New to silver? Is it safe?
- From: "brent" <borgersbrent@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 22 Jul 2005 10:02:30 -0700
The FDA states it is not proven safe while entire countries purify and
disinfect the water supply.
Could entire countries be poisening their citizens? Seams like some on
this group believe they are.
Exaggerated commercial health claims for colloidal silver use against
serious medical conditions and OTC or self-treatment without adequate
supervision or well-informed protocols, adds legitimacy to
regulator's concerns, yet much misinformation about colloidal silver
toxicity has its genesis in the protectionist pharma-cartel and its
bought and / or ideologically biased lap-dog regulatory agencies. As an
example, consider this paradox, forced upon the Australian Therapeutic
Goods Administration when it recently attempted to regulate colloidal
silver as a medicine because of "significant toxicity and no
legitimate uses" but had to amend its own illogical legislation so as
to effectively exempt colloidal silver provided it is sold for use in
the "purification or treatment of drinking water without therapeutic
claims" (Commonwealth of Australia, Special Gazette No S 486, 20
December 2002). The obvious absurdity is that a substance cannot be
toxic and useless only when sold with therapeutic claims, yet safe and
efficacious if added to drinking water at the same approved
concentrations, in this instance, over an entire lifetime.
Some foods accumulate silver, eg mushrooms may boost silver consumption
up to between 200 to 300ppm per day. Approximately 10% of
orally-ingested silver enters systemic circulation and of that, up to
98% is gathered up by metallothioneins, which transport, store and
detoxify essential and nonessential trace metals (Silver, The Healthful
Metal, Silver Institute, Wash, December 31, 1999). Argyria, a
bluish-grey discoloration of the skin, although not aesthetic, is
extremely rare, is "non-pathogenic" / "medically benign" and a
daily ingestion dose of 1-30gram would be required to induce the
condition (Fowler B, Nordberg G, "Silver", in Handbook on the
Toxicology of Metals, Friberg L et al, eds. Elsevier Sci Pub, Vol 2,
521-31, 1986); (US EPA, Integrated Risk Information System:
'Silver', 1998). Approximately 3.5gram daily over an entire
lifetime will be required to cause argyria, according to a year 2000
estimate by international trace mineral expert, Prof Alexander Schauss,
PhD, Director of Life Sciences at John Hopkins University, in response
to FDA proposals, which is 10,000 times that advocated.
Ionic/atomic silver is an effective antimicrobial at concentrations
astronomical orders of magnitude below what is harmful to higher life
forms. Concentrations necessary to sterilise drinking water (or by
extension, body fluids - we are 70% water) contaminated with
pathogens are 40-200 gamma / .04-.2ppm (1ppm = 1000 gamma) (Thomson N,
Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, Pergamon, NY, 1973). Most colloidal
silver available in South Africa is generated by a water purification
device from the Gaia Research Institute, producing 1ppm of silver (and
possibly a suggested microbicidal synergism with 5-15 drops of hydrogen
peroxide). One teaspoon (5ml) of 1ppm colloidal silver in a glass
(250ml) of water equals 20ppb. Since drinking water guidelines relate
to lifetime exposure for the most susceptible sub-groups, calculated at
2 litres a day over an entire lifetime, one could safely consume 8
glasses each with 5 teaspoons (25 ml) of 1 ppm of colloidal silver
every day without risk of argyria, the only and purely hypothetical
risk to users. Most commonly used is a mere teaspoon in a glass of
water 3 or 4 times daily.
Colloidal Silver and hydrogen peroxide, especially in combination,
exhibit significant microbial inactivation at concentrations that pose
no health risk according to the EEC, WHO and US EPA. Several countries,
including Switzerland, Germany and Australia have given approval for
the use of colloidal silver and hydrogen peroxide as a drinking water
disinfectant. The EEC and Israel Ministry of Health have specifically
approved the use of colloidal silver as a drinking water disinfectant
at an MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) of 80ppb (Pedahzur, R et al,
Water Sci Technol, 31(5-6), 1995). Widespread use might result in
potential for uptake of silver ions by humans, but research suggests
that: "risks are minimal under all likely scenarios" (Final Report:
Evaluation of the Efficacy of a New Secondary Disinfectant Formulation
Using Hydrogen Peroxide and Silver. US EPA NNCER, Dec 3, 2001).
The USA EPA has declared that "silver does not cause adverse health
effects" and set a MCL at 100 ppb for all drinking water. Recently an
EU Drinking Water Standard proposed removing any upper limit for silver
in drinking water, following the WHO's Guidelines for Drinking Water
Quality, which states that: "it is not necessary to recommend any
health-based guidelines for silver as it is not hazardous to human
health" ("Silver Water Purification Systems Offer Reliable Alternative
to Chlorine", The Silver Institute, Wash, March 25, 1997). The World
Health Organisation still advocates 100ppb levels of silver for
drinking water (Pelkonen K et al, Toxicology, 186(1-2), 2003). I shall
resist arguing for the efficacy of colloidal silver against bacteria,
viruses, spore-forming organisms, yeasts and mould fungi, since this
should be beyond dispute. As mentioned previously, we are comprised of
75% water. By restoring and maintaining the integrity of that water, we
restore and maintain the integrity of the body by freeing it of
pathogens. Herein lies the paradox of philosophically diametrically
opposed public health authorities both praising and demonizing the same
substance. I shall leave it to the now informed reader to decide either
way.
Stuart Thomson
Director, Gaia Research Institute, Knysna.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- silver is safe,and effective
- From: 7man12
- Re: New to brent? he lies about silver/silver is NOT safe?
- From: lisasawitch
- silver is safe,and effective
- Prev by Date: Re: Kathleen ANSWER THE QUESTIONS!!! Time for TRUTH!
- Next by Date: Re: Interstitial Cystitis!!
- Previous by thread: *pubmed* - a poem!!
- Next by thread: Re: New to brent? he lies about silver/silver is NOT safe?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
