Colloidal Silver
By administrator | February 11, 2009
Colloidal Silver Facts
One of the safest, most powerful, and most controversial infection fighter today is a remarkable substance called colloidal silver. It is the most powerful antibiotic; antiviral; antifungal; and antiseptic known. Neither the government nor the multinational pharmaceutical industry want you to use colloidal silver. Why? Simply because it threatens their highly regulated medical system, which is based on disease management rather than prevention.
Silver has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks used silver vessels to keep various liquids fresh. American pioneers put silver coins in water containers to retard the growth of bacteria and algae. They often kept silver dollars in their mik to keep it fresh when they didn’t have refrigeration, and they used silver utensils to eat with.
Medicinal silver compounds have been used since the 1800s and were used widely until being replaced by pharmaceutical antibiotics in the mid-20th century. Once ‘Big-Pharma’ started pushing their antibiotics, silver was for the better part, forgotten.
What is Colloidal Silver?
Colloidal silver is the result of an electro-magnetic process that pulls microscopic particles from a larger piece of silver into a liquid, such as water. These microscopic particles can more easily penetrate and travel throughout the body. Colloidal silver works as a catalyst, disabling the enzyme that all one celled bacteria, fungi and viruses use for their oxygen metabolism. In short, the bad guys suffocate. Unlike with antibiotics, resistant strains have never been known to develop.
In science, the term “colloid” refers to a substance of ultra-fine particles suspended in a medium of different matter. Colloidal silver is simply a solution of tiny particles of silver suspended in water. The particles are typically 0.01 to 0.001 microns in diameter (about four-hundred thousands to four millionths of an inch).
Colloids were first identified in the mid 19th century. It was quickly discovered that some colloid solutions easily passed through human cell membranes. By 1920, Henry Crookes discovered that colloidal silver had a germicidal effect while remaining harmless to the human body.
Medically speaking, colloids have several advantages over pharmaceuticals. Vitamin companies have discovered that minerals in a colloidal solution are absorbed far more completely than the same minerals in pill form. Likewise, properly prepared colloidal silver is far superior to other forms of ingestible silver.
The War on Colloidal Silver
The FDA still continues to warn the public that colloidal silver has not been proven to be effective in combating any illness what-so-ever, despite the fact that colloidal silver has a proven track record dating back to before the FDA was even established, and despite the fact that many well-respected medical professionals endorse colloidal silver for use in a variety of applications.
The government and the drug companys would like to have you believe that colloidal silver is dangerous. But in fact it is far less dangerous than virtually all prescription drugs that they presently approve of. The only probable side effect of responsible use is a loss of “friendly” bacteria. Colloidal silver after all, is an antibiotic, so it is probable that it could happen, but it is not likely, because silver is far less disruptive of digestive bacteria than most other antibiotics. Not to mention that any potential loss could be made up for by supplementing probiotics.
‘Big-Pharma’ isn’t interested in colloidal silver simply because they can’t patent it! If you can patent a product you can make a tremendous profit off of it, but the profit margin on a non-patented product is too low for these companies. Further, ‘Big-Pharma’ actively discredits the use of colloidal silver, with the hope that a fearful public will buy their patented products! If they could, they would quickly ban the use of any colloidal substance that is outside of their control.
Fortunately though, the FDA has so far been unable to ban colloidal silver. Because colloidal silver was marketed before 1938, it was “grandfathered in” along with other products created before the FDA Act.
The FDA is supported and controled through ‘Big-Pharma’, as is our whole medical system. The FDA continues to “warn” the public that colloidal silver has not been proven to be effective in combating any illnesses (new or old), despite the fact that colloidal silver has a proven track record dating back to before the FDA was even created.
How Safe Is It?
‘Big-Pharma’ would like you to believe that colloidal silver is dangerous, and started a smear campaign many years ago, that has effectivly scared off many people.
The only probable side effect of colloidal silver is a loss of “friendly” bacteria. Colloidal silver, like antibiotics, can kill some of the digestive flora in the lower intestinal tract. But silver is far less disruptive of digestive bacteria than ANY pharmaceutical antibiotic. The friendly bacteria in the digestive tract seems to be able to withstand silver to a far larger extent than the unfriendly bacteria.
Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics, colloidal silver does not promote the development of more virulent strains of germs; nor does it weaken the immune system. Also, there are no known drug-interaction hazards associated with colloidal silver. And unlike the continued use of antibiotics, regular use of colloidal silver does not harm the liver, kidneys, or other organs.
If you have watched the Oprah Show in the past, you may remember the man who turned blue from taking silver… This is known as Argyria. Argyria results from excessive buildup of silver deposits in the body. Other than skin discoloration, argyria causes little other health problems and is not fatal. Oprah’s guest claimed to have developed the problem through taking colloidal silver, but reality proved that he was consuming a silver protein in unrealistic amounts. Silver protein is very different than colloidal silver.
Uses for Colloidal Silver
If you still have doubts on the medicinal value of silver, consider that even today it is still a common practice for hospitals to use a silver nitrate solution as a topical eye drop to prevent infections in newborns.
Colloidal silver has antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties, so it can treat virtually any type of infection. In fact, no microorganism put through laboratory testing has been able to stay alive longer than six minutes after being exposed to colloidal silver. Colloidal silver can be taken internally, dropped into the ears, eyes, or nose, or applied topically to cuts and open wounds. It can be added to water collected from questionable sources to make it safer for drinking.
In the case of a bioterrorist attack, people with colloidal silver will be better equipped to defend themselves. A major outbreak of any kind would cripple medical facilities, making antibiotics or any form of treatment difficult to obtain. Colloidal silver could provide your immune system with the assistance it needs to fight an infection of anthrax, pneumonic plague, botulism, or many 0ther conditions.
Types of Silver
There are three distinctly different types of silver that are labeled and sold on the market as “colloidal silver”; they are ionic silver, silver protein, and true colloidal silver. Consumers seeking true colloidal silver are often at a disadvantage because each of these products represents themselves as colloidal silver.
• Ionic Silver Solutions
The vast majority of products labeled and sold as colloidal silver fall into this category due to the low degree of manufacturing complexity and resulting low cost of production. The silver content in these products consists of both silver ions and silver particles. Typically, 90% of the silver content is in the form of ionic silver and the remaining 10% of the silver content is in the form of silver particles. The silver ions are produced by electrolysis and may be described as “dissolved silver”. Products produced by electrolysis are frequently described as “electro colloids”. Because the majority of the silver content in these products is dissolved silver rather than metallic silver particles, it would be more technically accurate to describe these products as silver solutions.
Confusingly, ads for these products frequently claim that silver ions are small silver particles or describe the product as consisting of ionic silver particles. Silver ions are not the same as silver particles and the two terms are not interchangeable. Ionic silver is also referred to as monatomic silver and silver hydrosol by some producers who choose not to describe their products using the scientifically correct terminology. These are marketing terms used to hide the truth that what is being sold is an ionic silver solution.
How To Tell If A Product Is Mostly Ionic Silver
Silver solutions are typically clear like water or have a slight yellow tint. These products are clear because silver that is dissolved in water looks just like sugar or salt that is dissolved in water; it has no visible appearance. The producers of ionic silver solutions will suggest that colloidal silver should look like clear water, but this is incorrect.
Companies that sell ionic silver claim that their product is “true colloidal silver” in an attempt to confuse the buyer. Do not be fooled. If the product is clear, then it is ionic silver, not a true silver colloid. Colloidal particles, when present in sufficient concentration, absorb visible light causing the colloid to exhibit an “apparent color”. The apparent color is the complement of the absorbed wavelength. Silver ions do not absorb visible light and therefore appear as clear colorless liquids.
Many producers of ionic silver recommend that the product be stored only in glass containers. Some specify only amber or cobalt glass bottles because their products are photosensitive and deteriorate when exposed to light. True colloids do not have these issues.
How To Test for Ionic Silver
To figure out whether a solution is ionic silver, you only need add chloride ions. Common table salt, which is sodium chloride, will do. If silver ions are present the chloride ions will combine with the silver ions and create a white, cloudy appearance. To form a cloud that is visible requires that a sufficient concentration of silver ions be present, typically about 10 ppm or above. Simply place 1-2 ounces of ionic silver in a clear glass. Add a few grains of table salt. Observe whether, as the salt dissolves, a white cloud of silver chloride forms in the solution. If so, eventually, the entire solution will turn cloudy. If more salt is added, the white silver chloride will become denser until all the silver ions have combined with the available chlorine ions. If no silver ions are present then no white cloud will form. Here’s the rub: Some products will not make a white cloud of silver chloride when table salt is added because they contain no silver at all, or very little silver. Believe it or not, lab analysis has shown that some “silver” products actually contain no silver!
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.
Safe usage
“Colloidal silver” generators sold to home hobbyists all produce ionic silver solutions. Because ionic silver products contain a low percentage of their silver content in the form of particles, they all have a particle surface area fairly low relative to the total silver content. Ionic silver is not without merit. Ionic silver is a strong anti microbial and serves well in situations where chloride is not present. When chloride is present (inside the human body), the silver particle content will survive to produce benefit.
Ionic silver products, when taken according to the manufacturers recommended dosage, will not cause argyria, a condition that causes the skin to turn blue-gray.
• Silver Protein (a/k/a Mild Silver Protein)
Silver protein products are the second most prevalent type of so-called colloidal silver products on the market. These products consist of a combination of metallic silver particles and a protein binder, and can easily be produced by simply adding water to silver protein powder sold by various chemical companies.
Most products claiming to be high concentrations of colloidal silver (typically in the range of 30 to 20,000 ppm) are in fact silver protein colloids. While some of these products are labeled as Silver Protein or Mild Silver Protein , many such products are simply labeled as colloidal silver and the word protein does not appear anywhere on the label or in the product advertising literature.
Silver protein products generally have very large silver particles, so large that they would not remain suspended as colloidal particles without protein additives. Protein additives help to keep the large particles from settling. While various protein binders may be used, the protein most commonly used is gelatin , which is made by boiling the skin, tendons, and ligaments of animals. For large metallic silver particles to remain suspended in water, they need additional buoyancy to keep from sinking. Gelatin molecules will encapsulate each particle of silver and add enough buoyancy so that it does not sink to the bottom. The presence of gelatin creates a risk of bacteria and is one of the dangers of taking this product.
Of the three types of colloidal silver, silver protein products have the lowest particle surface area for a given silver concentration , making the silver inaccessible for safe human absorption and less effective for human use. Particle surface area, as we will cover later, is the single most important determinant of colloidal silver effectiveness.
Testing For Silver Protein
To find out whether you have a silver protein product rather than a true silver colloid, look for these characteristics:
• Makes foam: When shaken, a silver protein product produces foam above the liquid that will persist for minutes after being shaken. This is probably the single most reliable indicator. Even when the product label identifies the product simply as colloidal silver and never mentions the word protein, this indicator will signal the presence of a protein binder. Shake the bottle and look for foaming. When the foam persists, protein is present.
• Concentration: Silver protein products tend to have very high concentration values, typically in the range of 30 to 20,000 ppm. Concentration is expressed in parts per million (ppm) and is numerically the same as milligrams of silver per liter of water (mg/L).
• Color: The color ranges from light amber to almost black with an increasing concentration of silver.
Dangers
• Due to the high concentration of large silver particles, silver protein products are known to cause argyria.
• Adding protein to colloidal silver is also potentially unsafe because of bacteria, according to Professor Ronald Gibbs who discussed this fact in his booklet ” Silver Colloids”. He found “mild silver protein” products that had live bacteria growing on the protein. This can happen when protein is mixed with colloidal silver because the protein molecules are large and encapsulate the silver particles, which prevent the silver from reaching the bacteria to kill it. Normally, it would be impossible for bacteria to live in colloidal silver, but it is common in products containing protein. For this reason, Professor Gibbs recommended that silver protein products should be avoided. Here is the quote from Professor Gibbs book concerning use of protein to stabilize colloidal silver: “A fifth sample considered showed fuzzy clusters around silver particles when viewed in water . . . . As suspected, this fuzzy material fluoresced indicating the material was, indeed, live bacteria growing on the gelatin that had apparently been used to stabilize the colloidal silver suspension. In Figure 3A the black dots inside the fuzzy mass are the silver particles. This sample exhibits the poor quality control that is totally unacceptable in this type of product.
True Colloidal Silver
True colloidal silver products are the least prevalent type of colloidal silver on the market due to high degree of manufacturing complexity and the resulting high cost of production.
In true colloidal silver, the majority of the silver content is in the form of silver particles. True colloids will typically contain more than 50% particles (often 50 – 80%), while the balance (20% to 49%) will be silver ions. When referring to colloidal silver, the word colloid means silver particles.
The two critical factors to look for in determining true colloids are the percentage of silver particles and the particle surface area.
Of all the types of silver marketed as colloidal, true colloidal silver products have the highest particle surface area. High particle surface area is achieved by a high percentage of silver particles combined with very small sized particles. Of the three types of silver on the market, true silver colloids have the highest particle surface area relative to the total silver content. The ratio of particle surface area to total silver content indicates how efficiently the colloid is able to produce particle surface area which determines effectiveness. Higher conversion efficiencies are more desirable.
The nanometer-sized particles in true silver colloids remain in colloidal suspension without requiring protein or other additives. It is the mutual repulsion of the particles created by the zeta potential charge that keeps the particles uniformly distributed in the colloid.
Dangers
Due to the very low concentration of ionic silver and small particle size, true silver colloids do not cause argyria, a condition that causes the skin to turn blue-gray.
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