Apparently it is assimilated. Here is some more information:
http://www.zetatalk.com/food/tfood34n.htm
I was wondering what you knew/felt about it.
Actually I had never heard of it prior to your brining it up. Basically what I could find on it says it is a mineral rich volcanic material.
Personally I prefer plant materials for minerals to both grow my plants and for supplementation. With my plants seaweeds and other mineral rich plants also provide other beneficial compounds such nitrogen, growth hormones, vitamins, etc. And as a compost it helps to hold moisture for the plants. As supplements the plants also provide amino acids, fibers for the flora, vitamins, alkaloids, etc. In addition the minerals in plants are generally chelated increasing their absorption over rock based minerals.
I was pretty excited about it when I first read about it a few years ago. But doesn't azomite sound a lot like zeolite?
Yes, at first I thought the same thing. But then I found something that said it was a volcanic tufa or something like it.
(The volcanic aspect...) And then there's DE...it seems kindred somehow.
Even though natural zeolites are volcanic and DE is the skeletal remains of phytoplankton they are both aluminum silicates. So they are kindered in a way.
I'm drinking some DE water now; first time I've tried it, based on reading about it here, as a silica supplement.
Great stuff, lots of benefits.
With the DE, is it preferable to have a few drops of lemon with it? Is there a reaction/synergy with the acid?
Yes, the acidity helps with the conversion of the silica in to orthosilicic acid, which is what the body absorbs and utilizes. But I have added lemon juice to my main water jug and the organic material promoted molding so this is not advised. Instead add a little lemon juice to your glass of DE water to help with absorption.