Hi Ho Silver!!

I was sick over the holidays. Again. I was visiting with some friends, and they gave me some colloidal silver. My friend was very adamant. In fact so much so that I actually took a swig immediately. But I had no idea what it was. Other than something I thought of as liquid jewelery.

So, I contacted my pal Goggle. And read. And read. I'd never even heard of taking a metal to help against ailments. That's just crazy talk.

Or is it?

Turns out, silver has been used for over 1000 years for it's antibacterial qualities. It's not exactly new stuff. It's been commonly used topically as a treatment for burns and other skin infections. It's also been used as a water purifier, and as a purifier for swimming pools. Hell, the Royals used silver to eat with and store their food in for ages.

But what about using silver inside the body?

The more I read, the more it sounded like silver, processed a certain way, can kill 100% (!!) of the viruses, bacteria and fungus in your body and it's non toxic (!!). But surely, I asked myself, if there was a chance that there was something that worked better than antibiotics, we would have heard of it. Right? If it kills viruses instead of making them into stronger super bugs (as antibiotics does) then of course, this would be cause for big press and much rejoicing? Right?

Maybe not.

But first I wanted to see what all the quiet fuss was about. What is colloidal silver exactly? And how does it work? And what else does it do to us?

I searched on. I found a fabulous site called
http://www.silver-colloids.com/.

It's a scientific site that is "dedicated to the publication and dissemination of scientific information about colloidal silver." The site is maintained by Mr. Frank Key, a principal scientist of the Colloidal Science Laboratory, Inc.

(BTW, Frank Key actually reads and replies to his emails. I know this because he's replied to me twice now. His emails were incredibly helpful for the gaps I still had. But I'm getting ahead of myself.)

In this site are 30+ publications all about the nature of various physical properties of colloidal silver, how the theory translates to practice and laboratory experiments that were performed to determine particular attributes of silver colloids.

Fascinating stuff. Seriously. I was engrossed through all of it. Mr. Key has presented a site that the non-scientific community can understand. I was hooked.

So, what is Colloidal Silver exactly?

One bit that I found most interesting in the publications was the differences between silver ions and silver particles and why it is important to know what type of silver is in a colloidal silver product. This is cause for MUCH controversy, and everyone seems to have their own opinion on which provides benefits and how much.

In brief, there is Ionic Silver (which looks clear like water and can be made at home) and there are True Colloids which contain Silver Particles, not silver ions.

From http://www.silver-colloids.com/Pubs/AboutIonic.html
"The difference between silver ions and silver particles boils down to the fact that silver ions combine with chloride ions to form silver chloride and silver particles do not."

So, why do we care?

Basically, the surface area of silver is the key to the benefits. And it's the particles that provide the surface area. As well, the particles are slowly eliminated from the body, and do not build up.

This is taken from the Colloidal Science Laboratory site
http://www.colloidalsciencelab.com/

"One of the most important properties of a colloid, and one of most difficult to properly determine is particle surface area. Particle surface area is the property of a colloid that translates directly to the ability of the colloid to react with its environment. Effectiveness of colloids is predicated on exposing the largest possible surface area of the metal particles to the areas of interest. In the chemical world, reactivity increases with increasing surface area."

So, why aren't all products silver particles?

It's harder to make, and of course, more expensive. And you can't make it at home.

But ionic silver is still supposed to have benefits, because some silver particle content will survive. But it's the uncertainty of how it's made that concerns me. If it's poorly made, and you take too much of it, or put it on your skin and go under a sun bed (!?), then you can develop a condition called Argyria, a permanent discolouration of the skin. Yeah, it turns you blue, for life. I know. I want the good stuff.

OK, how do they work? And why don't they kill the good bacteria in my body as well as the bad, like antibiotics do?

I had a little more trouble find out HOW they work, so Mr. Frank Key sent me this web site. He said that the HOW was not his field of expertise, although I suspect he's just being modest! This site's articles are much harder to slog through than Frank Key's information, but it's well worth the effort.

http://www.jnanobiotechnology.com/

There are articles on research of silver nanoparticles blocking the transmition of HIV-1.
http://www.jnanobiotechnology.com/content/8/1/15
This is the part I liked...

"...microbicides could have the potential to eliminate drug-resistant bacteria, in addition to sexually transmitted diseases that cause inflammation. Previous studies have reported that silver ions and silver nanoparticles exert anti-inflammatory effects, induce lymphoproliferation, and inhibit bacterial and HIV-1 infection. These characteristics make silver nanoparticles of interest in microbicide research."

But I still didn't tell you the HOW. Right.

This web site tells the story of Colloidal Silver very nicely.
http://tuberose.com/Colloidal_Silver.html

But basically:

"Colloidal silver works as a catalyst, disabling the enzyme that all one-celled bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms use for their oxygen metabolism. In short, the bad guys suffocate."

"It does this by attaching itself to the cell membrane of a bacterium, which disables its oxygen-metabolism enzyme, its chemical lung. Because it can no longer breathe, within a few minutes the pathogen suffocates and dies and is cleared out of the body by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems."

Anything bigger than one cell seems to like it."

Another cool site I found is:
http://www.e-colloidalsilver.com/

"It is believed to be effective in fighting bacteria because it disrupts an enzyme that harmful bacteria need to breathe. Silver atoms also adhere to the DNA of harmful bacteria, which prevents it from uncoiling and therefore prevents it from multiplying."

If you want more... this site explains how bacteria, viruses and fungus live and grow, and how silver nanoparticles kill them.
http://www.azonano.com/Details.asp?ArticleID=1695

Cool, right?

Hell ya!!

So onto my next question... why doesn't it kill the good bacteria too?

http://www.e-colloidalsilver.com/
"Many strains of pathogenic microbes, viruses, fungi, bacteria or any other single-celled pathogen resistant to other antibiotics are killed on contact by colloidal silver, and are unable to mutate. However, silver is virtually non-toxic and does not harm tissue-cell enzymes and friendly bacteria. Unlike antibiotics, colloidal silver does not weaken the body's immune system. In fact, it is said to give the body a second immune system, creating a shield against disease of all kinds."

http://www.naturesalternatives.com/lc/whatiscs.html
"One explanation is that the friendly bacteria are aerobic, while unfriendly bacteria are anaerobic. Also, it is said that the silver does not attack bacteria directly, but rather decomposes certain enzymes the anaerobic bacteria, viruses, yeast, and molds require. The silver acts as a catalyst... It is probable that the reason the bacteria cannot develop a resistance to silver, as they do to antibiotics, is because silver does not attack them directly, but rather destroys the enzymes they depend on."

But you know what, I've taken TONS of antibiotics, and we all know that kills the good bacteria. I take probiotics for that. So, what the hell, as some sites say, it doesn't hurt to be on the safe side, and take the probiotics while taking the colloidal silver.

And if it's a well made colloidal silver, it is eliminated completely from the body within 24 hours. Now, if you take a ton of the stuff, way more than what's suggested, then well, you're an idiot.

I have read a few unsubstantiated claims that colloidal silver is associated with a number of adverse side effects such as kidney damage, headache, fatigue, skin irritation, and neurologic problems. But for the life of me, I can't see it in any of the scientific papers I've read, or any of the masses of testimonials. I've read a whole lot more substantiated potential side effects on the forms of the drugs I'm prescribed.

And the benefits... WELL! Researchers has found that Colloidal Silver is effective against more than 650 dangerous microbes. Some of them specifically are:

the cold and flu viruses (oh yeah baby!)
MRSA virus (Methicilian resistant Staphylococcus aureus - antibiotic resistant virus)
Upper respiratory tract infection
bronchitis
Yeast Infections (Candidiasis)
cold sore virus
shingles
hepatitis C
fungus
boils
Mononucleosis (glandular fever)

And many many more...
http://www.colloidal-silver-information.com/category/benefits/
http://www.colloidforum.com/phpBB3/

So, at this point, I'm feeling pretty astonished and really freakin' excited!!

The next obvious question is... why the hell isn't this more commonly used rather than antibiotics? (!!)

Seems that this is most likely the sad truth of what you've probably already guessed.

Silver can not be controlled (or profited) by the FDA or governing bodies, as it is considered a pre 1938 drug, and now an over the counter supplement. Antibiotics (not to mention cold remedies) are a HUGE money maker. Imagine the mayham if it got out that this was a viable and preferred method of treatment over antibiotics? Imagine if the world knew that Colloidal Silver can potentially eliminate many of the viruses, bacteria and fungus known to man while being virtually non-toxic?

I'm expecting the FDA to ban Colloidal Silver if word gets out.

The Drug Pushers (and FDA) probably had a celebration party over the numbskull that turned himself blue and got a ton of press. It takes a "special" kind of guy to do that to himself. Maybe the price of turning blue was worth it? (taking the conspiracy idea even a step further.) In any case, the only thing I can seem to find against Colloidal Silver is that it could turn you blue if you take too much of the poorly made nasty stuff. (And we know now how not to do that.)

There's a website has very strong opinions on the role the FDA plays in oppressing our health freedoms. The article was written in 2008 but still valid, and a good way to get good and pissed off! I mean if we're going to have a hope in hell of staying healthy, we have to care.

http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000538_colloidal_silver_FDA_health_freedom.html

This 3 part interview with a Colloidal Silver producer, Ben Taylor about his fight with the government is astonishing, and a MUST READ (IMHO) for anyone who is compelled to fight for our health freedoms. Some really cool, simple things to be aware of about our rights. Big UPS to Mr. Taylor for his bravery!

I've ordered 6 bottles of what I can tell is some of the good stuff. It has an infinite self life (non organic, so no biodegradability) I'm not going to tell you what I ordered, in case you think I'm working for them. I'm not. OK, I'll tell you... but do your own research. That's the key to your own health after all.

http://www.purestcolloids.com/mesosilver.php

I also think http://www.utopiasilver.com/ (Ben Taylor's Company) sells the good stuff. I will order from him next.

As a final note, despite all the other things that seem more pressing today, the financial collapse, the endlessly mystifying wars, the oil crisis, the water crisis, the food crisis... as the old adage goes, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. Complacency is easier, but do you really want to leave your life in the hands of The Drug Pushers?

Speaking of complacency... next up... fluoride and what is it really doing in our water? And what is it doing to us?