Wednesday 12 March 2008

Crazy EU rules!

We've been making and selling CS for about five years now, I got interested in it when my mum died from C Dif, she went into hospital for a hip replacement, and died five months later, never having left the ward.

So I search the web for MRSA (which is what they told me it was that killed her, I only knew it was C Dif when I saw her death certificate) anyhow, having searched I found references to CS, looked more and realized I needed to know everything about this 'wonder' substance, and soon found out that I could make it at home, so I did, with a standard five 9volt battery set and some wire.

This carried on for a while, but (like everyone) I forgot to make the CS regularly, life got in the way, and so I only made it when I got sick! - dumb!! - we need to use it all the time to stay healthy, or at least defeat viral problems earlier and faster!

Soon friends started asking me for some, so (being an obliging person) I spent my evenings making free CS for friends and neighbors.

Soone enough I realised that I needed to make more, easier, so I looked for a gennie to make it faster, eventuially buying a pro version from Trem Williams at Silvergen (who's a gentleman and a scholar, really nice guy!) - Now I was able to make 20 liters a day, soooo.........

I started offering it to shops, and now five years later I still supply health shops and thought, OK let's make it a bigger operation.

When I first started selling I asked my gestor (Spanish accountant, we live in Spain) to register me, and after about twenty minutes he decided to register me as a 'mineral water' manufacturer and distributor, which I have worked under to date. However now, when Spain is much more EU observant, I found out that I needed a 'sanitary register number' - so, in true expat fashion I asked a specialist gestor to get one. He comes back with a list of requirements that will cost a fortune to install, however the main problem is this:

YOU CANNOT SELL WATER IN THE EU AREA THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN CHLORINE!

Now you may not see the problem, but it's this; if I add chlorine to my CS, it turns it from a perfectly harmless product into a totally dangerous one!

So, I must now relabel my products to read:

This product is for topical use only, and is deemed not suitable for human consumption.

By law all water sold in the E.U. region is required to have chlorine added to it before it can be classified as fit for consumption by humans. Colloidal Silver is made with pure distilled water with nothing added other than minuscule particles of pure .999% silver, created with electrostatic charge, at a strength of between 10-15ppm (parts per million). Adding Chlorine would make it unsafe to consume, as the chemical process that would occur between silver and chlorine is unacceptable, therefore this product may only be sold for topical usage.
If in doubt, or if you have queries regarding the usage of this product, please consult a professional health care provider before using.


That makes sense doesn't it!

Political agendas pervade the world of alternative health, and the biggest voice in health is BigPharma, who seek to control everything that can be used for health care. The argument is to ensure that the public can ONLY access what they sell. Colloidal silver is a natural thing, you can't get a patent over something which God created, so BigPharma can't actually make monopoly money from it as a product. Their average markup is 3000%, and there ain't no way to make that with Colloidal silver, it costs cents to make, but is sold at a markup which, when you account for bottling, labeling and delivery, is not sufficient for BigPharma to try and compete. No the fact is that BigPharma wants a captive market who have no alternative but to buy what they wish to sell them, at a price they determine.

To make matters even worse, the chemical compounds they sell will only treat the symptoms, not the cause of most modern complaints.

More later.....

Why use Colloidal Silver?

Colloidal Silver is the most usable form, of the most effective, disease, germ, virus and fungal killers known. It has been found to be both a remedy and a prevention for colds, flu, all infections and all fermentation due to any bacteria, fungus or virus, especially staph, and strep, which are often found in disease conditions. It has been shown to rapidly subdue inflammation and promote faster healing.

What is silver water or colloidal silver?

Colloidal Silver is a solution of extremely fine sub microscopic particles (.015 - .005 microns) of pure silver suspended in water by a positive electric charge on each particle. The particles remain suspended throughout the solution because these positive charged particles repel each other with a greater force than gravity can exert upon.

A powerful germicidal, silver is an exceptional metal in that it is non-toxic to the human body, but lethal to over 650 disease causing bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and molds; while conventional pharmaceutical antibiotics are typically effective against only 6 or 7 types of bacteria. Some new strains of bacteria classified as MDR (Multiple Drug Resistant) have proven to be resistant to all pharmaceutical antibiotics, but not to colloidal silver due to different germicidal mechanisms of deactivation.

How does colloidal silver work?

Richard Davies and Samuel Etris of The Silver Institute, in a 1996 monograph entitled The Development and Functions of Silver in Water Purification and Disease Control, discuss three mechanisms of deactivation that silver utilizes to incapacitate disease causing organisms. They are Catalytic Oxidation, Reaction with Cell Membranes, and Binding with the DNA of disease organisms to prevent unwinding. Catalytic Oxidation: Silver, in its atomic state, has the capacity to absorb oxygen and act as a catalyst to bring about oxidation. Atomic (nascent) oxygen absorbed onto the surface of silver ions in solution will readily react with the sulfhydryl (-S-H) groups surrounding the surface of bacteria or viruses to remove the hydrogen atoms (as water), causing the sulfur atoms to form an R-S-S-R bond; blocking respiration and causing the bacteria to expire. Employing a simple catalytic reduction/oxidation reaction, colloidal silver will react with any negative charge presented by the organism's transport or membrane proteins and deactivate them.

Reaction with Bacterial Cell Membranes:

There is evidence that silver ions attach to membrane surface radicals of bacteria, impairing cell respiration and blocking its energy transfer system. One explanation is based on the nature of enzyme construction: Specific enzymes are required for a given biochemical activity to take place. Enzyme molecules usually require a specific metallic atom as part of the molecular matrix in order to function. A metal of higher valance can replace a metal of lower valance in the enzyme complex, preventing the enzyme from functioning normally. Silver, with a valance of plus 2, can replace many metals with a lower, or equal valance that exhibit weaker atomic bonding properties.

Binding with DNA:

Studies by C.L. Fox and S.M. Modak with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a tenacious bacteria that is difficult to treat, demonstrated that as much as 12% of silver is taken up by the organism's DNA. While it remains unclear exactly how the silver binds to the DNA without destroying the hydrogen bonds holding the lattice together, it nevertheless prevents the DNA from unwinding, an essential step for cellular replication to occur.

How should one use colloidal silver?

Colloidal Silver may be taken orally or topically; applied directly to the skin. It can be used vaginally, anally, atomized or inhaled into the nose or lungs, and dropped into eyes. Liquid silver as well as new gel formulations, may be applied directly to the skin. A few drops on a Q-Tip or Band-Aid may be used to disinfect any wound or sore. Properly prepared, colloidal silver can also be injected into a muscle, a cancerous tumor, or into the bloodstream.

Dosage:

A extremely conservative approach would be to start with 1 or 3 teaspoons once or twice a day, however colloidal silver is not a posionous substance like drugs are and. therefore dosage is not critical-even for children. For colds and flu symptoms, one or two tablespoons 3-6 times daily frequently will speed recovery. Some individuals have reported drinking as much as 500ml in the morning and another 500ml in the late afternoon to knock down a cold or flu on the first day that symptoms start showing up. They claim that they have been able to completely abort the cold or flu on the first day of symptoms. For mouth infections, frequently rinse the affected area for at least 6 minutes before swallowing. Overdosing should not be of concern, even if recommended doses are exceeded. If, after a few days of use, one experiences a de-toxification effect in the form of feeling sluggish or mild aches, increase water consumption to speed the elimination of toxins and taper back the silver dosage to match the rate of toxin elimination. It is safe for pregnant and nursing women and is known to aid the developing fetus in growth. It will not generate free radicals or interfere with enzyme activity. It has no reaction with other medications.

What diseases and/or conditions have been treated with Colloidal Silver?

All supposed successful treatments are anecdotal only, that is, there are plenty of people who have testified that taking colloidal silver has cured their ailments, however, in scientific terms there has never been any comprehensive double blind drugs trial run with colloidal silver that can PROVE to scientists or the medical establishment that colloidal silver actually was responsible for the cures claimed, therefore any claim is refuted by the relevant authorities and people making such claims are written ‘cease and desist’ letters threatening dire consequences unless they stop publishing those claims. It is for this reason that this advice sheet is produced anonymously, to avoid legal actions by the relevant authorities. However the following is a partial list of the more than 650 diseases that have been reported as having benefited greatly by the use of colloidal silver:

Acne Arthritis Athlete's Foot Toxemia Blood Poisoning Burns Cancer Parvovirus Conjunctivitis Dermatitis Diabetes Dysentry Excema Fibrositis Gastritis Gonorrhea Impetigo Keratitis Leprosy Lupus Pymphagitis Malaria Meningitis Neurasthenia Pleurisy Pheomonia Prostate Psoriasis Pruritis Ani Ophthalmia Ringworm Rheumatism Rhiritis Rosacea Scarlet Fever Seborrhea Septicemia Shingles Skin Cancer Staph Infection Herpes Virus Ulcers Strep Syphilis Tonsillitis Trenchfoot Tuberculosis Warts Whooping Cough Yeast Infections

Are there any dangers or side effects?

The Environmental Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports no toxicity listing for Colloidal Silver. Regular ingestion of colloidal silver can act as a second immune system by assisting the body in the war against invading micro-organisms. Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotic which destroy beneficial enzymes, colloidal silver leaves these tissue cell enzymes intact. Colloidal Silver, if used sensibly, is completely non-toxic and will not harm the immune system in any way. Critics of colloidal silver will often warn that regular consumption of colloidal silver might lead to Argyria, a bluish/ gray discoloration of the skin. Dr. Bob Beck debunks this statement as a scare tactic by pro pharmaceutical interests. Dr Beck has indicated that Argyria is caused by silver compounds, such as silver nitrate, silver sulfate, silver sulfadiazine, etc., and not micro particles of pure elemental silver. Apparently, silver colloids are mostly absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract, since colloidal silver does not seem to adversely affect friendly bacteria in the lower intestines. Silver can be toxic to nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, but is normally prevented from entering those areas by the blood-brain barrier. Silver has not demonstrated any evidence of carcinogenic activity. The body eliminates excess silver via the metallothiones. These ubiquitous proteins, first characterized in 1957, have the property of binding with heavy metals, such as silver, into metal-thiolate-cluster structures which aid in transportation, storage, and elimination of nonessential trace metals which enter the body.

How much research has been done on colloidal silver?

Silver has been used as a germicide for thousands of years. Ancient texts, including Pliny the Elder's great tome, Natural History, Book 23 (78 A.D.) discusses the extraordinary wound healing capacity of silver slag as an ingredient in plasters. The German obstetrician, Franz Crede, observed in 1884 that up to 79% of blind children in various orphanages and institutions were born to mothers who, at the time of the child's birth, had venereal disease. He found that a 1% solution of silver nitrate dropped into the eyes of newborns, reduced the incidence of VD caused blindness to less than 0.2%. In 1988, colloidal silver was tested at the UCLA Medical Laboratory.


The UCLA report stated that " The silver solutions were antibacterial for concentrations of 1 million organisms per ml of Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus [which in now resistant to Vancomycin, the strongest pharmaceutical antibiotic available] , Neisseria gonorrea, Gardnerella Vaginalis, Salmonella Typhi [responsible for salmonella food poisoning and Typhus], and other enteric pathogens; and fungicidal for Candida albicans [the common yeast infection, in vaginitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome], Candida globata, and M. Furfur." Dr Robert Becker, M.D., author of The Body Electric and Crosscurrents found that silver caused cells to dedifferentiate and re-differentiate in the process of regenerative healing. “What we had actually done was rediscovered the fact that silver killed bacteria, which had been known for centuries...when antibiotics were discovered, clinical uses for silver as an antibiotic were discarded." Becker said in a 1995 interview with Bio/Tech News. Dr Becker conducted extensive research into the healing properties of silver for many years at the Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. The experiments concluded that silver works on a wide range of bacteria, without any known side effects or damage to the cells of the body. Becker discovered that the silver was doing something more than just killing disease causing organisms: He said it was also causing major growth stimulation of injured tissues.

Dr. Becker concluded that the presence of the silver ions may help to regenerate tissue, eliminate old or cancerous cells, and other diseased or abnormal tissue conditions. Dr. Henry Crooks (author, Use of Colloids in Health Disease) found that silver in the colloidal state is highly germicidal, quite harmless to humans and absolutely non-toxic. From his bacteriological experiments with silver he concluded, "I know of no microbe that is not killed in laboratory experiments in six minutes."

Dr. Bjorn Nordenstrom, of the Larolinska Institute, Sweden, has successfully used silver as a component in his cancer treatments for many years. Dr. Leonard Keene Hirschberg, A. M., M. D. (John Hopkins) states, "Speaking generally, the colloidal metals are especially remarkable for their beneficial action in infective states."

Dr. Richard L. Davies, executive director of the Silver Institute, which monitors silver technology in 37 countries, reports: "In four years we've described 87 important new medical uses for silver. We're just beginning to see to what extent silver can relieve suffering."

Finally, Peter Lindemann reports in his 1997 article, Colloidal Silver, A Closer Look that a study conducted in part by the Institute of Microbiology in Rome, Italy and published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Dec. 1992), stated that "Pure electro-colloidal silver out- performed silver nitrate, silver chloride, and silver sulfadiazine as a broad spectrum germicide. For all classes of bacteria, fungus, and mold samples tested, pure electro-colloidal silver worked better, and at much lower concentrations. They concluded that any additives reduced the effectiveness of the pure silver ion; the silver salts being as much as 100 times less effective."

What is the FDA's standpoint on colloidal silver?

Since colloidal silver was in common use as an antibiotic prior to 1938 when the FDA was created, its use was grandfathered-in and not subject to FDA approval. Many promoters of colloidal silver had ballyhooed a 1991 letter authored by the FDA in which they said (at the time) that they would not attempt to control colloidal silver as long as its uses were confined to pre 1938 published protocols. However, the growing popularity of colloidal since 1991, has created pressure from threatened pharmaceutical interests to get the FDA to regulate the availability of colloidal silver.[Update: Feb 2001 the FDA now claims jurisdiction over the sale of colloidal silver and will not allow any "medical claims" be made in association with the sale of colloidal silver.]

As a result, today the FDA is attempting to subvert the grandfather clause and is seeking to gain approval status over the use and production of colloidal silver on the outrageous premise that since colloidal silver has proven to be such an effective broad spectrum germ fighter in its ability to cure new strains of bacteria (not in existence in 1938), that its use should be subject to their jurisdiction!

It's clear to anyone who examines the subject, that the FDA is a champion for the pharmaceutical industry and on their behalf attempts to suppress the use of cheap, non-patentable, natural, alternative therapies at every opportunity. Silver, after all, is merely a metal.

It's a harmless element of Nature.