People Using 10% of Their Brain - and other complaints

[daal]

[DrStraw]

Lots of garlic, ginger tea and liposomal vitamin C and a generous dose of colloidal silver. That is all the medicine which is needed at the first sign of a cold. No one in our family has had a bad cold in many year because of this regimen and between us we have only required a single course of antibiotics in all that time.

I'd strongly recommend against taking colloidal silver particularly, unless you like the idea of having argyria.

It takes way more than is consumed in order to cause that. Small does are okay for a healthy body.

[HermanHiddema]

Do not take colloidal silver, it is quackery. It has no know medical benefits but does carry risks.

Since about 1990, there has been a resurgence of the promotion of colloidal silver as a dietary supplement, or homeopathic remedy, marketed with claims of it being an essential mineral supplement, or that it can prevent or treat numerous diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, herpes, and tuberculosis. No medical evidence supports the effectiveness of colloidal silver for any of these claimed indications. Silver is not an essential mineral in humans; there is no dietary requirement for silver, and no such thing as a silver "deficiency". There is no evidence that colloidal silver treats or prevents any medical condition, and it can cause serious and potentially irreversible side effects such as argyria. In August 1999, the U.S. FDA banned colloidal silver sellers from claiming any therapeutic or preventive value for the product, although silver-containing products continue to be promoted as dietary supplements in the U.S. under the looser regulatory standards applied to supplements. The FDA has issued numerous Warning Letters to Internet sites that have continued to promote colloidal silver as an antibiotic or for other medical purposes. Despite the efforts of the FDA, silver products remain widely available on the market today. A review of websites promoting nasal sprays containing colloidal silver suggested that information about silver-containing nasal sprays on the internet is misleading and inaccurate.

In 2002, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) found there were no legitimate medical uses for colloidal silver and no evidence to support its marketing claims. The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) warns that marketing claims about colloidal silver are scientifically unsupported, that the silver content of marketed supplements varies widely, and that colloidal silver products can have serious side effects such as argyria.

In 2009, the USFDA issued a "Consumer Advisory" warning about the potential adverse effects of colloidal silver, and said that "...there are no legally marketed prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs containing silver that are taken by mouth." Quackwatch states that colloidal silver dietary supplements have not been found safe or effective for the treatment of any condition. Consumer Reports lists colloidal silver as a "supplement to avoid", describing it as "likely unsafe". The Los Angeles Times stated that "colloidal silver as a cure-all is a fraud with a long history, with quacks claiming it could cure cancer, AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes and numerous other diseases."

[DrStraw]

Herman, that quote from Wikipedia goes a long way to confirming that colloidal silver is good for you. Why else would the very people who stand to lose financially by its us be so adamantly opposed to it? Plus, Wikiepedia is not exactly know for the accuracy of its information.

[judicata]

Sorry, but I can't resist:



XKCD rollover text: What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!

[Knotwilg]

Herman, that quote from Wikipedia goes a long way to confirming that colloidal silver is good for you. Why else would the very people who stand to lose financially by its us be so adamantly opposed to it? Plus, Wikiepedia is not exactly know for the accuracy of its information.

- A financial interest is no conclusive argument for truthfulness. Financial interest is a feature of both classical and homeopathic treatment. Where they differ is the scientific support.
- Wikipedia is actually very accurate about subjects with a critical mass of sufficiently knowledgeable contributors. There are two areas where Wikipedia can err: a subject which is only of interest to a few people and where ardent stupidity wins against specialism; and a subject of no interest, like low level football players

If Wikipedia errs on subjects bordering homeopathy, it is likely that the scientific knowledgeable finally give in to the naive. Fortunately, there are enough skeptics who have made it a personal goal to drive out the ever lasting belief in homeopathy. There are two misconceptions about such skeptics:
- they are not supported by farmaceutical companies
- they don't deny the placebo effect; most of them will agree that drinking pure water may do wonders for diseases that have no trivial cause and are relatively harmless when untreated

[Monadology]

Herman, that quote from Wikipedia goes a long way to confirming that colloidal silver is good for you. Why else would the very people who stand to lose financially by its us be so adamantly opposed to it? Plus, Wikiepedia is not exactly know for the accuracy of its information.

What, so you think that if colloidal silver was effective, 'big pharma' wouldn't be mass producing it, advertising it and distributing it beyond the capabilities of any alternative vendor? If 'big pharma' so big, how does it make any sense that they would feel at all financially threatened by the possibility that colloidal silver is a viable treatment option?

And as Knotwilg points out, those touting colloidal silver are also very much financially invested in the issue of whether it works or not.

[DrStraw]

What, so you think that if colloidal silver was effective, 'big pharma' wouldn't be mass producing it, advertising it and distributing it beyond the capabilities of any alternative vendor? If 'big pharma' so big, how does it make any sense that they would feel at all financially threatened by the possibility that colloidal silver is a viable treatment option?

And as Knotwilg points out, those touting colloidal silver are also very much financially invested in the issue of whether it works or not.

Nonsense. There is no money in it at all. I make my own and it costs nothing. I could make around 20,000 gallons from one ounce of silver.

[drmwc]

These arguments always remind me that you can prove anything with facts....

[Bantari]

What, so you think that if colloidal silver was effective, 'big pharma' wouldn't be mass producing it, advertising it and distributing it beyond the capabilities of any alternative vendor? If 'big pharma' so big, how does it make any sense that they would feel at all financially threatened by the possibility that colloidal silver is a viable treatment option?

And as Knotwilg points out, those touting colloidal silver are also very much financially invested in the issue of whether it works or not.

Nonsense. There is no money in it at all. I make my own and it costs nothing. I could make around 20,000 gallons from one ounce of silver.

Don't underestimate american ingenuity and commercialism. If it was in a drug-store, properly labelled and advertised, people would buy it, not problem. And if if was priced high, people would buy even more. At some convenient moment I suspect that a law would be passed that home-made colloidal silver is "not safe" and should not be used in any circumstances. Only the properly "sanctioned" stuff is safe. And the country would rejoice in the knowledge that they are safe, well protected, and taken care of by the faceless committees working on behalf of big pharma and their lobbyists. And everybody would be going to a proper drug-store, dishing big bucks for the proper medicine. Except, of course, for the few smart ones who would get mad they don't have a piece of the pie and start plotting to overthrow the system... or at least get in on the gig.

Has happened before, will happen again.

[Monadology]

What, so you think that if colloidal silver was effective, 'big pharma' wouldn't be mass producing it, advertising it and distributing it beyond the capabilities of any alternative vendor? If 'big pharma' so big, how does it make any sense that they would feel at all financially threatened by the possibility that colloidal silver is a viable treatment option?

And as Knotwilg points out, those touting colloidal silver are also very much financially invested in the issue of whether it works or not.

Nonsense. There is no money in it at all. I make my own and it costs nothing. I could make around 20,000 gallons from one ounce of silver.

I did not know it was so easy to self-manufacture, but if there's no money in it at all it's surprising that you can buy it online for $15 (http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-exec ... fgodz4AAUg) or in some forms $50 (http://www.naturalhealthyconcepts.com/s ... fgodaL0A3g).

[Uberdude]

I can buy 20 paracetamol (acetaminophen) tablets for about 40p. So the argument mainstream medicine / big pharma only deal in expensive medicines doesn't ring true.

(Not that I'm saying the profit motive isn't an issue in which diseases/treatments get research/focus/funding. But I think we can forgive Bill Gates for Clippy with his work now fighting third world diseases.)

[DrStraw]

I did not know it was so easy to self-manufacture, but if there's no money in it at all it's surprising that you can buy it online for $15 (http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-exec ... fgodz4AAUg) or in some forms $50 (http://www.naturalhealthyconcepts.com/s ... fgodaL0A3g).

Three 9-volt batteries, two alligator clips, two 99.99% pure silver rounds, and a gallon of distilled water. There are videos on Youtube to show you how, some better than others. A PPM tester is also a good idea but I already had one of those.

[HermanHiddema]

Warning: Do not buy colloidal silver, it is a scam. Do not make you own colloidal silver, it has no medicinal properties. Do not consume colloidal silver, you are poisoning yourself.

[DrStraw]

Warning: Do not buy colloidal silver, it is a scam. Do not make you own colloidal silver, it has no medicinal properties. Do not consume colloidal silver, you are poisoning yourself.

Warning: Do not listen to allopaths for chronic conditions, they are a scam. Do not take allopathic drugs for chronic illnesses, they have no value. Do not consume pharmaceutical drugs, you are poisoning yourself.

Allopaths are good only for acute things like broken legs and short term solutions.

Instead, live a healthy lifestyle, eat well to boost your immune system, prevent problems instead of treating them after they occur. Also, don't support any organization which claims to be doing medical research to find a cure for various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, etc. They are nothing more than self-perpetuating businesses. They never try to encourage prevention, because there is no money in that, but only look for expensive new drugs to treat (not cure) existing conditions.