The medical world has long accepted silver’s antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, but is it safe to ingest?
As part of staying healthy, many people turn to alternative holistic medicine and natural remedies instead of traditional medicine. It makes sense. Back in the day, before medicine was created in laboratories, people had to rely on what nature provided to treat illness and enhance health. And it wasn’t always elements that were traditionally viewed as edible that ended up in medicine. Precious metals, specifically silver, have been used since “BC” times to control disease and heal wounds. Over the ages, the use of colloidal silver products as natural remedies has waxed and waned but has enjoyed a renewed interest in the 21st Century.
A suspension of minute silver particles in liquid, colloidal minerals are touted to be a wholesome addition to health regimens and effective for treating everything from acne to tuberculosis and even HIV. Still, it’s only natural to wonder whether it’s worth it or necessary to take colloidal silver products.
The Claims
Colloidal silver products are used to treat all manner of infection, internal and external and including HIV.
Web MD lists a number of diseases and health conditions colloidal silver is supposed to be effective for including
- Lyme disease
- rosacea
- chronic fatigue syndrome
- cold and flu prevention
- stomach ulcers
- food poisoning
Though the medical community has accepted silver’s antibacterial and antimicrobial properties since the time of Hippocrates, the Web MD site still claims that evidence of the effectiveness of ingesting colloidal silver is lacking. However, the University of Cambridge posted the results of research trials conducted in Africa on human subjects, showing conditions such as eye and ear infections, yeast infections, sinus infections, and urinary tract infections clearing up within a week or less when the subjects were on a colloidal silver regimen.
The Conflict
The Colloidal Silver Research Trials notwithstanding, mainstream medicine is trés reluctant to recommend colloidal silver products as dietary supplements. At the very least, the experts point out that silver is not a required mineral for human nutrition, so the argument is that it isn’t necessary to ingest colloidal silver to maintain or improve health. The dispute escalates from there, however, as authoritative resources such as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health warns that colloidal silver can cause side effects such as permanent discoloration of the skin, and can build up in organ tissue which they suggest can interfere with nutrition absorption and possibly the absorption of some drugs.
Not All Cut and Dried
Research has shown that silver increases the effectiveness of antibiotics by inhibiting bacterial resistance.
Not all science is taking the “con” side of the silver argument. A 2013 Scientific American article reported that research had found silver to be the answer to the problem of antibiotic resistance, increasing the effectiveness of antibiotics by thousands of times. Additionally, the Silver Safety Council has developed a calculation to determine how much colloidal silver can safely be taken, and the Council’s website even offers three different calculators that do the math for you. The site stresses that it’s only when excessive amounts of silver are ingested that the dangerous side effects occur. Just another reminder to make moderation your mantra in everything.
Colloidal Silver for Weight Loss? What?
It’s a roundabout conclusion that makes the assumption of colloidal silver’s effectiveness on intestinal bacteria, but some have experienced weight loss when on a colloidal silver regimen.
It may be a stretch, especially considering that there still isn’t sufficient research that shows the benefits of colloidal silver products for digestive flora, but some people have claimed sudden, effortless weight loss after starting a safe regimen of colloidal silver. The explanation assumes the supplement’s effectiveness in aiding digestion by killing the “wrong” kind of bacteria in the digestive tract and looks to science for support.
According to Scientific American, research has shown that intestinal bacteria influences how a person stores fat, how blood glucose is balanced, and even how hungry or full a person feels. People who credit colloidal silver products with weight loss could very well have altered their lifestyles and/or diets right about the time they started with the supplements, so research should be done to confirm or disprove the role colloidal silver plays in weight loss. However, if reasonable amounts of colloidal silver are safe and could boost your immune system as well as help you lose weight, there’s no harm in giving it a shot.