Are you "Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide"?
Have you heard of dating couples asking, “Are you Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide”? Or someone saying “I’II be magnesium iron silicate hydroxide”. Do you know what that means? These jokes on magnesium iron silicate hydroxide have become popular in several TikTok videos and jokes that have gone viral. So, next time someone asks you this question, you won’t be confused and can answer it correctly as here we explain to you what it actually means. Have you heard of Cummingtonite? Can talcum powder cause cancer? Get the answers to all these questions. Keep reading!
Cummingtonite?
Yes, you heard it right! The other name for Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide is “Cummingtonite”.
What is Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide or Cummingtonite in the real sense?
Magnesium iron silicate hydroxide [(Mg, Fe)7[Si4O11]2 (OH)2] is a metamorphic amphibole.
Amphiboles are silicate minerals that form prism or needle-like crystals usually containing iron or magnesium in their structure (1).
Cummingtonite was named after the town in Massachusetts in 1824. It is commonly found in magnesium-rich rocks (2).
What is Magnesium Silicate? Is it different from Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide?
Magnesium oxide and silicon make Magnesium silicate (MgSiO3). Magnesium silicate when hydrated is commonly named ‘talc’ and is used in the cosmetic, food, or pharma industry.
The various applications of magnesium silicate include absorbing moisture, anticaking, as a dietary supplement, and used as an excipient in several formulations for medical use including antacids and antiulcer, also used as a component of antiepileptic, topical antifungal, and for treatment of acne (3).
Amongst its toxicity, one has to be careful as more than 50MEq of Mg can lead to hypermagnesemia and can contribute to bladder and renal caliculi (3).
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Magnesium Silicate as Facial Powders
In the cosmetic industry, hydrated magnesium silicate (talc) is used as facial powders. For absorbing oil and perspiration, the facial powder also sometimes contains magnesium carbonate and kaolin, hydrated aluminium silicate (4).
Can Talcum Powder Cause Cancer?
Talcum powder is made from talc. As talc is a naturally occurring mineral, it can contain asbestos in its natural form. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and can cause lung cancer. So, can talcum powder cause cancer?
Well, there have been several research and epidemiological studies focusing on whether there has been an association between talcum powder use and lung cancer or whether applying talcum in genitalia and risk of ovarian cancer and the evidence has been mixed.
Though a small risk was observed, a causal relationship has not been established so far (5, 6).
Further research on whether talcum powder can cause cancer is absolutely necessary to confirm the risk.
Coming back to Magnesium Iron Silicate Hydroxide Or Cummingtonite
So, next time someone asks you ‘are you magnesium iron silicate hydroxide’, you surely will have an answer to this question.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphibole
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cummingtonite
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Magnesium-silicate#section=Drug-and-Medication-Information
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/magnesium-silicate
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35348830/
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2758452
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