(NaturalNews) The element silver has long been recognized as a precious metal of significant value. In fact, prior to the early '60s, silver was used to make quarters and dimes because it held its value in weight. Silver is also utilized in a variety of industrial uses including imaging and photography, electronics, water purification, as well as various catalytic uses. It is a highly conductive metal that does not corrode so it works effectively in various chemical processes. Many people, however, remain unaware of the health-promoting benefits of silver.
In the early days of human civilization, it was discovered that silver helped keep things like water, milk, and vinegar pure for long periods of time. Since there was no refrigeration at the time, silver vessels were often used to preserve various foods and drinks during travel. One of the primary reasons why many ancient civilizations used silver eating utensils was due to the fact that silver prevented the growth of disease-causing pathogens. Silver's preservative, medical, germicidal, and antibacterial uses can be traced as far back as during the ancient Greek and Roman empires.
Western Medicine Discovers SilverIt wasn't until the late 1800s that western science began to rediscover the ancient truths about silver. One of the early documented uses of silver as a bactericide was in 1884 by a German obstetrician named Carl Crede. He effectively administered a 1% silver nitrate solution into the eyes of newborn infants in order to prevent the incidence of gonococcal opthalmia, a disease that causes blindness in newborns. Prior to the introduction of modern antibiotics,
silver was used widely in hospitals and by doctors to combat infection and to dress wounds.
As scientific understanding progressed, silver compounds and colloids were developed and became widely used medicinally to treat all sorts of infectious diseases. In fact, by 1940, there were roughly four dozen different silver compound products on the market to treat every known infectious disease, available orally, topically, or by injection. It was generally recognized not only as safe when properly prepared, but tremendously effective.
Western Medicine Abandons SilverWith the advent of synthetic, patented drugs and antibiotics in the 1930s, there came the gradual abandonment of silver by mainstream medicine, at least for the most part. Since resistant strains of disease organisms had not yet surfaced at that time, there was newfangled fervor towards the new treatments as superior and technologically-advanced. Most of silver's uses lost favor with the exception of it being used as a water purifying agent and as a wound dressing.
Western Medicine Discovers Silver, AgainIt wasn't until the 1970s that silver began to reemerge medicinally, thanks to research by Dr. Carl Moyer, then chairman of Washington University's Department of Surgery. With the help of Dr. Margraf, the department's chief biochemist, research into a viable antiseptic that was safe to use on burn victims over large areas of their body led to a silver solution as the top choice. What had quickly become a remnant of history was being resurrected from the grave of antiquated medical literature as a powerful disease fighter.
It recent years, silver has garnered some attention from medical experts who recognize that it is a highly powerful germicidal,
antibacterial, and antifungal, while also entirely non-toxic to humans when prepared correctly.
Despite some negative press about argyria, a condition that results when a person perpetually ingests improperly-formulated silver solutions that have been prepared with silver salts and consequently receives a blue pigmentation in the skin, the truth remains that properly prepared silver solutions made by electrically-generated ions is an extremely potent disease preventative as well as treatment.
A 1988 laboratory test at the UCLA School of Medicine verified that bacteria, viruses, and fungal organisms are killed within minutes of being exposed to
colloidal silver solutions. Dr. Robert Becker of Syracuse University also noted that in a study conducted at his school all the organisms tested were eliminated by the silver, including ones that were resistant to known antibiotics.
Properly-prepared silver treatments have no negative side effects and do not harm the good intestinal bacteria that are otherwise destroyed by conventional antibiotics when treating bacterial infections. It is precisely because silver cannot be patented that it has been mostly shrouded by the mainstream healthcare system. If it cannot be patented, it cannot make money and is thus a threat to the pharmaceutical monopoly on healthcare. While their antibiotics attempt to attack a few very specific strains of bacteria, constantly-mutating super bugs develop a resistance to this form of treatment. Contrarily, silver attacks the bacterial food source making even mutated forms defenseless against silver's powerful defense abilities.
Many medical professionals are catching on to silver's incredible qualities, however, and researchers continue to study it for its amazing antiviral,
antifungal, and antibacterial characteristics. It is incredibly effective and extremely inexpensive, especially when prepared at home. The process is simple and safe and involves no salt compounds; just silver, water, and electricity. Several producers construct and sell quality colloidal silver generators that allow one to make colloidal silver at home for as much as it costs to purchase distilled water. Colloidal silver solutions can also be purchased at most health food stores.
Sources:
A Brief History of The Health Support Uses of SilverHistory of Colloidal SilverColloidal Silver Science Research & Scientific StudiesAbout the author
Ethan Huff is a freelance writer and health enthusiast who loves exploring the vast world of natural foods and health, digging deep to get to the truth. He runs an online health publication of his own at
http://wholesomeherald.blogspot.com.
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