Supplement · Grade C

Silica and medications.

Not yet catalogued in the Distil interactions database. We surface that distinction explicitly.

Silica is in the Distil supplement database, evidence Grade C. The page below lists every medication we have explicitly assessed it against.

Silica is taken for hair thickness, nail hardness and bone matrix support, but its evidence sits at Grade C, so it should be treated as emerging rather than established. The form is what makes or breaks it: only choline-stabilised orthosilicic acid (ch-OSA) at 10 to 30mg, or bamboo extract standardised for silica at 300 to 500mg, have trial support. Most silica products are poorly absorbed and unlikely to do much. The small studies that exist suggest ch-OSA may improve skin roughness and nail and hair brittleness, and may support a bone formation marker when paired with calcium and vitamin D, but the trials are few and modest in size. The clearest indication is skin, hair and nails after age 40. There are no clinically significant drug interactions at supplemental doses. People with kidney disease (CKD3+) should use a lower dose under GP supervision, since silica clears through the kidneys. Choose a bioavailable form and keep expectations measured.

We have not yet completed an explicit assessment of medications for Silica in the Distil interactions database. We surface this distinction deliberately: the Distil checker tells you when we have explicitly assessed a pair and when we have not, because both are useful information. If you take Silica alongside a medication, the checker below will surface anything already in our database, and the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes uncatalogued pairs into our next curation pass.

What this list does not say. Pairs not flagged here are not implicitly safe. They are either not yet in our database, or fall outside our inclusion scope. Use the checker below to surface any medication, and submit a missing item if you take something we have not catalogued.

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For adults over 18. This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice. Always discuss changes with your GP, especially if you take any medication, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a serious health condition.

Your supplements

Type the supplement name. Click each match to add it.

Your medications

Brand or generic name works. Click each match to add it.

Anything we should know? (optional)

Pick any that apply. We adjust the findings where context changes the answer.

I confirm I am 18 or over. This tool gives evidence-graded information, not medical advice; always discuss changes with your GP or pharmacist.

Add at least one supplement and one medication to check.

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How we decide

How we grade severity, choose what's in scope, and what we exclude.

Every call on this page is reasoned. We publish the full rubric for severity tiers, the medication inclusion logic, the evidence grades we accept, and what we deliberately leave out. About three thousand words. Worth reading once if you use this tool more than occasionally.

Read the full methodology

Your whole stack

Want this checked across everything you take?

This page checks the pairs you enter. The personalised Distil report goes further:

the same graded, cited interaction check across your whole stack, not just the pairs you thought to type in
where your current routine may be leaving you short of your goals
the evidence-backed compounds worth adding, and the ones worth dropping

It's a paid report: £79, or £49 for the first 25 customers. The interactions check is one section of it, and you can read a real one in full before you buy.

See a real sample report

Something missing?

If a supplement or medication you take isn't in our autocomplete, tell us. We go through what people flag every week and add what's missing.

Thanks, that's logged. We go through flagged items every week.

Distil's interactions database is reviewed and updated every quarter. We grade evidence transparently and publish our methodology, including every database change, at /about/methodology. This tool is information, not a substitute for clinical judgement. If you take medication and supplements together, your GP or pharmacist can review your full regimen against your medical history. If you want a full personalised stack reasoned against this same database, the Distil report is the next step up.