Colloidal silver and ionic silver are two of the many things that the internet has made popular. Not only are people speaking about their amazing benefits, but they often compare these two.
Let’s find out more about them both.
WHAT IS COLLOIDAL SILVER?
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Colloidal silver is a liquid product that is commonly sold. It contains a tiny particle size of pure metallic silver. These pieces are so tiny that they cannot be seen with human eyes. These flakes of silver particles ion are suspended in solution. The silver solution could be demineralized but is usually water. The silver particles suspended are called silver particles ion.
WHAT IS IONIC SILVER?
ionic silver solutions, on the other, is silver that has been dissolved in water, thus making it a dissolved silver solution. What this means is that trillions of different atoms of silver have been dissolved and are now floating in water as silver solutions. The dissolved silver nanoparticles are called silver ions.
USES OF SILVER SUPPLEMENTS
The most common use of colloidal silver which most people are familiar with is as a dietary supplement. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) places almost all silver nanoparticles solutions in the same category; colloidal silver.
However, generally, silver nanoparticles supplements are said to have very similar benefits. Companies claim the colloidal silver can work as an antibiotic in the body. They also claim that it can be very beneficial for wound dressing. Some other claimed benefits are:
- Curing colds and easing any congestion in the chest
- Facilitate wound healing
- Treat cancer
- Treat HIV
- Boosting immune system
- Help prevent a plethora of viral infections such as COVID-19.
However, it is extremely important to note that there is very little evidence to support any of these claims. In fact, the companies that produce colloidal supplements often claim that their supplements are cure-all products.
Cure all products are those products that are intended to diagnose treat cure or prevent unbelievable number of diseases and illnesses. As you might imagine, the “cure-all” tag is vastly overused and is now starting to be quite a red flag.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COLLOIDAL SILVER AND IONIC SILVER
Colloidal silver and ionic silver are not the same. There are quite a number of differences that these products have. Here are some of them:
- Composition: Colloidal silver and ionic silver do not have the same compositions. Colloidal silver is made of metallic silver nano particle size that has been in a solution. Ionic silver, on the other hand, is made of silver ions that have been mixed with water.
- Effectiveness: Studies show that the effective form of silver colloidal silver is when it is taken orally or topically.
- Stability: Colloidal silver has been proven to be more stable than ionic silver.
- Availability: ionic silver products is actually more affordable and therefore, is more common than colloidal silver.
WHICH IS BETTER BETWEEN COLLOIDAL SILVER AND IONIC SILVER
Colloidal silver and ionic silver are quite often put against each other. This is because both products are claimed to have antibacterial as well as antiviral properties and in the light of COVID- 19, this is big news.
However, when one considers both from a scientific and analytical point of view, true colloidal silver wins. This is majorly because it is much safer to use than ionic silver. For one thing, silver ions are highly reactive when in the body. This means that the body could very well metabolize these silver ion. As you can imagine, this is not a good thing. When the body metabolizes silver, it becomes harder to pass it out.
Colloidal silver has also been proven to be slightly more effective than ionic silver.
RISKS OF SILVER SUPPLEMENTS
It is important to mention that there are several risks associated with silver supplements.
Firstly, there is no proof that the human body needs silver. The studies that have been carried out on silver supplements do not provide any backing for the claims that silver supplement companies profess.
At best, silver has minimal benefits and can only help when taking in moderated quantities.
At worse, it could lead to very terrible complications. Some of these possible complications are:
- A reduction in the ability of your body to absorb important medications. This means that if you are ill and need medications such as thyroxines and antibiotics, they may not work for you as they should.
- Argyria: If you have too much silver in your body, you could develop Argyria. This is very common when ionic silver solutions is consumed. This is because when the silver is metabolized into the body, it becomes hard to pass out the silver as faeces. When a person develops Argyria, their skin changes colour and becomes bluish-grey. Sadly, the colour change caused by Argyria is usually permanent even if the person stops taking silver supplements.
IN SUMMARY
Silver supplements might be indeed beneficial. However, remember that it is best to be safer and not use any supplements or medication that isn’t prescribed by your doctor. If you choose to go ahead and use true colloidal silver products, be sure to use it as a topical treatment.