Table 2.
Food sources of silicon
| Food Groups | Si (mg/100g) | Range | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cereals Grains & Products | |||
| Breakfast Cereal (n=16) | 7.79 ± 6.31 | 1.34–23.36 | 11 of the 18 foods with high Si content (> 5mg/100g) are from this group. Silicon is almost solely present in the outer skin (husks/hull) of the grain. Oat bran has the highest Si content as it consist of the husk/hull. |
| Bread/Flour (n=15) | 2.87 ± 1.60 | 0.34–6.17 | |
| Biscuit (n=5) | 1.56 ± 0.56 | 1.05–2.44 | |
| Rice (n=8) | 1.54 ± 1.00 | 0.88–3.76 | |
| Pasta (n=7) | 1.11 ± 0.47 | 0.62–1.84 | |
| Fruits | |||
| Raw& canned (n=33) | 1.34 ± 1.30 | 0.1–4.77 | Bananas, pineapples and mangoes are high. |
| Dried (n=3) | 10.54 ± 5.44 | 6.09–16.61 | |
| Vegetables (n=49) | 1.79 ± 2.42 | 0.1–8.73 | High in Kenyan beans, green beans, runner beans, spinach and coriander. |
| Legumes (lentils, pulses, etc.; n=11) | 1.46 ± 1.23 | 0.38–4.42 | Lentils and Soya/tofu are high. |
| Nuts & Seeds (n=4) | 0.78 ± 0.82 | 0.28–1.99 | |
| Snack Foods (crisps, candy, etc; n=3) | 1.97 ± 2.15 | 0.47–1.01 | |
| Milk & Milk Products (TDS & n=3) | 0.31 ± 0.21 | 0.07–0.47 | Low Si content |
| Meat & Meat Products (TDS) | 0.1–1.89 | Low Si content | |
Table adapted from Powell et al. (44); TDS= Sample four the Food Standard Agency total diet study