As one that was very 'anti' health foods and all that 'hype' about cleansing, etc., I can add a bit from experience to this thread (and am glad to see it on this forum as it should get a more educational view than on many sites that do promote much of that hype!).
My wife (who is Russian, btw), is pretty big into healthy eating, natural healing and all that kind of stuff. In the early years of our marriage, we had many differences of opinion - though, after finally giving in and trying some of her ways, I have to say, my belief that "the doctor knows best" was horribly wrong (in most cases anyway!) and I'm now a strong advocate for healthy eating, food supplements and even 'cleansing'....
I don't remember the first time I tried some of the Russian 'fixes' for issues, but I do recall the first time I heard of it was when a coworker got really sick in Moscow and he passed out while in the shower. He said he came to about 20 minutes later (he guessed) and went to the doctor, barely walking. I went to see him about an hour after he got home (he looked near-death to me and he barely was able to tell me what happened) and there he showed me the 'prescription' - it was a small bottle of IRON bits - about 20 or so in the bottle. He said he was to take 5 (and ONLY 5 - as if that wasn't horrible enough and someone might want more!) of those tiny bits and put in a glass of water for several minutes until it turned brown (yes, RUST!), then drink it all down fast!
The idea behind this type of 'cure' is to "fight poison with poison" - forcing your body to cleanse itself. Well, he did it (didn't have much choice, there were no 'Western' doctors around - it may have been a good thing....) and we were all surprised to see him the next day, looking great, though slightly weak from all the throwing up he did......., but alive and looking much, much better than the day before!
Since that time, and after having a bout with some soldering fumes myself (heated something that made me sick, long before I was reading this forum, so have no idea what...) and then trying some charcoal 'drops' that my wife always kept around, which made me feel better long before I could even get to the doctor's office, I've been interested in healthier ways and more natural 'healing'.
Colloidal silver is one of the things I've studied very heavily as my wife was interested in importing a machine from Russia that makes the stuff at home - via a microprocessor controlled mechanism that fits on top of a 1 liter pitcher (so compact, simple to use and it doesn't create anything that could turn you blue....). In Russia, they have gone through extensive testing on this (and many natural things that are so simple to obtain by anyone that they can't be profitable nor patented, which is a primary reason the FDA in the US has never tested them - nobody will pay for testing something they can't get their money back from patenting and selling..... - well, that's another story....). In researching the FDA site for what it would take for us to import this and get approvals, etc., I found some very interesting tid-bits.
The following are some snip-its from
http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/default.htm I encourage you to read all the requirements yourself as in whole, it tells quite a story and I learned a lot about why foods, drugs and even water is labeled (at one time we thought about simply selling colloidal silver water as it was so cheap to manufacture with the machine, but in the end, we took a different route altogether and only use the machine ourselves).
For those that believe
1. The FDA is there to protect you (or perhaps it can be said another way as "if FDA approved, it is good, if not FDA approved, it is bad")
2. Colloidal silver is a possible threat to your health
I offer this tid-bit
Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement or dietary ingredient manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement or ingredient is safe before it is marketed. FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market.
The FDA has only taken action against colloidal silver products that make outrageous claims [see "Recently Issued Warning Letters" at the bottom of the referenced page for some examples, though colloidal silver may not be in any of the current warnings, depending on when you look], then considering #1 above is true, then it is safe to presume that such products are not considered "unsafe" by the FDA. (A further testament into the role of FDA on its protection of the public, testing of products, assuring proper labeling, etc. can be found in one, quite interesting, document
http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ucm328536.htm - I highly encourage your reading and noting just what IS being said [and all that isn't.....])
Here's another one that really shows the truth about colloidal silver turning you blue...
http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/Alerts/ucm184091.htm
In this letter, note that it says "The advisory points out that some patients may experience significant negative psychological or social consequences as a result of argyria." (yet, the topic of the letter was about "Dietary Supplements that Contain Silver", not the causes nor quantities needed to cause argyria), though they do go on to say "FDA also advises that, based on current scientific research, it is not possible for FDA to define a "safe" level of silver in dietary supplements or an exposure that will not result in argyria." - could that be because, as I stated above, nobody is willing to pay the outrageous fees required to test this as it is so simple to make at home (though, as many state in this thread, if you choose to do that, BE CAREFUL!)
and, further "However, the advisory informs consumers that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a chronic oral Reference Dose (RfD) of 5 micrograms (µg) of silver per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day (5 µg/kg/day) based on a review of 70 cases of argyria that were associated with oral, intranasal, or pharyngeal use of organic and colloidal silver compounds. As a matter of prudent public health policy, the advisory recommends keeping exposure below the RfD. "
which, basically states that even the FDA (and/or its advisers, etc...) say that a little colloidal silver each day WON'T HURT YOU. In fact, by these figures (and an average body weight of 80.7 kg per North American person
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_weight, that is a total "safe" amount of 0.0004035 grams of silver ingested per day.
The Russian machine we use has two settings - one for 'concentrate' (external use, easier to carry, etc.) at 10 ppm and one for 'drinking water' at 5 ppm, of which they recommend you drink one glass per day - approximately the same figures as the 'safe' figures stated above.
OK, so what about it actually helping you?
From personal experience, I've used it ever since the first time I tried it on cuts and it even helps soothe the skin on burns, too - and more... Until I moved to Ecuador (and my wife has the machine in storage while she's in Nepal, working with some monks on other natural healing stuff....), I'd drink it often, my wife would drink it everyday (and she is much smaller than that 80.7 kg figure) and we've never turned blue.....
Oh, someone asked what color the water should be if colloidal silver is done properly - the machine we have takes regular tap water and the result is clear, though ever so slightly 'shiny' if you can catch the light just right - i.e., you should see basically no difference because it is colloidal, not metallic or ionic, etc. (the manufacturer does recommend using distilled water, and for good reason as is stated in this thread, but we found the well water we use worked fine)
The Russians (and many other countries) have done a lot of research on this and have posted many 'healing' qualities of colloidal silver. You can (and should) do some research on these from many websites (and as many as possible that are not US based and/or selling the products) to get a good idea of what it can actually do. These facts are all too often twisted by sellers in their advertisements that state colloidal silver will do everything from helping your skin to heal quicker naturally (because of the bacteria thing mentioned in this thread) to an all out cure for cancer, Alzheimer's and more - which is something the FDA will send out caution letters on (and should!) - its these over zealous sellers that bring a bad name to many different products (we could mention some gold refining things here, but this is a thread about colloidal silver!)
As for silver being good to keep water safe, etc., here's the story that convinced me. Think about a long, long time ago when the sailors were crossing the seas - sometimes for months before setting foot on solid ground where there was fresh water. Just how did they keep the water they had onboard fresh enough to drink? They would either put it in a silver lined barrel or simply drop silver coins in the water! Of course, there are stories of them drinking a lot of rum, but they still had to have water!
Oh, and one more bit of recommended reading from the FDA site.... from
http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm191930.htm#responsible check out the bit that says "How can consumers inform themselves about safety and other issues related to dietary supplements?
It is important to be well informed about products before purchasing them. Because it is often difficult to know what information is reliable and what is questionable, consumers may first want to contact the manufacturer about the product they intend to purchase..." - now, doesn't that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside about how well the FDA is protecting you?
Again, I encourage everyone to read every word about how the FDA works and why/how/when/for whom the labels on what you buy to eat are placed. Once you read even the section on Food Supplements (where colloidal silver falls), I then suggest you take what you find and go to a market where such products are sold and see just exactly what you are buying - and why they are labeled as they are. You might even be surprised at what you find in your kitchen counters (we were, and promptly tossed out well over half of what we had in there once we found out just how "protected" we were!)
By the way, speaking of protection, I don't recommend you making a machine yourself unless you are well trained in building such equipment and/or you are planning to use the colloidal only externally for the occasional cut, etc. Home made machines will typically put out higher ppm silver, making it potentially an issue. One way to stay 'safe' with it, though, is to get a ppm meter and check the 'clean' water, then the 'colloidal' one - there should be no more than about 5 ppm difference and then it should be 'safe' enough to drink a glass a day (according to the readings and measurements above)
A final word on this - CHECK ALL THIS INFORMATION YOURSELF and always be safe with what you put in (or on - read the FDA section on sunblocks...!) your body!
