Colloidal Silver: The Natural Alternative to Antibiotics
Most of us have heard about Colloidal Silver at some point and have heard about its amazing antibiotic properties. It can keep wounds clean, it can clear up a cold, it can boost your immune system, it can even be used on the eyes and ears! We've also heard the bad, though, that it can turn you purple and make you sick.
The question is, is all of this hype actually true?? Well, the short version is, yes.
Now for the long version...
Colloidal Silver has been proven by science many times that it is very effective at killing bacteria, viruses, and even fungi. It is an all-around impressive antimicrobial! It has been used for centuries in medicine as an antibacterial in hospitals, but in everyday life as well. Silverware is not just named for its colour, these utensils used to be made of silver to fight of harmful microbes since there was no modern soaps! Even silver coins were dropped into milk to prolongue the shelf life before refrigerators. Colloidal Silver can be applied externally to open wounds to kill possible infectious agents, but it can also be taken internally and in the ears and eyes to get rid of a cold or associated infections.
But how does it do this, and why does silver kill microbial cells but not body cells?
As a Biologist and studying Clinical Nutritionist, I always have to know how things work to believe them, so let's go through the modes of action.
Silver works in three ways to kill microbes:
1. Silver withholds oxygen from bacterial and viral cells by binding oxygen, which react with the sulfydral groups that surround them, which means the cells can't get oxygen, which they need to create energy to live
2. Silver ions react with bacterial cell membranes, which causes the block in oxygen, but also causes the membranes to start to fall apart.
3. Silver literally binds microbial DNA to prevent it from multiplying, which means that the infectious microbes can't make more of themselves.
All in all, silver is pretty amazing!
The Benefits of Colloidal Silver
Here is a brief overlook at some of the things its Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Anti-fungal properties can be used for:
1. For Cleaning Wounds and Skin
Keep wounds, burns, skin conditions, hotspots, ringworm (a fungal infection) and other open sores clear of bacteria and other infectious agents.
2. Eye and Ear Infections
Ear and eye infections can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or all of the above, which are all killed by silver nanoparticles. Because it so general, it is a lot more effective than prescription that only target a specific categories of bacteria or fungi!
3. Anti-inflammatory
Its anti-inflammatory abilities are not often discussed, but it has been shown in recent studies that silver can decrease inflammation and swelling, which can increase healing!
4. Cold/Flu
The great thing about Colloidal Silver is microbes do not create resistance or immunity to it like they do an antibiotic drug or flu shot, which means those antibiotic-resistant superbugs have nothing to defend themselves against the wrath of silver nanoparticles.
5. Respiratory and Urinary Tract Infections
These types of infections are very common in cats that use poor quality clay litters that are full of dust. The Colloidal Silver would be ingested to treat these infections to work from the inside out.
Let's address the bad rap associated with Colloidal Silver...
Everyone has heard the story of the purple man on Dr. Phil talking about how he turned colour because he drank colloidal silver every day. Yes, this can happen... if you make it incorrectly and drink way too much! Colloidal Silver itself is pretty simple, it is literally silver particles suspended in water. However, there are a lot of people claiming you can make it with a car battery and a ring or something similar. This will make a very poor quality, impure concoction with little benefit. You want the particles of silver to be extremely small – just nanometres wide – in order to be absorbed and utilized effectively, and to not cause possible side effects. This ineffective way of making colloidal silver also typically makes ionic silver, which means the particles are charged. In true colloidal silver, the silver is in particles, not ions, making it less likely to go into body cells. The metals used to make colloidal metals need to be at least 99% pure and the water needs to be pure as well in order to ensure quality of the silver in the final colloidal. When you take very large quantities of ionic silver, such as a few cups every day, it can build up your skin cells, kidney, and liver, and although it does not typically cause harm, it can turn the cells a blue-purple tinge, a condition called argyria. Make sure if you are buying silver it is from a reputable source that is using proper equipment and metal purities!
Of course, we recommend our own Colloidal Silver, from Earth MD. We use 99.3% pure metals, reverse osmosis water, and a good quality machine to make our amazing 20ppm Colloidal Silver, with small particle sizes and no ionization for maximum effectiveness!
www.earthmd.ca