Calcium and vitamin D may dominate the conversation, but emerging research into silicon, collagen and the structure of bone suggests there could be another mineral worth knowing about.
Mention bone health and most of us immediately think calcium. Perhaps vitamin D comes next. Both deserve their place in the conversation, but bone is more complex than simply the minerals we associate with making it hard. Beneath that mineralised structure sits an organic matrix composed predominantly of collagen, which provides the framework upon which mineralisation takes place. This is where silicon becomes interesting. Scientists have been investigating its potential relationship with collagen formation and stabilisation, connective tissue and bone mineralisation for decades. So, if you already pay attention to calcium and vitamin D, is silicon another piece of the puzzle worth knowing about?
The research certainly gives us reason to look more closely. A large study involving 2,847 participants from the Framingham Offspring cohort found that higher dietary silicon intake was positively associated with bone mineral density at several hip sites in men and premenopausal women, although the same association was not seen in postmenopausal women. Another study of more than 3,000 women found an association between silicon intake and femoral-neck bone mineral density that varied according to oestrogen status. These are associations rather than proof that taking silicon will strengthen your bones, an important distinction, but they add to a growing scientific interest in the relationship between silicon and skeletal health.
So should we all start taking silicon for our bones? The answer is more nuanced, and that's actually what makes this story credible. A 2024 review concluded that existing research does not yet allow scientists to establish an effective level of silicon supplementation for human skeletal health. Earlier reviews have similarly described encouraging evidence while acknowledging that silicon's precise biological role is still being established. In other words, silicon isn't a replacement for calcium, vitamin D, resistance exercise, a balanced diet or the other fundamentals of bone health. Instead, it is an intriguing mineral that researchers continue to investigate, particularly because of its proposed involvement with collagen and the bone matrix.
Wondering how to introduce silicon into your everyday wellbeing routine? Silicon occurs naturally in foods, particularly plant-derived foods, and research suggests that the amount we consume can decline with age. For those interested in supplementation, G5® The Dietary Supplement provides silicon as MMST, or monomethylsilanetriol, the molecule at the heart of LLR-G5's research. LLR-G5 describes MMST as a highly bioavailable form of silicon, designed for efficient absorption by the body. It makes the G5® Dietary Supplement a natural product to explore if you're already taking a more considered approach to healthy ageing and want to discover the science behind silicon as part of your wider wellbeing routine.
Perhaps that's the bigger point. Looking after our bones shouldn't begin when they suddenly become a concern. Staying active, incorporating weight-bearing and resistance exercise, eating well and paying attention to the nutrients involved in maintaining our bodies all become increasingly valuable as we age. Calcium and vitamin D remain important parts of that picture, but the science of bone health doesn't stop there. If silicon is a mineral you've never considered before, now might be the time to get acquainted. Explore G5® The Dietary Supplement and the wider G5® Wellbeing range, and discover why LLR-G5 has made silicon central to its science-led approach to living well for longer.
