What do the Clean, Low, Watch and Swap levels mean?

They are cut from a continuous concern level the app computes from the sourced claims that the chosen evidence lens shows: each claim counts its concern class, tier weight, confidence and dose relevance, combined worst-first with a decay so one serious finding outweighs many small ones, then scaled by how much of the substance reaches you in this use. Clean is below 0.35, Low below 1.1, Watch below 2.0 and Swap above that, on a 0 to 3 scale.

Is Colloidal Silicon Dioxide safe in food and drink?

Q: Is colloidal silicon dioxide safe in food and drink?

Under the app's default Cautious lens, colloidal silicon dioxide in food and drink rates Low: a little concern, nothing the app would ask you to swap. 1 sourced concern counts (metabolic, emerging tier). 1 finding count in its favour. This is research with sources, not medical advice.

Medicines & supplements1 use researched2 sourced claims

Where it turns up: common tablet glidant, flow enhancer. Detox My Life researched colloidal silicon dioxide under one use, because the same substance means something different in each use. Every claim below carries its evidence tier, how sure the research is that it applies here, and the sources it cites. The level is computed by the app's own deterministic engine, so the page says exactly what the app would.

Level by use and lens

Use	Mainstream	Cautious (default)	Based	Concerns · favour · fringe
Eaten or drunk	Clean	Low	Low	1 · 1

Mainstream shows consensus claims only; Cautious adds emerging research; Based adds fringe claims, labelled as such. The last column counts, under Cautious, the sourced concerns, the findings in its favour and the fringe claims Based would add.

Safer swaps: the app's swap catalog has no entry tied to this ingredient yet. When you scan a product that contains it, the app suggests cleaner alternative types for that product; the swap categories list what the catalog covers today.

Eaten or drunk Low

Under the default Cautious lens colloidal silicon dioxide in food and drink rates Low: a little concern, nothing the app would ask you to swap. Mainstream (consensus only) rates it Clean; Based (adds the fringe) rates it Low. Researched 2026-09-03.

Sourced concerns (1)

EmergingMetabolicconfidence 70%

Ingestion of silicon dioxide nanoparticles, which can be present in food additive E551, has been linked in in vitro and animal studies to adverse effects on intestinal function, including altered nutrient absorption (iron, zinc, glucose, lipids), decreased intestinal barrier function, oxidative stress, damage to microvilli, and potential intestinal inflammation.

Why here: The presence of nano-sized particles in the ingested colloidal silicon dioxide allows for potential interactions with the gastrointestinal tract at a cellular level, affecting gut health and nutrient uptake.
What would have to be true: Physiologically relevant doses of silicon dioxide nanoparticles, as found in food additives, and chronic exposure to E551.

Sources the engine cites:

Re‐evaluation of silicon dioxide (E 551) as a food additive - PMC - NIH — nih.gov (2018) · regulator or public body

In its favour (1)

ConsensusClearedconfidence 90%

Silicon dioxide (E551), when used as a food additive, is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and does not raise safety concerns for any population group, including infants, at reported uses and use levels by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Why here: It is intentionally added to food and supplements as an anti-caking agent, flow enhancer, thickener, or carrier, and is poorly absorbed by the body, largely passing through the digestive tract.
What would have to be true: Ingested as a food additive, typically not exceeding 2% of a food product's weight, with actual concentrations often much lower (0.5-1%). Normal dietary use is not considered a concern.

Sources the engine cites (no regulator, review or study among them):

3 web articles (jksilicas.com, medicalnewstoday.com, evonik.com), linked in the app.

Not researched here

The engine has no dossier for colloidal silicon dioxide when cooked with heat, in cold food, as a finishing ingredient, in heated food packaging or other uses. The app researches an ingredient for the use it infers from your product, so a scan fills these in; this page only shows what has already been researched and source-verified.

This is research, not medical advice. Detox My Life shows sourced claims sorted by evidence tier. It does not diagnose, treat, or tell you to start or stop anything. Talk to a qualified professional about your health.

Scan your own. The app reads any product label with your camera, works out how you are about to use it, and researches every ingredient for that use with live sources. Every scan adds to a Detox Score for your home, where 50 is a typical home in your region, and a plan of next swaps.

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