I've never heard of anyone taking it, although I may be surprised by answers that follow. I have heard of many people giving it to their pets and livestock, mixed in with food, as a worming agent. I guess if I had worms I might give it a try. Food grade is distinguished from non-food grade by being of a coarser texture. You can see some good pictures of DE at the Perma-Guard website: http://www.perma-guard.com/
The coarse texture causes this type of DE to kill anything with an exo-skeleton, such as garden pests, roaches, ants, etc. It is good to put some in your chicken's (and other poultry) dust bath area to keep down mites.

If this stuff is supposed to be a curative for humans I would like to hear about that, but it will be news to me.

BTW, if anyone is looking for a deal on DE, the best I have found so far, is thru Amazon. They have the Perma-Guard food grade fossil shell flour in a 50# bag. Shipped to me was a in mid $50s. Direct from Perma-guard the shipping was more than the product (at least to Georgia).

 

Arteries, one teaspoon twice a day, two months, I probably won't know for at least another four months.

 

It is a source of silica.

http://www.eidon.com/silica_article.html

 

DE is just as effective as eating sand, since chemically it's no different
The ONLY sites that praise it also happen to SELL it

 

Go ask this question down in the horse forum. eep:

 

Try getting it at the local feed store. I bought a 50 lb bag of Perma-Guard food grade DE for $25.

 

I have not been able to find it locally. The last I bought cost $27 for 50 lbs., but it cost $28 to ship! :flame:

This is one of those debatable subjects. Some use it, some don't. Some studies say it works for some uses, but not others. Some studies say it does not help with internal parasites, but it may help dry out the fecal mater and help eliminate parasite eggs. The people that sell if of course promote it well.:shrug:

I guess you are looking for opinions. My opinion and $1 will get you a cup coffee at most places!:banana:

I use it. I mix with fluid and drink it myself. I am healthy and do not take it for any particular problem. I ate dirt as a kid and I guess I still do as an adult. This dirt is just cleaner! LOL

I feed it to my animals. I dust my animals with it. I sprinkle it in my animals housing. I use it for garden pest.

SPIKE

 

DE is just as effective as eating sand, since chemically it's no different
The ONLY sites that praise it also happen to SELL it

I understood de to be the skeletons of dead diatoms therefore almost pure calcium whereas sand is silica. I have used pool grade de in the garden to kill cutworms and slugs as the sharp skeletal matter cuts their hides desicating them. First time I've heard of anyone eating it.

 

Humans and critters have been taking DE for thousands of years. Deposits are on the land. DE is fossilized plants from the oceans and lakes. It looks and feels like flour.

All it is is 28 trace minerals.

NO ONE knows why DE works like it does. Those of us who feed and take it are just glad it works!

I've been taking DE for many years. Have been feeding it to my house pets and livestock for over 30 years. My critters haven't had any sickness, diseases, or vet bills all these years and I can't remember the last time I saw a doctor.
My large livestock free choice feed DE. I keep it in a feeder in a weather proof area. You can't over-dose DE. My house pets prefer DE mixed with something they like. I free choice feed so can't put it in their feed. They like raw eggs, I have poultry, so that's what I mix the DE in.

DE also deworms when the right amount is fed, so I've bought no commercial dewormers for my critters all these years.

The amount each person takes daily depends on why they're taking it. Some of us take a lot, some of us take smaller amounts.

Everything that breathes around here takes DE daily. You couldn't pay me enough money to quit using it!

DE is available at many feed stores.

There are different grades of DE. The industrial grade is used in many ways such as in swimming pool filters. It is treated and heated. When DE is heated, it becomes crystalline, up to 85% crystalline and can cause lung problems, cancer, even death.

This is why we use food grade DE. It's not fooled with and is less than 1% crystalline. The bag will say on the front FOOD CHEMICAL CODEX GRADE. If it doesn't, don't purchase.

World Minerals owns most of the DE deposits in the U.S. Their largest supplier is Perma-Guard, and that is the name you will see on bags of 100% food grade DE.

Prices vary across the country. I've seen those 50 pound bags sell from $15 to $55 dollars. Same bags, same stuff!! Where I'm presently at, it's $24.50

DE prevents, reverses, cures most "incurable" diseases.

 

Humans and critters have been taking DE for thousands of years. Deposits are on the land. DE is fossilized plants from the oceans and lakes. It looks and feels like flour.

All it is is 28 trace minerals.

NO ONE knows why DE works like it does. Those of us who feed and take it are just glad it works!

I've been taking DE for many years.
Everything that breathes around here takes DE daily. You couldn't pay me enough money to quit using it!

DE prevents, reverses, cures most "incurable" diseases.

Thanks for the great answer! How much do you take a day? I took 1 tsp. of Perma-Guard DE this morning as a preventative, because the FDA lists it as GRAS. I'm also going to put it on the animal feed. Thanks again.

 

I understood de to be the skeletons of dead diatoms therefore almost pure calcium whereas sand is silica

DE is FOSSILIZED "skeletons" of Diatoms
It has NO calcium at all:

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

The typical chemical composition of oven dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.[1]

I have used pool grade de in the garden

Pool grade is the most hazardous form because it's been calcined (heat treated) which changes the crystalline structure

 

All it is is 28 trace minerals.

That's not true.
That's sales hype

The typical chemical composition of oven dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.

DE also deworms when the right amount is fed,

Not according to SCIENTIFIC studies

http://www.sheepandgoat.com/articles/controlgoatparasites.html

In the case of diatomaceous earth there have been several studies done by parasitologists in different parts of the country that have found no beneficial effect to feeding it or offering it as mineral

There are different grades of DE. The industrial grade is used in many ways such as in swimming pool filters. It is treated and heated. When DE is heated, it becomes crystalline, up to 85% crystalline and can cause lung problems, cancer, even death

Finally, an actual fact!!

DE prevents, reverses, cures most "incurable" diseases

LOL
At least pretend to be serious

 

=== It has NO calcium at all:

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


There is a brand of DE, Red Lake, on the market. It is mixed with clay. I have never used it. I use Perma-Guard. It's 100% DE.

Calcium is one of the 28 trace minerals in Perma-Guard. PPM - 1300 / % composition - 0.1300

When I throw my hens eggs on the ground for the critters (pigs and poultry), if they don't hit a rock, they don't break. I then have to break them with my foot.

And I've never fed the poultry oyster shell!! No need. Plenty of calcium in the DE.

When my 93 year old mom fell, the doctor couldn't figure out why she didn't break anything. She looked up at him - all 4' 10 inches of her and 85 pounds - looked him in the eye and said, "that's because I'm taking the stuff you said wouldn't do me any good." She then walked away. Yep, DE has plenty of calcium.

 

.13 percent? Sooooo.... that's .0013, right. Yup.

Parts per MILLION. So out of 1,000,000 parts, 1300 of them are calcium.

More likely your mother has good genes.

 

We who use DE become preachers of the product. Hate to see humans and critters suffering when there's an inexpensive and safe fix.

The naysayers can try all they want to stop us from using it. A lot of folks would like to stop us -- doctors, nurses, hospitals, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, chemical companies (yep, DE kills insects - except earthworms).

I'm 72, have no prescriptions, over the counter stuff, or even aspirin in my house 'cause it's not needed. My passion is riding my mule on tough mountain rides (he's 24).

Good genes?? Then there's millions of us around the world with good genes!! )

I know plenty of doctors and vets who take and feed DE, but they'll never tell their patients/clients about it 'cause they know they won't see them again.
Oath to heal or not, they say they have to feed their families. Sad, isn't it.

 

(yep, DE kills insects - except earthworms)

Any idea why it kills internal parasite worms, garden pests, all sorts of insects, but earthworms are immune?

 

I understand that DE only works when it is dry.

Therefore.........

 

DE does not "kill" intestinal worms in horses and dogs. It scores the eggs which in turn do not hatch.
At least that's my understanding.

 

There is a brand of DE, Red Lake, on the market. It is mixed with clay. I have never used it. I use Perma-Guard. It's 100% DE.

Calcium is one of the 28 trace minerals in Perma-Guard. PPM - 1300 / % composition - 0.1300

1/10th of one percent is EFFECTIVELY "no calcium".

Plenty of calcium in the DE.

Not according to YOUR numbers, which say each pound of DE has 1/1000th of a pound of calcium

We who use DE become preachers of the product

That doesn't make the claims factual, and could actually be used as possible evidence of DE's psychotropic qualities

(yep, DE kills insects - except earthworms)

More misleading sales hype from those who promote it's use in the garden

The naysayers can try all they want to stop us from using it.

I personally don't care if you eat it, drink it , inject it, or sleep in piles of it.

I DO care that others are informed of the truth rather than the anecdotes.
Then they are free to make their own decisions.

You have to admit though, when you say things like this:

DE prevents, reverses, cures most "incurable" diseases

you lose ALL credibility

 

That is so tiny amount nothing would benefit from such a small amount. I wonder what a handful of nice clean sand would contain? LOL

 

That line about incurable diseases ruffled my feathers, too. Having a grandson who is a cancer survivor thanks to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, NOT diatomaceous earth, it is offensive that someone makes those claims.

 

DE does not "kill" intestinal worms in horses and dogs. It scores the eggs which in turn do not hatch.
At least that's my understanding.

It helps PREVENT worms by drying out the FECES once it leaves the body, and makes it harder for the eggs to hatch.
You can get the same effect much sooner by simply throwing it directly on the manure

DE passes UNCHANGED through the body, and is often used as a "marker" in testing due to that fact

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

Natural diatomaceous earth (dried, not calcined) is regularly used in livestock nutrition research as a source of acid insoluble ash (AIA), which is used as an indigestible marker.

By measuring the content of AIA relative to nutrients in test diets and feces or digesta sampled from the terminal ileum (last third of the small intestine) the percentage of that nutrient digested can be calculated using the following equation:

 

Go ask this question down in the horse forum. eep:

Whoops. No need. The party is here.

 

Arteries, one teaspoon twice a day, two months, I probably won't know for at least another four months.

To clog them or clean them out?!? :nana:

I'm assuming you have some type of problem that you have been taking the DE for 2 months and you expect to know if it helped in 4 more months. Would you care to elaborate?

I've used DE on my animals. I still have some, but haven't used it for a while. I've seen and read all the claims that it can do that are to benefit an animal.

While I can see how DE (using it dry) on insects would work, I'm not so certain how it would work internally. It's supposed to work by "cutting" an insect and it therefore drys up. Most intestines are moist, so not sure how anything is going to dry up in there.

Not saying it doesn't - but it just doesn't seem it would make a difference for killing worms. Now the comment about it slicing the eggs, so they don't hatch . . . . now that could have some merit.

But I'm not so certain I would believe that DE is a cureall for EVERYTHING.

 

I went to the website to look around. Hmm.

The stuff they sell specifically to target insects has some interesting ingredients.

Perma-Guard's insecticides kill by physical action, not chemical. First by being abrasive to the insects exoskeleton and absorbing its body fluids, thus posing no harm to warm-blooded life. The addition of Pyrethrins and Piperonyl butoxide is to irritate the bug, causing the bug to become active, allowing the DE to work more quickly. As the Pyrethrins and Piperonyl butoxide becomes inactive after three months once applied these products do not contain persistent chemicals harmful to the environment and to higher forms of life, to which insects become immune -- it is a natural insecticide. Perma-Guard products are a much needed revolution for pest control. These products are certain death to insects. Moreover, on any surface, these natural pesticide products have a remarkable repellency factor. As long as it is present, insects tend to stay away, making a serious infestation unlikely. Also, the more it is used, the more an environment is created that tends to make insects feel unwelcome.

Looking at my can of fly spray, the two active ingredients are Pyrethrins and Piperonyl butoxide, and it is certain death on bugs. No DE needed. DOes DE work on insects without the addition of two other known insect killers?

And this line caught my eye:

First by being abrasive to the insects exoskeleton and absorbing its body fluids

On another page of the website, they say:

FOSSIL SHELL FLOUR® does not swell, does not absorb nutrients and poses no long term hazard when used as an anti-caking agent in your animal's feed.

How does it know to absorb the nutrients of life needed by the insect, but it does not absorb nutrients needed by the livestock? Truly a miracle product.

http://perma-guard.com/fossilshell.html