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The news media has
been awash lately with stories about a brand new clinical study published in
the journal Science Translational Medicine, in June 2013, which concluded that antimicrobial
silver can be used to boost the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs against
drug-resistant bacteria by up to 1,000 times.
But is this actually “new”
information? Or is it old news?
I suppose it really doesn’t
matter, because it’s helping bring the infection-fighting qualities of colloidal
silver back into the public limelight again, and awakening the general public
to its powerful healing attributes. But
here’s the real scoop on the story you won’t get anywhere else…
Hi, Steve Barwick here, for www.TheSilverEdge.com...
In April I wrote an article
titled Colloidal Silver Boosts the
Effectiveness of Antibiotic Drugs, in which I covered all of the main
studies up to that point demonstrating that colloidal silver and other forms of
antimicrobial silver, when added to antibiotic drugs, tends to boost their
effectiveness many times over.
For example, I pointed out the 2006 study conducted at the
Department of Microbiology/Molecular Biology at Brigham-Young University, which
found that numerous antibiotic drugs that had previously lost their effectiveness
against drug-resistant pathogens suddenly regained their full effectiveness
when colloidal silver is used in conjunction with them.
What’s more, I pointed out another study
from the Andalusian Center for Molecular Biology & Regenerative Medicine in
Spain, which concluded:
“The
synergetic effect of silver nanoparticles with antibiotics has been studied combining
silver nanoparticles with different antibiotics including ampicillin,
kanamycin, erythromycin and chloramphenicol against gram positive and gram
negative bacteria. The antibacterial
activities of these antibiotics increase in the presence of silver
nanoparticles against gram positive and gram negative bacteria.”
And I pointed out the study
published in Academic Journals,
titled “Antibacterial Efficacy of Colloidal Silver Alone and In
Combination With Other Antibiotics on Isolates from Wound Infections,”
which concluded that “colloidal silver
had a significant additive effect on many antibiotics tested.”
Also, close to seven
years ago, on the Colloidal Silver Cures MRSA website, I pointed out another study titled
“Synthesis and Effect of Silver Nanoparticles
on the Antibacterial Activity of Different Antibiotics Against Staphylococcus
aureus and Escherichia coli.”
This study concluded that the effectiveness of antibiotics like penicillin G, amoxicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, and
vancomycin were all increased in the
presence antimicrobial silver.
On that same website I pointed out that since
the antibiotic drugs tested had previously lost their effectiveness against the
drug-resistant pathogens, these studies clearly demonstrate that the silver was the deciding factor in the
deaths of the deadly pathogens!
Critics of Adding Silver
to Antibiotics
I’ve also pointed out that there are critics of the idea of adding antimicrobial silver to antibiotic
drugs.
These critics claim that silver actually interferes with the absorption and
effectiveness of antibiotics.
Indeed, these critics
– including WebMD.com, MayoClinic.com, Livestrong.com and even Dr. Andrew Weil,
M.D. who must be going soft in his old age -- generally regurgitate the warning
from the FDA’s 2009 Consumer Advisory Bulletin, which states:
“…the use of silver-containing dietary supplements may interfere
with the body's absorption of some drugs, such as quinolone antibiotics
[ciprofloxacin (Cipro), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin],
tetracycline antibiotics, thyroxine, and penacillamine (Cuprimine).”
But in reality, there
appears to be no documented evidence whatsoever for this claim. At
least, the FDA can’t provide any.
In fact, when I filed a Freedom of Information Act
Request with the FDA, asking them to document their claims that ingesting
colloidal silver could interfere with the absorption of the stated antibiotic
drugs and other types of drugs, they had to admit they had no evidence whatsoever
for their claims!
Silver Back in the Limelight
Now, as you’ll see in just a moment, major news media from
around the world are reporting the results of the latest clinical study on silver’s
ability to dramatically boost the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs.
And they’re reporting it as if this study constituted brand “new”
information that’s rocking the medical establishment.
Truth be told, however, as I’ve pointed out above, the
medical establishment has long since been aware of the fact that colloidal
silver by itself is highly antimicrobial in nature, and that silver in any form tends to boost the
effectiveness of antibiotic drugs, often many
times over.
Love-Hate
Relationship
Before we take a quick look at what the worldwide news media
is saying about this new study on silver’s ability to boost the effectiveness
of antibiotics drugs, please keep in mind that the orthodox medical
establishment seems to have an ongoing “love-hate” relationship with
silver.
They love it,
because it works so darned well, and has so much infection-fighting potential,
particularly in its ability to boost the effectiveness of their expensive
antibiotic drugs which now largely fail to kill drug-resistant pathogens.
But they hate it, because
it’s a substance the average Joe has easy access to (in the form of colloidal silver), and doesn’t
generally need a doctor’s prescription in order to obtain and use.
So they’re hard-pressed to figure out a way to patent it,
monopolize it, and market it as a high-ticket drug item.
After all, when you and I can simply drive over to our local
health food store and pick up a bottle of colloidal silver for twenty bucks, or
make our own high-quality
colloidal silver for just pennies, who needs some over-priced new
silver-laced antibiotic drug from Big Pharma?
But now that the medical establishment is decidedly losing
the battle against antibiotic-resistant pathogens, this new study seems to
indicate that drug researchers are at least willing to take another good, long
look at silver.
Don’t Be Fooled
Don’t be fooled, however:
One of the lead researchers on the new study, Jim Collins, a
biomedical engineer at Boston University, has already stated that “…other researchers might now attempt to
find non-toxic compounds that mimic silver’s bacteria-weakening mechanisms.”
Indeed, in an interview with another news media outlet, he
stated, “We’re also encouraging people to
look at what features of silver caused the helpful effects, so they can look
for non-toxic versions.”
In other words, now that they’ve demonstrated how silver
boosts the effectiveness of the medical establishment’s failing antibiotic
drugs, they can start looking for other substances that “mimic silver’s
bacteria-weakening mechanisms” and have similar “helpful effects.”
So the likelihood is that they may still have no intention
whatsoever of incorporating antimicrobial silver into their failing antibiotic
drugs.
They may, in reality, be looking to find a chemically
synthesized substance they can patent, which would duplicate the ability of silver to boost the effectiveness of
antibiotic drugs.
What the News Media
is Saying
Nevertheless, the news media appears to be ecstatic about
the new study, which of course is good to see.
Here are a few quotes from the various news articles I’ve
seen so far:
From a news article
in prestigious Scientific American
(re-printed from the journal, Nature),
we learn that the study authors discovered that it’s the silver ion that helps increase the efficacy of
antibiotic drugs against drug-resistant bacteria, by breaking down the cell
wall of the bacteria to allow more of the antibiotic drug to penetrate.
This, of course, is nothing new. I’ve written about it years ago in this article, titled,
“Experts: It’s the Silver Ion That Gives
Colloidal Silver It’s Antimicrobial Power.”
Nevertheless, as stated in the Scientific American news article:
“Like
werewolves and vampires, bacteria have a weakness: silver.
The
precious metal has been used to fight infection for thousands of years —
Hippocrates first described its antimicrobial properties in 400 bc — but how it
works has been a mystery.
Now,
a team led by James Collins, a biomedical engineer at Boston University in
Massachusetts, has described how silver can disrupt bacteria, and shown that
the ancient treatment could help to deal with the thoroughly modern scourge of
antibiotic resistance.
…Collins
and his team found that silver — in the form of dissolved ions — attacks
bacterial cells in two main ways:
It
makes the cell membrane more permeable, and it interferes with the cell’s
metabolism, leading to the overproduction of reactive, and often toxic, oxygen
compounds.
Both
mechanisms could potentially be harnessed to make today’s antibiotics more
effective against resistant bacteria, Collins says.”
Of course, silver’s ability to break down bacterial cell
membranes and interfere with the bacteria’s metabolism is most definitely not a new discovery. It’s been known for decades, actually.
As reported in the 2008 study, Nanotechnology In Medicine
and Antibacterial Effect Of Silver Nanoparticles:
“Nanoparticles mainly
in the range of 1-10 nm attach to the surface of the cell membrane and
drastically disturb its proper function, like permeability and respiration.”
As Dr. Murray J. Height, Ph.D., and Chief Technology Officer
of the Silver Nanotechnology Working Group pointed out several years ago:
“All silver-based
antimicrobials act against bacteria through the action of silver ions. Silver ions interact with bacteria cells
through three mechanisms: 1.) Damage
cell membranes, 2.) Displace Ca2+ and Zn2+ ions, 3.) Interact with sulphur,
oxygen or nitrogen.”
And as pointed out in the medical textbook by silver
researcher Alan B. Lansdown, Silver in
Health Care: Antimicrobial Effects and
Safety in Use, published in 2010:
“The antimicrobial
action of silver or silver compounds is proportional to the bioactive
silver ion released and its availability to interact with bacterial or
fungal cell membranes.”
Finally, as I pointed out in my article “Experts: It’s the Silver Ion That Gives Colloidal
Silver Its Antimicrobial Power,” the Handbook
of Hospital Corps of the United States Navy stated way back in 1953:
“Silver compounds have a wide variety of uses as
caustics, astringents, antiseptics, and germicides. Their activity resides in
the silver ion, which is a protein precipitant [in that] it is toxic to
bacteria by precipitating the protein in the bacteria protoplasm.”
So while it’s good to see the media touting the findings of
this new study, it’s almost laughable to call much of the information derived
from the study “new.” It’s actually been
known since the 1950’s, and even before that.
Next, from an article
on FoxNews.com, carried by the Daily Mail
news website, we learn that the new study demonstrated “just a small amount of
silver” made pathogens up to 1,000 times
more sensitive to penicillin.
What’s more, the study demonstrated that silver actually
boosts the effectiveness of the antibiotic tetracycline against E. coli bacteria:
“A new study from Boston University
revealed that adding silver to antibiotics enhanced the drugs’ abilities to
fight off lethal infections in mice.
…Through their tests, the team
showed that just a small amount of silver made E. coli bacteria between 10 and
1,000 times more sensitive to commonly prescribed antibiotics, such as
penicillin.
…Most importantly, the
researchers showed that silver helped the antibiotic tetracycline fight a
previously resilient strain of E. coli.
This signified that the combination
of silver and antibiotics could be used to resensitize antibiotic-resistant
strains of bacteria.
‘Overall, what we show is that small
amounts of silver, non-toxic levels, can be used in conjunction with
commonly used antibiotics to treat persistent infection and to treat bio-film
based infections, which are problematic for medical implants,’ Collins said.’
Well, that’s quite fascinating, especially since the
antibiotic drug tetracycline, mentioned in the third-to-last paragraph of the
Fox News article excerpt above, is one that the FDA claims is inhibited by silver.
Of course, it would hardly seem that tetracycline could be
inhibited by silver, if silver increases this drug’s effectiveness against
drug-resistant strains of E. coli, as
the new study demonstrated.
Perhaps this is why the FDA could not produce any evidence
or documentation of their claims that silver inhibits the absorption of tetracycline,
when I asked
them for it.
According to an article
about the new study on NatureWorldNews.com, the researchers found even more
interesting information about silver’s abilities to kill the microbes:
The study also found that silver
increased the efficiency of Vancomycin, an antibiotic that isn't known to kill
gram positive bacteria…
… Interestingly, silver treated bacteria weren't able to
produce a biofilm and didn't turn dormant. Usually it takes several rounds of
antibiotics to kill bacteria that become dormant…
… Researchers even tested various doses of silver compounds
that could kill the bacteria.
They found that the amount of
silver required to make bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics would not cause
any harm to human tissues. Oral or injectable silver could be used in
humans, they said.
Amazingly, most critics of colloidal silver claim it can’t
possibly work when orally ingested.
This, of course, flies in the face of decade’s worth of successful oral
use of colloidal silver by literally millions of people worldwide.
But now we have top researchers from Boston University
claiming oral use of silver will not only work (in terms of boosting the
effectiveness of antibiotic drugs), but such small amounts are needed that it
“would not cause any harm to human tissues.”
What’s more, the researchers found that when silver is used,
the bacteria aren’t able to produce biofilms, which are like fortified colonies
the bacteria hide in to escape the lethality of antibiotic drugs.
This, too, of course, is not “new” information. It’s long been known that silver ions can
prevent or even destroy bacterial biofilms (see 2005 study here).
So while there is some new information one can glean from
the study, in reality much of what the researchers “discovered” has been known
for a long time.
One Thing Missing In
This Study
One thing you might have noticed in all of this hoopla, of
course, is that there’s been no mention whatsoever made of the fact that
numerous studies have demonstrated that colloidal silver can kill these
pathogenic microorganisms all by itself, without
the concurrent use antibiotic drugs!
See for example, this
study, and this
study, and this
study, and this
study, and this
study, and this
study and this
study and dozens of other clinical studies and reports at this link.
Indeed, the researchers in this new study appear to have
studiously avoided testing the antimicrobial silver by itself against the same pathogens they tested the silver and
antibiotic drug combinations against.
Why?
Could it be because the medical establishment fears that if
the general public becomes aware that antimicrobial silver is indeed this
effective against pathogenic microorganisms, they’ll flee from the use of potentially
toxic antibiotic drugs altogether and embrace colloidal silver in its
place, costing Big Pharma billions of dollars in annual profits?
What the Experts Say
About Colloidal Silver
As Dr. Joseph
Weissman, M.D. board certified immunologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at
the University of California Medical School has stated:
"Today,
many antibiotics are losing the battle with germs.
Fortunately,
the best germ killer, which was discovered over 2,000 years ago, is finally
getting the proper attention from medical science - natural silver.
I
sincerely recommend that everyone have electrically generated colloidal silver
in their home as an antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal agent."
And as Harvard-educated Dr. Jonathan Wright, M.D. has
stated:
“Colloidal
silver just might be the next germ-fighting wonder drug. And not just for the
serious threats making headlines: It's also effective against bacterial
infections like strep throat, viruses like the flu, and fungal infections like
Candida.
No
matter how much a germ mutates, it can't change enough to escape the damaging
effects of colloidal silver.
And
in the process, the silver doesn't harm human tissue or kill off the good
bacteria in the intestine the way antibiotics and other medications do."
And as author Zane Baranowski, CN, has stated:
"Silver
is one of the most universal antibiotic substances. When administered in the
colloidal form, it is for all practical purposes non-toxic.
Silver
has been proven to be effective against hundreds of infectious conditions.
It
has tremendous anti-microbial power; the history of safe and successful
colloidal silver use is extensive, and the number of current health
professionals and individuals that successfully utilize colloidal silver to
reduce the length and severity of infectious disorders is growing
exponentially."
And as Dr. Nenah Sylver, Ph.D has so astutely pointed out:
“Companies
that sell colloidal silver or the equipment to make it are forbidden by the FDA
to tell their customers about colloidal silver’s healing properties.
Interestingly,
this has not stopped major pharmaceutical companies from producing other silver
products that are approved for medical purposes.
These
products include silver gels, for cuts, burns and wounds (silver sulfadiazine
cream, a compound, is extensively used); silver coated bandages, widely and
successfully used in hospital burn units; and various silver compounds, for
other purposes.
The
existence of these products makes it difficult for government agencies to deny
the health benefits of silver any longer."
And as Dr. Ron Leavitt, Ph.D., of the Department of
Microbiology at Brigham Young University has stated:
"The
data suggests that with the low toxicity associated with colloidal silver, in
general, and the broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity of this colloidal
silver preparation, this preparation may be effectively used as an alternative
to antibiotics."
And as best-selling author Dr. James Balch, M.D. has stated
in his book, Prescription For Nutritional
Healing:
"Topically, colloidal silver can be used to fight fungal infections of the skin or nails and to promote the healing of burns, wounds, cuts, rashes, and sunburn.
It
can be used on toothaches and mouth sores, as eye drops, and as a gargle to
fight tooth decay and bad breath.
It
can also be used as sterilizer and can even be sprayed on air-conditioning
filters and air ducts and vents to prevent germs from growing."
And as Byron J. Richards, CCN (Board Certified Clinical
Nutritionist) and author of Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA’s Betrayal of America, has
stated:
"Colloidal
silver is the product the FDA and many mainstream medical people love to hate.
…Their
worst nightmare is people taking colloidal silver to combat the H1N1 swine flu
– the nightmare for them is that it might actually work.
…The high efficacy in the use of silver to kill bacteria and fungus is not in question by anyone. This does not mean it kills every type of bacteria or fungus. And in the ones it does kill it does not mean it kills all of them.
…The high efficacy in the use of silver to kill bacteria and fungus is not in question by anyone. This does not mean it kills every type of bacteria or fungus. And in the ones it does kill it does not mean it kills all of them.
It
simply means that the antibiotic properties of silver are quite potent – and
the risk to human health in terms of toxicity is negligible. This is a far better
risk/benefit profile than commonly used antibiotics."
Do YOU Have Access to Colloidal Silver?
The easiest and very best way to guarantee yourself life-long
access to high-quality colloidal silver is to learn how to make it yourself,
quickly and easily, in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
Fortunately, it is not only amazingly
easy to make high-quality colloidal silver, but it’s also remarkably inexpensive to make,
particularly compared to the exorbitant prices charged by health food stores
and online vendors.
So be sure to check out the two links directly above and
learn all you can about making your own high-quality micro-particle colloidal
silver with a Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator from The Silver Edge –
the world’s #1 best-selling colloidal silver generator for over 10 years
running!
And if you’d like to learn even more about making and using
colloidal silver, check out the short videos at this link.
Meanwhile, I’ll be back next week with another great article
on colloidal silver…
Yours for the safe, sane and responsible
use of colloidal silver,
Steve Barwick, author
The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual
The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual
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 and/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.
Copyright
2013 | Life & Health Research Group, LLC | PO Box 1239 | Peoria AZ
85380-1239 | All rights reserved.
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