Probably
not. It’s generally not the content
of the silver solution they’re skeptical of, but instead, the safety and
effectiveness.
Nevertheless,
here are some ways to test your colloidal silver solutions. And some even better ways to help convince
skeptical friends or family members of the powerful healing, infection-fighting
and immune-boosting qualities of colloidal silver…
A
member of the Colloidal
Silver Secrets Community on Facebook recently posted the following question and comment:
“How can colloidal silver be
tested for content? Like all other
substance that don’t come from a pharmacy by way of a doctor, usage of
colloidal silver is a topic that brings up many questions, looks, smirks,
smiles, laughs, etc. I have used it for specific problems and have no
complaints whatsoever!”
My
answer: That's kind of like asking
"How can my Vitamin C be tested for content?" or "How can my
fish oil be tested for content?"
If
a person is already biased against using natural substances, and prefers
prescriptions drugs from a doctor, no amount of content testing of a natural substance like colloidal silver,
vitamin C or fish oil is going to convince them otherwise.
Of
course, testing the content of any
natural product -- including colloidal silver -- can be indeed done. But it
requires an experienced and licensed testing laboratory, and of course, plenty
of money. (But I’ll reveal a simple home
test you can do yourself, below…)
Atomic
Absorption Analysis and TEM Testing
The
gold standard laboratory test for determining the concentration (i.e., ppm) of
a batch of colloidal silver is a test called Atomic Absorption Analysis Mass
Flame Spectrometry (AAAMFS).
This
is about a $500-plus laboratory test conducted on a $50,000 to $100,000-plus
piece of lab equipment.
Another
lab test, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), can also be used to measure
the size of the silver particles, and get a good visual idea of the
concentration of silver particles in the solution.
TEM
is a $2,000 - $4,000 laboratory test (depending upon number of samples
submitted), conducted on a multi-million dollar microscope capable of
magnifications up to 175,000x.
This
astonishing level of magnification allows you to visually see – and photograph
-- the tiny, sub-microscopic silver particles in a colloidal silver solution.
For
example, at this link you can see
a photo-reproduction of a TEM slide demonstrating the tiny, sub-nanometer size
of the silver particles produced by the Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator from The
Silver Edge.
This
TEM slide shows the astonishing concentration of sub-nanometer sized silver
particles in just THREE DROPS from a micro-particle colloidal silver solution.
Atomic
Absorption Analysis Mass Flame Spectrometry (AAAMFS) and Transmission Electron
Microscopy (TEM) are the two main laboratory testing procedures most major
colloidal silver vendors use to determine the concentration (i.e., ppm) and
particle size of the colloidal silver products they manufacture. There are other equally sophisticated pieces
of lab equipment that can be used for testing colloidal silver, but those are
the two main ones, and the results are considered so accurate they are accepted
in a court of law.
TDS Meters,
PPM and Colloidal Silver Quality
A
lot of people who make their own colloidal
silver try
to use those little $49 TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)
meters to measure the “ppm” or concentration of their colloidal silver batches.
Generally,
they’re operating under the mistaken impression that the “ppm” of a colloidal
silver solution determines its quality.
Quite the contrary, all the “ppm” tells you is the total weight of silver
(i.e., concentration) in a given solution.
As
explained in my article "Why Higher PPM Is Not Always Better," you
can have a colloidal silver solution with 500 ppm, and another with 20 ppm, and
the 20 ppm solution could easily outperform the supposedly stronger 500 ppm
solution.
That's
because stronger concentrations of colloidal silver (i.e., ppm) almost always
contain excessively large silver particles which the body treats as if you'd
eaten dirt, i.e., it goes in one end and is expelled out the other without
being taken into the cells, tissues and organs where the pathogens like to hide
and colonize.
So
you can't base quality of a colloidal
silver solution solely on the "ppm" or concentration of a batch of
colloidal silver. Quality is almost always associated more strongly with particle size -- the smaller the silver
particles, the easier it is for the body to assimilate and utilize them,
sending them throughout the body into the cells, tissues and organs where they
can get at the colonies of pathogens.
This
is why, when you were young, your parents probably reminded you frequently to
"chew your food" when you were eating. The entire reason we have
teeth is so we can grind the nutrients out of the food we're eating, making
these nutrients far more accessible to the body once they enter the digestive
tract, and easier for the body to capture, assimilate and utilize, i.e.,
sending them into the cells, tissues and organs where they do the most good.
But
un-chewed food provides very little nutrition to the body. The tiny nutrients
are not released from un-chewed food, and it pretty much goes in one end and out
the other. Therefore those who make it a point to thoroughly chew their food before
swallowing it typically get far more life-giving nutrition into their body than
those who don’t.
This
is the same with colloidal silver: Ingesting solutions composed of overly large
silver particles will tend to go in one end and out the other, while solutions
composed of ultra-small silver particles (i.e., micro-particle silver, or as
it's now called, "nanoparticle" silver) are accepted by the body as
"nutrition," and carried throughout the body into the cells, tissues
and organs where needed.
Thus,
the particle size, far more than “ppm,”
is what makes for an effective, high-quality colloidal silver solution.
This
is why TheSilverEdge.com, distributors of the Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator, places far
more emphasis on the particle size of a batch of colloidal silver than on the
ppm.
And
it’s why you should always do
business with a company willing to post the results of their independent lab testing on their web site. This is true whether you’re looking to
purchase a colloidal silver generator to make your own colloidal silver, or whether you prefer to buy
commercial brands of colloidal silver.
While
ppm is a good thing to know, the particle size is far more important in terms of the ability of a colloidal silver
solution to produce healing results in the human body.
Why TDS
Meters Fall Short
That
brings me back to TDS meters. TDS stands
for “total dissolved solids.”
These
little devices work fairly well if you’re trying to measure the levels of typical
mineral substances found in tap water, aquarium water, a hydroponics system, a swimming
pool, or even a pond or lake.
Unfortunately,
TDS meters are notoriously inaccurate
for measuring the concentration of silver in a colloidal silver solution.
The
main problem with TDS meters is that they're specifically designed and
calibrated to measure the ppm (concentration) of dissolved solids such as sodium, potassium, phosphate, nitrate, alkaline,
calcium, sulfur and others.
These
are mineral substances that dissolve
upon exposure to liquid. And typically
they can be found in concentrations of many hundreds of ppm in water sources
such as ponds, lakes, streams, hydroponic gardens, aquariums, home tap water
etc
But
colloidal silver is not a dissolved
solid. Indeed, whether in the ionic form
or the metallic form, it’s a suspended
particulate. That’s quite another
animal altogether, with decidedly different qualities than a dissolved solid.
Simply
put, unlike dissolved solids such as salt, calcium etc., silver doesn’t dissolve in water. So trying to use a Total Dissolved Solids (i.e.,
TDS) meter to read a colloidal silver solution consisting of suspended particulates of silver puts
you at a decided disadvantage right from the get-go.
What’s
more, TDS meters are generally calibrated using a calibration solution that’s
composed of anywhere from 300 ppm to 1,000 ppm (or even higher) of dissolved
salt. Yet concentrations of typical
colloidal silver solutions are usually in the range of 10-20 ppm, and again,
are composed chiefly of suspended
particulates rather than dissolved solids such as salts.
It
gets even worse when you come to realize that only about 90% of the suspended silver
particles in a typical colloidal silver solution produce sufficient electrical
potential to register strongly on a TDS meter.
And of the 90% that can be
measured, the electrical potential is less than HALF the electrical potential
of the salt solution used to calibrate the TDS meter in the first place.
So
the more you examine the situation, the more the potential for significant
inaccuracy continues to pile up. Indeed,
all of this taken together can produce a minimum of a 50% or greater deviation in accuracy when using a TDS meter to measure
the “ppm” of a typical colloidal silver solution.
In
short, trying to use a TDS meter to measure a 10-20 ppm colloidal silver
solution is like trying to measure the weight of a sewing needle with a
bathroom scale. You might get a
reading. But it’s unlikely to be the
right one. It’s simply not designed to
do the job. It’s just not the right
tool.
(As
an aside, one colloidal silver generator manufacturer even has a video on his
web site showing the calibration solution he supplies with the TDS meters he
sells. It states right on the label that it’s a 1,382 ppm saline calibration
solution. Yet he openly admits his generator produces only a 10-20 ppm colloidal
silver solution. Do you see the problem here with the readings that will be
produced by a TDS meter calibrated to a 1,382 ppm solution of dissolved salt?)
In
actual matter of fact, no TDS meter was ever designed to measure a
colloidal silver solution. And not one reputable manufacturer of TDS
meters sell, market or advertise their product as being able to measure colloidal
silver.
Only
unscrupulous colloidal silver vendors and self-appointed YouTube colloidal
silver “gurus” on the internet (who sell these little TDS meters for $49 to $69
a pop, usually after buying them in bulk from Thailand for $7 to $10 apiece)
claim they’re accurate for measuring colloidal silver.
The
bottom line is that a TDS meter is specifically designed to measure the level
of total dissolved solids in a liquid solution by reacting
to the electrolytic conductivity in
the solution created by the dissolved solids.
The more dissolved solids in the water, the more electrolytic
conductivity can be measured.
But
colloidal silver, correctly made, should have as close to zero total
dissolved solids in the water as possible.
After all, you start with steam-distilled water, which should contain anywhere
from zero (best case scenario) to no more than 1 ppm dissolved solids.
And
the only thing added during the colloidal silver-making process is suspended silver particulates such as
silver ions, silver oxide or metallic silver. No dissolved solids.
So
a typical colloidal silver solution should, at the very most, contain 1 ppm total dissolved solids, preferably even
less. And the remaining 99% (or more) of
the colloidal silver solution should be composed of suspended silver
particulates. Yet the YouTube colloidal
silver “gurus” continue to sell total
dissolved solids meters to measure colloidal silver solutions composed of 99% suspended particulates of
silver.
Unbelievable,
I know. But it’s true.
Finally,
if you understand the fact that “ppm” is actually a measurement of the weight of a substance (such as silver) in
a liquid solution (see this link for an
eye-opening explanation of ppm), you can easily see another reason why TDS
meters can be so inaccurate – they don’t weigh
anything.
So
a TDS meter produces what can only be described at best as a very crude estimate of the ppm of a batch of
colloidal silver.
Even
the tech gurus at Hanna -- the most respected manufacturer of TDS meters in the
world -- will tell you their units are not designed for accurately measuring
the concentration of colloidal silver in a solution.
You
simply can't expect the kind of accuracy out of a $49 or $69 hand-held device
that you'll get out of a multi-million dollar piece of laboratory equipment
like a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) or a $50,000 to $100,000 piece of
lab equipment like an Atomic Absorption Analysis Mass Flame Spectrometer
(AAMFS).
Indeed,
if TDS meters were so accurate, why do laboratories invest hundreds of
thousands or even millions of dollars on high-tech measurement equipment like
AAMFS when instead they could spend $49 to $69 on one of these little meters
and throw one helluva party in Las Vegas with the rest of the money?
The
question pretty much answers itself. The
meters are clumsy “toys” compared to high-tech laboratory measurement
equipment.
Disclosure:
Although
I won’t sell TDS meters through my company due to the fact I think it’s
deceptive to promote them as “accurate” for measuring colloidal silver
solutions, I do nevertheless own three of them.
I
occasionally use my TDS meters to check the ppm of my steam-distilled water to
make sure it’s 1 ppm or less total dissolved solids, because I know that makes
the best quality colloidal silver.
And
sometimes I compare the readings of one batch of colloidal silver against
another batch if I’ve run the batches for different lengths of time. But I know
that’s just for comparison’s sake, and not an accurate measurement of the
actual ppm.
If it makes you feel better to have one of these little devices simply understand in advance that they can be up to 50% or more inaccurate, and that at best you’re getting only a crude estimate of the actual silver content in your colloidal silver batches. It’s better to deal with a company that shares their independent laboratory testing, so you know what you’re getting.
If it makes you feel better to have one of these little devices simply understand in advance that they can be up to 50% or more inaccurate, and that at best you’re getting only a crude estimate of the actual silver content in your colloidal silver batches. It’s better to deal with a company that shares their independent laboratory testing, so you know what you’re getting.
TDS
meters can inexpensively be purchased at many online resources. So don’t pay $69 or $79 to some “guru” (who’s
getting them from Thailand for $7 or $10 apiece), when you can find them with a
simple Google search for half that price, or sometimes even less.
Simple Laser
Light Test
Finally,
if you simply want to make sure there are silver particles in your solution
after you’ve made a batch of colloidal silver, you can perform a simple home laser
light test.
While
this test won’t give you a measurement of the ppm, or concentration, it allows
you to see visually that there are
indeed billions of tiny silver particles suspended in your colloidal silver
solution.
In
other words, it allows you to answer the oft-asked question, “How do I know
there are any silver particles in this solution?”
To
do this test, you'll need one of those little red laser pointer lights,
available through online sources for under $20 (or at your local Wal-Mart for
under $5). Here's how it works:
If
you pour about four or five ounces of colloidal silver into a clear drinking
glass, and then go into a dark closet and shine a red laser pointer light down
(from the top) into the solution (don't shine it into your eyes), you'll be
able to see a thin read beam of red light shining through the solution.
That's
because the red laser light reflects off of the tiny silver particles in the
solution. This is your evidence that you actually have billions of tiny
microscopic silver particles suspended by their electrical charge in the
solution.
Were
you to do the same thing with plain old distilled water, you'd see no red light shining through the water whatsoever,
because there is no mineral content in the plain distilled water for the red
laser light to reflect off of.
When
shining a red laser light into your colloidal silver solution, the light
shining through the solution will be very bright if the silver particles are
particularly large. That's because they have a larger reflective surface, and
therefore reflect more of the red laser light.
But
if the silver particles are particularly small, you'll see a thinner, much more
faint red light shining through the solution. That's because the smaller silver
particles have less reflective surface.
Either
way, you can shine the red laser light all through the solution, and the red
beam you'll see demonstrates the fact that the solution is literally teeming
with billions upon billions of tiny silver particles suspended in the solution
by their electrical charge.
If
you look closely at the red beam in the solution (again, never shine it into your eyes, as this can cause injury or
blindness), you might even see what appears to be movement of the tiny silver particles through the thin beam of red
light, as if the silver particles were “dancing” in and out of the red beam. You might even see occasional tiny “flashes”
in the red laser beam light.
Here’s
what’s happening:
Thanks
to the positive electrical charge on each silver particle in the solution,
these silver particles are in a constant state of motion referred to in science
as Brownian motion.
Similar
to the way a magnet will repel another magnet if you attempt to touch their like
polls together (i.e., positive to positive, or negative to negative), the
positive electrical charge on these billions and billions of silver particles
in a colloidal silver solution also cause them to repel one another sharply as
they come into close proximity with each other.
This
keeps all of the silver particles in the solution constantly moving, as if
every human being on the planet were to suddenly start dancing with each other
– no one touching each other, but nevertheless creating a bustling “hive” (so
to speak) of non-stop activity everywhere you look.
Only
in the case of a colloidal silver solution, it’s electro-magnetically propelled
activity.
What
you are seeing in the red laser light, if you look closely enough are hundreds
of thousands or even millions of sub-microscopic silver particles separated from
each other by their positive electrical charge, appearing to “dance” or even
“flash” through the red laser beam.
Convincing
Skeptical Friends and Family Members
So,
testing a colloidal silver solution for content can easily be done. But
convincing skeptical friends, family members etc., that this actually means anything to them is the hard part.
You
need something more than just hard
data. In that light, you might enjoy my
article from earlier this year, titled "Trials and Tribulations of Telling Friends and Family Members
About Colloidal Silver." If you’ve ever had a friend or family member give you that
smirk usually reserved for crazy uncles after you’ve tried to tell them about
colloidal silver, you’ll relate totally to this article.
You
might also find that referring skeptical friends and family members to the Colloidal Silver Success Stories
web site is
a far more effective way of helping educate them and allay their skepticism
toward colloidal silver.
On
this web site, literally dozens of
experienced colloidal silver users have written in with their personal
experiences in using colloidal silver for an astonishingly wide range of health
issues.
Oft
times, the easiest way to convince skeptics is to let them see for themselves what
multitudes of other people outside of their close circle of family members and
friends have to say.
Another
way to help allay the skepticism so frequently encountered when telling people
about the infection-fighting and immune-boosting properties of colloidal silver
is to refer them to the “What Experts Say About Colloidal
Silver”
page of TheSilverEdge.com web site.
This
web page has hundreds and hundreds of quotes on colloidal silver usage, safety,
efficacy and much more, from modern-day health and medical experts, as well as
quotes from the experts going back all of the way to the late 1800’s.
Again,
when even the most hardened skeptic gets to see for himself that colloidal
silver has been used successfully in health and medicine for over 110 years,
this can be very convincing evidence.
Finally,
the “Clinical
Studies and Reports on Colloidal Silver” page on TheSilverEdge.com web site
is also a treasure trove of solid clinical evidence demonstrating the safety
and effectiveness of colloidal silver.
This
web page contains over four dozen
clinical medical studies and “white paper” reports on colloidal silver’s
effectiveness, many from major medical universities and clinical research
facilities. (And I continue to add new
studies to this page as they come out.)
Being
able to show your skeptical friends and family members the actual clinical studies demonstrating the effectiveness of
colloidal silver often proves to be extremely helpful in convincing them to at
least give colloidal silver a fair shake before dismissing or denigrating it.
The Best Test
of All
The
best test of all for colloidal silver, of course, is using it.
No
matter how a particular colloidal silver product can be defined from a
laboratory perspective, it is only truly "good" if it effectively
supports or enhances the body's ability to kill infections, without causing
harm to the body itself.
Short
of that, it is a relatively worthless product no matter how many self-serving
laboratory parameters it is claimed to fit.
With
"good" colloidal silver properly defined as that which really works when you use it, the only
thing left for the consumer to decide is whether to make
"good" colloidal silver at home for pennies per quart with a
high-quality home colloidal silver generator, or to purchase
"good" colloidal silver from commercial vendors at prices ranging
from 500 to 1,000 times the cost of making your own.
With
a high-quality Micro-Particle
Colloidal Silver Generator from The Silver Edge, you can make a full quart (32 ounces) of high-quality
micro-particle colloidal silver for about thirty six cents.
Or, you can pay a commercial vendor up to $29
or more for a tiny four-ounce bottle of colloidal silver.
Let
common-sense be your guide. And until the next issue, I remain…
Yours for the
safe, sane and responsible use of
colloidal silver,
Helpful Links:
Important Note and
Disclaimer: The contents of this Ezine have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Information conveyed herein is from sources deemed to be accurate and
reliable, but no guarantee can be made in regards to the accuracy and
reliability thereof. The author, Steve
Barwick, is a natural health journalist with over 30 years of experience
writing professionally about natural health topics. He is not
a doctor. Therefore, nothing stated in
this Ezine should be construed as prescriptive in nature, nor is any part of
this Ezine meant to be considered a substitute for professional medical
advice. Nothing reported herein is
intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The author is simply reporting in
journalistic fashion what he has learned during the past 17 years of
journalistic research into colloidal silver and its usage. Therefore, the information and data presented
should be considered for informational purposes only, and approached with
caution. Readers should verify for
themselves, and to their own satisfaction, from other knowledgeable sources
such as their doctor, the accuracy and reliability of all reports, ideas,
conclusions, comments and opinions stated herein. All important health care decisions should be
made under the guidance and direction of a legitimate, knowledgeable and
experienced health care professional.
Readers are solely responsible for their choices. The author and publisher disclaim responsibility
or liability for any loss or hardship that may be incurred as a result of the
use or application of any information included in this Ezine.
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