Some of my family members have been taking Diatomaceous Earth (DE) internally for years now.  I have used this several times throughout the years as a detox, or cleanse.  My father drinks it with acv and water almost daily.  My sister gives it to her family in smoothies fairly regularly.  I have an uncle who has been drinking it several times a week.  So, what is Diatomaceous Earth and why add it to my diet?

What it is:

Basically, it is fossilized diatoms, or algae. It has a talc like consistency and doesn’t dissolve in liquid, nor is it fully digested or absorbed into your body, however some of the trace minerals with it are. There are different grades of DE, in this post I will generally be referring to food grade. DE was discovered in the 1830s, by a peasant thinking he had found a lime deposit.

Uses:

There are many uses for DE.  It has been used as an health aid, a mild abrasive, a filter medium, an insecticide, an absorption medium, a thermal insulator, DNA purification, an anti-caking agent, a hydroponic growing medium and more. DE should not be inhaled.

There are many claims to what DE can do for you when taken internally. From what I’ve read about it, DE works physically (not chemically) by actually moving through your system attracting bacteria, viruses, etc and exiting your body with them.  There are lots of sites with information about DE if you care to look into it to see if it is right for you as an added supplement to your diet. Here are some of the health benefits people have claimed came from adding DE to their diet:

Lower blood pressure

Lower cholesterol

Removal of intestinal parasites

Laxative

Detox

Weight loss accelerator

Anti-Aging

Joint pain relief

Slows tissue degeneration

Cough suppressant

Menopausal symptom relief

..and more

My Diatomaceous Earth Detox Drink

Disclaimer for FDA:

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Discussion of Diatomaceous Earth health benefits is based solely on personal experience and testimony shared by individual DE users and this company cannot market or label DE as a human health supplement with specific medical claims.

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References:

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

^http://www.earthworkshealth.com/human-use.php

^http://diatomaceous.org/

^http://howtousediatomaceousearth.com/