]

I gather you need to be sure to get food grade because of two reasons - one food grade comes from fresh water sources, no one explains why salt water sources are bad, but I would guess it has some sort of undesirable contaminants, and because non-food grade often has toxic substances added - so you wouldn't want to ingest the stuff that is sold for filtering pools.

Silica itself isn't toxic, thought it is drying and you can kill buggies that are sensitive to dehydration with DA and it does carry a warning about breathing it in - it is fine enough to cause silicosis (black lung disease).

I figure I probably eat enough dirt riding around here in the winter... I don't think I need to add any to my diet intentionally...

[SadieKate]

From what I know about DE, I certainly wouldn't take it long term. Yeah, there is foodgrade DE that is generally considered safe by the FDA, but I don't think it goes beyond that.

Foodgrade is mostly used as a de-wormer for livestock.

I was raised by a mother who did drug development in her early career and we were taught to treat the bug-killing powder with the utmost care.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

There was a huge controversial mess here a few years back when some developer decided he wanted to build houses on an abandoned diatomaceous earth mine.

[KnottedYet]

Has anyone here ever taken D.E. orally? (Diatomaceous Earth)
I bought some late last year and we have been taking it daily for months. It seems to really make your hair grow in thicker, your nails grow faster and stronger and any acne clears up (my son, who is 15, really noticed this!)
It seems to be amazing stuff. Just wondering if anyone else consumes it?

Everybody has worms. Lots and lots of worms. At the very least, everyone is carrying a full load of nematodes, most of which are benign. (got a dog or cat, you've probably got a few other interesting critters in your guts)

Worms absorb their nutrients from you and from your gut contents.

Kill off the worms by eating diatom shells (raining microscopic broken glass onto the worms, which slices them up and they bleed to death), and you suddenly get the benefit of the nutrients your parasites had been stealing from you.

Hence the happier hair, nails, and acne.

The DE didn't do it, it was the sudden absence of your usual worms and the resulting increase of nutrients available to you. (and the availability of resources your bodies had been spending to keep the worms down to a dull roar)

Once the worm population is diminished, stop taking the DE. If later you notice your body not coping well, it may be time to de-worm again. But I'd suggest doing it under the guidance of a doctor next time.

[lph]

Kill off the worms by eating diatom shells (raining microscopic broken glass onto the worms, which slices them up and they bleed to death), and you suddenly get the benefit of the nutrients your parasites had been stealing from you.

:eek: The stuff I learn here. :eek:

[OakLeaf]

But aren't the worms actually important to the immune system?

It sure is gross to think about though ...

[zoom-zoom]

:eek: The stuff I learn here. :eek:

Ha, that is exactly what I was thinking! :p

[TsPoet]

Ditto :eek:

Hmm. Makes me want to go and get a dewormer. Is that anything like that you can get from the health food store that is not DE?

I do give my two sweet doggies kissies from time to time.

You really don't want to, unless they are "overgrown" for some reason. And if they are, then there is most likely an underlying reason you should deal with, first.

[Tri Girl]

oh for goodness sakes- I had no idea there were worms living in my gut and eating my nutrients. :eek::eek:
I'm glad I read this before the Super Bowl party- I think I just lost my appetite for all the junk food that will certainly be there... egads!:p

[Catrin]

oh for goodness sakes- I had no idea there were worms living in my gut and eating my nutrients. :eek::eek:
I'm glad I read this before the Super Bowl party- I think I just lost my appetite for all the junk food that will certainly be there... egads!:p

I had no idea either...ewwwwww ... Not that it will stop me from eating - and I guess that I did know that already but try really, really hard not to think about it :eek:

TSPoet, why don't we want to "de-worm"? Is it simply because that is the way of things and it would interfere with the "balance" of the "flora and fauna" of our gut? I can't believe I just said that :eek:

[KnottedYet]

You can't really "de-worm."

Nematodes, in particular, are everywhere.

If we took away everything that was you, and left only the nematodes that infest you, there would be a 3-D shadow of you left... made entirely of nematode worms.

For the most part, your worms are benign. Sometimes you can get an over-growth, which will sap your energy and nutrients. Sometimes you can get some mean critters which will actually consume more than their fair share (pinworms, tapeworms, those evil worms that cause elephantiasis, etc.)

If you are pretty healthy, you have nothing to worry about from your worms.

Next lets talk about the mites that live in your eyelashes! :D

[badger]

ugh, I was disgusted at those "rid your worms" sort of herbal supplements you can get and the description of some of the stuff that was coming out of the people attesting to those products. I didn't think I had them, too.

I used diatomaceous earth once when I had fleas. Was told that the sharp edges would slice them open and kill them, but considering you need to squeeze them between your nails to kill them, the DE hardly did anything to them.

[KnottedYet]

Best thing I ever found for fleas is the vacuum cleaner with disposable bag.

Looooooove my vacuum cleaner.

We had a massive flea invasion from the carpet when we moved into our new apartment. I vacuumed every day, bathed the dog a couple times in regular shampoo, sprayed him with cedar oil doggie fur conditioner, and problem was solved within a couple months.

Carpet is just yucky. So many yucky things lurk in carpet.

[makbike]

I absolutely love to teach symbiotic relationships to my students. My middle schoolers eat it up, squirm, tell me how disgusting it all is but they love it - the more disgusting it is the more they "eat it up." I am looking forward to pulling my tapeworm and roundworm collections out in a couple of weeks - will be the talk of the school - my short moment in fame :pm Long live our parasitic buddies.

[malkin]

One of my (few) favorite things about living here: NO FLEAS!

Not sure if it is the altitude or the lack or humidity or something else (like the politics, maybe?) I've heard that fleas burst at high altitude but I don't know if that's true. Once driving over Donner Pass a bag of chips exploded and scared the $%^& out of me; if fleas explode, they do so much more quietly.

[badger]

my place is all wood floor, and in the 10 years I've been here, I've had the occasional flea bite, but I've never had to treat the animals or "get rid" of the fleas. I hate carpet, it's so disgusting, I'll never have it in my home.

[emily_in_nc]

I hate carpet too. We moved into an apt. with brand-new carpeting in June, and it already has worn traffic spots, making it a PITA to vacuum in those areas, places where our dog has thrown up (we've cleaned, of course, but it's never quite the same), and who knows what other nastiness lurking within.

Looking forward to our condo in Belize which will have all tiled floors. At least then when it's grubby, you know it!

Carpet = nasty

[OakLeaf]

I hate tile, too. It's miserable to stand on for any period of time, freezing cold in winter, and heaven forbid you should drop anything on it. Plastic will shatter if you drop it on tile.

I loooooove cork. It's not inexpensive, and if you get it as a floating floor, you can't put it in bathrooms where it's likely to get standing water on it. But it's beautiful, comfortable, sound- and temperature- insulating. It's resilient and hard to damage, but if you do happen to put a dent in it, it hardly shows.

Bathrooms first, and they have to get either tile or linoleum, and I think DH has me talked into tile (appearance over function :() ... but I can't wait to re-do our kitchen with cork flooring.


Edit: OOOOOH, they now have cork in glue-down tiles that are okay for wet installations. Hmmmmmmmmm.

[Crankin]

We seriously considered cork for our kitchen/entry way. But, it was just too expensive.

[TsPoet]

I hate tile, too. It's miserable to stand on for any period of time, freezing cold in winter, and heaven forbid you should drop anything on it. Plastic will shatter if you drop it on tile.

I loooooove cork. It's not inexpensive, and if you get it as a floating floor, you can't put it in bathrooms where it's likely to get standing water on it. But it's beautiful, comfortable, sound- and temperature- insulating. It's resilient and hard to damage, but if you do happen to put a dent in it, it hardly shows.

Bathrooms first, and they have to get either tile or linoleum, and I think DH has me talked into tile (appearance over function :() ... but I can't wait to re-do our kitchen with cork flooring.


Edit: OOOOOH, they now have cork in glue-down tiles that are okay for wet installations. Hmmmmmmmmm.

You've got dogs, right? I'm looking at cork, too, but worried about scratches...

[OakLeaf]

I'm between dogs right now, and the cork in the downstairs went in after the last one passed away. But, one of the things that sealed our decision was seeing cork in a high-traffic area in the flooring showroom. I'm sure it gets the best of care there, but still. We brought home some samples of various materials to test out, and the salesperson was explicit that we could treat the samples however we liked, to see how well the floor would function. They were really hot on bamboo, but that stuff was fragile. We could dent it with a fingernail, and I'm sure they needed a new sample after we were done with theirs. :cool: We tried to stress the cork sample within reasonable limits and literally couldn't damage it. Just about anything we did would bounce right back out. Furniture legs don't even leave an impression after months.

Here's my favorite illustration. Not too long after we put in the floating cork floor, we were moving out an old tube-type TV. It was a small one, 20" or 22", and I'm not sure what it weighed, but those things weren't light ... probably 25# at least. I had it sitting on a bench, and it tipped and fell onto the floor from a height of maybe 18", onto a corner of the case. That did leave a dent, but if it weren't for the residue of silver paint, you wouldn't even be able to see it, and it's barely noticeable as it is. But also, the TV didn't break.

[emily_in_nc]

I hate tile, too. It's miserable to stand on for any period of time, freezing cold in winter, and heaven forbid you should drop anything on it. Plastic will shatter if you drop it on tile.

We won't have to worry about the freezing part...we'll be in Belize. :D

It is hard underfoot, I agree. I plan to wear Crocs or cushy sandals when I have to stand awhile, like in the kitchen. Plus use a small rug wit a pad underneath at the sink and stove.

Cork just isn't an option in Belize...being a third-world country, options are limited. But the tile is lovely and feels great underfoot in a hot climate. Nice on a doggie's belly too. :)

[tulip]

My parents have cork floors in their kitchen. They had a golden retriever until recently (he was 13 when he died, and they had had him since he was 3). Ten years of golden retriever claws on the floor in front of the dog-biscuit cabinet really left a mess. The cork is all scratched up there. The rest of the floor is holding up fine, though. It's just where the 60-lb dog did his dance every day that shows the wear.

Personally, I'm sticking with the wood floors that came with my house. I'll have to refinish it eventually, but it's been here for over 70 years and it'll probably be here another 70. I have the original wood floors in the kitchen, too.

Back to DE, I have heard it used against slugs in the garden. As for parasites, they are with us all the time. Every once in a while, I read something about some colon cleanser that cleans everything out and cures all ailments. It sounds really gross, and I figure that eating lots of carrots and apples and psyllium husks will be beneficial without the grossness of those ads. Why do I read those things??

[Miranda]

Crimony... wished I would have read this thread before I got in the freezer for ice cream... coulda saved me a few calories... EWWE:eek:... lol.

[KnottedYet]

Those are calories your worms NEED to stay fat and healthy!

[OakLeaf]

Those are calories your worms NEED to stay fat and healthy!

LMAO ... I think I'll have another snack. :D

[KnottedYet]

My worms are snacking on one scoop of blackberry sorbet and one scoop of raspberry sorbet with dark chocolate on top.

Sorbet: http://www.ciaobellagelato.com/#/products
Chocolate: http://www.theochocolate.com/

[Miranda]

Lmao... well, I wish those worms would eat a little more because I'd like to them to be a little more fat, and me a little less by time to climb hills into the spring wind... tonight all they got was an Eddy's lime juice popsicle for a late nite treat:rolleyes:.

[malkin]

My new motto:
Happy worms for a happy life!

[badger]

I don't hate tile per se, but I loathe grout. Maybe it's because my kitchen and bathroom floors aren't sealed (at least they don't look like it). I've had to spend many hours on my hands and knees with toothbrushes cleaning the damn things. Especially when I know that my dog's had diarrhea all over the floor and seeped into the grout, it just makes my skin crawl.

My dream is to actually have sealed concrete. No grout.

[Chile Pepper]

this thread is hilarious! Worms? Meh. Tile? Love it! We went with tile throughout the house because we all have allergies. It is just so easy to clean, and it's wonderfully cool in our hot summers. As to the cold floor in winter, the living room has in-floor heating (not sure what you call in the US--works like a radiator, but it's hosing in the cement subflooring). Problem solved.