Response to Consumer Reports "Dirty Dozen" on Colloidal Silver

Consumer Reports August 2010: Nutritional Supplements "Dirty Dozen"

Where are the Bodies and Where are the “Blue People?”

This month’s Consumer Reports magazine displays an article on what they call the ‘Dirty Dozen’ 12 nutritional supplements which include Colloidal Silver. In the article, CR says colloidal silver “has a possible risk of: Bluish skin, mucous membrane discoloration, neurological problems, kidney damage”.  Nowhere do they offer any proof. None.

If colloidal silver is a health hazard, where are the bodies? Where are the blue people?  

Think about it; for simplicity, let’s say that there a 300 million people in the USA.  Arguably, there are 10 million people who take Colloidal Silver daily.  That means that one in 30 people you know or meet use colloidal silver daily.  One in 30 people.

In your entire lifetime, how many people have you met who are blue?   

Probably none.

How many people have you heard of who died using Colloidal Silver?  

Probably None.  

_____________________________________________________________

Here is proof from the United States Government National Poison Data System; 

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, January 19, 2010

(OMNS, January 19, 2010) “There was not even one death caused by a dietary supplement in 2008, according to the most recent information collected by the U.S. National Poison Data System.”

“The new 174-page annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, published in the journal Clinical Toxicology, shows zero deaths from multiple vitamins; zero deaths from any of the B vitamins; zero deaths from vitamins A, C, D, or E; and zero deaths from any other vitamin.”

“Additionally, there were no deaths whatsoever from any amino acid or herbal product. This means no deaths at all from blue cohosh, echinacea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, kava kava, St. John's wort, valerian, yohimbe, Asian medicines, ayurvedic medicines, or any other botanical. There were zero deaths from creatine, blue-green algae, glucosamine, chondroitin, melatonin, or any homeopathic remedies.”

“Furthermore, there were zero deaths in 2008 from any dietary mineral supplement. This means there were no fatalities from calcium, magnesium, chromium, zinc, colloidal silver, selenium, iron, or multi-mineral supplements"

“[In 2008] No man, woman or child died from nutritional supplements.  Period."

 “61 poison centers provide coast-to-coast data for the U.S. National Poison Data System, which is then reviewed by 29 medical and clinical toxicologists. NPDS, the authors write, is "one of the few real-time national surveillance systems in existence, providing a model public health surveillance system for all types of exposures, public health event identification, resilience response and situational awareness tracking."  

So let’s see if the facts bear out.     

Fact: Independent FDA-certified independent lab tests demonstrate zero toxicity in NutraSilver® nano particles. 

Fact: The US EPA has been regulating colloidal silver nano particles for over 40 years.  How many fatalities or "blue people" did this produce? None.

Fact: According to the report "Pharmaceutical Drugs caused 106,000 DEATHS in 2008, while there were ZERO deaths from Nutritional Supplements."  When the light shines on facts, the truth comes out. If pharmaceutical drugs caused 106,00 deaths and nutritional supplements caused no death, which do you think needs to be exposed to the public? Drugs or nutritional supplements? You be the judge.

What is the real agenda of Consumer Reports?  It is hard to say, but a prestigious publication like CR is seriously in danger of losing their credibility with unsubstantiated reports like this one that fly in the face a substantiated facts and plain old "common sense".  Any aware consumer will want to know the facts and will not depend upon a publication that merely makes unsubstantiated claims and accusations.

This article is poorly researched, unsupported and CR's claims about the 'dirty dozen' have no basis in fact. Could this article possibly be the result of Big Pharma trying to sway consumers through a well-respected publication away from safe and effective dietary supplements towards toxic and deadly pharmaceutical drugs?  Consumer Reports has certainly lost me as someone who believes what they say. Unbiased? You decide!