Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator

The National Advertising Division (The National Advertising Division (NAD) is the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.) has referred claims made by the Silver Edge to the FTC after the company failed to provide substantiation that its product, the Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver Generator, could be used to treat the flu.

Among the four health-related claims cited in a NAD release were two that Steve Barwick, president of the Silver Edge, makes in a blog post:

• “Colloidal Silver: Your #1 Best Antidote to Winter Flu Season.”
• “And yes, even though it was only last year that the drug Tamiflu was described by a top reviewer of clinical studies as one of the most medically worthless of all drugs, the CDC is still recommending it as well. If that’s the best the CDC can recommend, I think they can safely be ignored. But that’s just my humble opinion. Start taking Colloidal Silver instead.”

So what is colloidal silver, anyway? According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it “consists of tiny silver particles in a liquid.” The Silver Edge’s generator reportedly makes colloidal silver by sticking two silver rods and a “bubbler tube” into a container of “pure steam-distilled water” and letting the machine go to work for a while.

In addition to treating everything from the common cold to pneumonia to skin cancer, Barwick also credits colloidal silver for saving his wife’s “pretty toes” from a flesh-eating infection (scroll down at your own risk). But neither he nor the company provides any scientific evidence that colloidal silver can be used as a drink or topical remedy to treat, well, anything. In fact, a closer look at the skin cancer testimonial reveals this disclaimer:

Nothing stated in the above text should be construed as being a substitute for professional medical advice, nor a claim that colloidal silver is a “cancer cure” or a specific remedy for any type of disease. There is a significant difference between personal anecdotal evidence such as that described above, and legitimate medical proof.

One of those significant differences? Safety. The NIH warns:

There are no high quality studies on the health effects of taking colloidal silver, but we do have good evidence of its dangers.

Suffice to say, we’re still looking for the silver lining in this one.

Find more of our coverage on purported cancer cures here.