That's a new one for me. All I know about D.E. is that I use it in my pool filter and spread it along the ground to kill the slugs and snails in my vegetable garden.

There are two types of DE the only one I have used is the one I use in my garden to use pests...I do know that there is supposed to be a food grade DE.

Maire cate, the DE used for pool filters is very different than food or horticultural grade DE. It's processed in a way that makes it useless for anything but filtering pools and quite dangerous to handle.

Rosemary, I've not taken food grade DE myself but it has always intrigued me. We all ingest a minute amount of it, though, whenever we eat any kind of grain or food made from grain. DE is used to control
the insects found in stored grains.

A dentist gave me a small envelope of DE years ago to rub onto the surface of my teeth that were extra sensitive. The tiny bits of DE fill the miniscule holes that caused the sensitivity and no more pain.

Never heard of ingesting it though.

Jodi-

Jodi, that's the thing. It does wonders for killing off bed bugs, roaches, etc because it damages their exoskeleton structure, but I'm pretty leery about ingesting something that's not well known.

And yet, people widely sign its praises as a cure-all.

I have no first hand experience, but I was curious, so I started reading about it. So far, I've found the claims of what it can do exaggerated (like so many supplements) and not supported by peer reviewed studies at best, and at worst, I find it worrisome that so many articles mention wearing a dust mask when handling it to avoid breathing in the silica. I think I'll skip this one, but it was interesting to hear about something new.

It's funny to think that you can eat something....but shouldn't inhale it into your lungs. But there are lots and lots of things that are to be used one way and only one way. Some everyday household products can be downright dangerous when used the wrong way.

The warnings are necessary so that consumers are reminded about how to avoid problems with rubbing alcohol or dish soap or hand lotion or all kinds of benign products.

Diatomaceous earth has a long application history in the kitchen. It is the active scrubbing ingredient in Bon Ami, a cleanser. Maybe you have seen their slogan a long time ago: It was a picture of a baby chick with the words, "Haven't scratched yet." Diatomaceous earth can be used as a scouring powder.

Diatomaceous earth is the skeletons of diatoms. These little skeletons are microscopic in size, but are easliy viewed with an ordinary microscope. I'd need to verify, but suspect it is composed of calcium. calcium carbonate, or calcium products.

I've seen no data on safety, but knowing that its fine particle size and somewhat abrasive nature, I'd take precaution against breathing any of it. I might be bad for the lungs.

It works as a bug killer by clogging the insect's breathing pores. These pores are located along the edges of the abdomen. It has no effect on a bug if said bug avoids physical contact with the material.

I know it keeps slugs and snails out of my flower garden. Never thought to eat the stuff or use it medicinally.

Food grade/horticultural grade DE usually has anywhere between up to 3 percent crystalline silica, usually at the lower end of the scale. Pool filter stuff can be composed of 30 percent crystalline silica. Silica, when INHALED, can cause silicosis and other lung problems.

DE does not 'plug the breathing pores' (spiracles) of insects or other arthropods. It alters the physical structure of the exoskeleton by absorbing the natural waxes and oils. Then, the critters can eventually desiccate. The exoskeleton is an extremely important structure to these animals, and even little abrasions can be mortal.

DE doesn't enter their bodies in order to do the job and it doesn't scratch them to death. Once the DE become wet, it's not of much use at all as an organic insecticide.

I wouldn't hesitate on adding food grade DE to my diet, because I believe it to be safe. It's a USDA accepted additive in a bunch of the things we take. Let's not forget that Silica (silicon) is a naturally occurring element in the human body. It's essential to all warm blooded animals...for all living organisms, in fact. We usually get minute amounts in our food (via plants), but it is highly likely that the average human today is very lacking in Si.

Just remember that the pool filter grade is much more dangerous when inhaled, not all all effective as an insecticide, and shouldn't be taken orally.

Here is a link that might be useful: Some interesting information

I've heard of people using it for flea infestations in their carpets and also topically rubbed into their pet's fur to kill fleas. Also have read about people ingesting food-grade DE to kill internal parasites.

I read about it, sounded a little kooky but made lots of sense, have been taking a teaspoon a day (the white powdery food grade DE) for about 3 weeks- I have noticed some good things, skin is less dry (have had a lot of problems with that) and my joint pains have been much less---and I have not had problems with heartburn and indigestion since I started taking the DE. If you go onto Amazon and read reviews for some of the food grade DE , it's pretty amazing, that's why I tried it in the first place. I plan to try it about 4 more weeks and then just see how I feel.... Suzan