Question about vitamins???

> I'm wondering if anyone has tried silica or horsetail> extract. I got some of the pills at GNC yesterday> because of a recommendation from a friend. She says> her hair is much stronger and is in overall good> health because of the horsetail. I just wanted a> second opinion before I take any pills. Are there any> side effects????I have been taking them for a while now and I have seen no side effects. Please make sure you drink plenty of water.

>Hi, Melissa!I saw your question a while back and meant to respond, but motored out of here before I did.First, I wanted to tell you that there was some previous discussion of horsetail about two weeks ago on this Board. You might want to pull it up in the Archive which Karen has provided. One portion of which I can remember was someone who indicated that several women at one work site of different races with different hair textures had been taking it for nearly two months with no side effects and good results. I have heard similar things from friends in the past about the strength and shine results, but was leery myself because horsetail is an herb, a grass to be exact, and I would not consider myself to be up on every herb. Also, many people who have never taken horsetail can be allergic.Second, I am familiar with the product which you purchased. I don't know whether it was the Women's Silica which provides 11mg of elemental silicon from horsetail (275mg) or the other GNC product which is horsetail combined with boron for uptake. I recently bought the former and have taken it periodically with no adverse reactions. If you take it, be sure to drink plenty of water, not just a sip to flush it down.Third, through my own investigation, I did a couple of searches and the only thing negative which I have found is that if you have any type of heart problem or are on heart medication, you might not want to take any or higher doses of the herb, especially for long periods of time. I found a great article by James F. Sheer, in Better Nutrition, published in 1998, I think, which is called "Silica: Health and Beauty From Nature", which compiles all the research going back to the 1950's in a readable form. If I had a copy on diskette, I would e-mail it to you. Nevertheless, I don't think it would be hard to locate. It's only about 5 pages and is quite good. I also read a friend's book on herbs, the name of which I can't remember, which also indicated that horsetail is not an herb to be taken at large doses (over the suggested maximum daily range of 1-4grams (1,000mg-4,000mg)) for long periods of time. You'd have to take a lot of the GNC product to reach this range:)Lastly, I wanted to mention that you can get silica, providing elemental silicon, through things other than horsetail. Jarrows Formulas makes a liquid product which apparently is supposed to be better absorbed than horsetail because it is the form into which horsetail is converted in your body. Essentially, the conversion step is bypassed so that the product is more likely to be absorbed. Whether this is true, I don't know, but this is what their literature indicates. A friend of mine uses this and, beware, it is pricey, but lasts a long time. Solgar also makes a silica product, providing elemental silicon, from red alga. The advantage of this product is that you also receive other trace minerals derived from the sea. In addition, the nutritional value of seaweeds and sea products is second to none. Solgar's product is about comparable in price to horsetail.Hope this helps....Jade21I'm wondering if anyone has tried silica or horsetail> extract. I got some of the pills at GNC yesterday> because of a recommendation from a friend. She says> her hair is much stronger and is in overall good> health because of the horsetail. I just wanted a> second opinion before I take any pills. Are there any> side effects????