Yeah, modulo particle size (https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2018/01/18/EFSA-raises...) it's inert (used as an anticaking agent, additive number E551), but don't breathe it in; silicosis is not much fun.

(The FDA limit is 2% by mass of product, but it's silica. Silica is _extremely_ chemically stable.)

I was wondering if it was toxic or non-toxic. Silica gel packets say "do not eat" but they're in a ton of our food packaging so I'd hope they're non-toxic.

Food-grade additives are about avoiding adulterants, etc. I can't imagine people are going to that kind of effort for cheap hygroscopics.

Also, and here's what I suspect the real reason is; silica gel sold as a dessicant is hard (not quite as hard as silica glass, but hard), in relatively large particles, and indigestible. That's mechanically bad news for your intestines.

Could that lead to cysts in the GI tract?

Would be easy to investigate. Have desert people more cysts in the GI tract than other people? Digestive tissue is being distroyed and sheding constantly on the other hand, so probably not.

Oh right. That's a good point. I forgot about the high turnover rate of that area of the body.

No idea. I'm a doctor of mineralogy, not a doctor of medicine :-)

If you feel like eating some water, I'd recommend cucumbers instead.

Given that it is coated in silica, my guess is no. It would be like eating 5% sand.

So just a normal picnic at the beach then?

It won't injure you. Doesn't mean you'll have much fun.

Edible !== Tasty

A handful of wet sand, probably, though a little more tolerable.