Which is Better, Ionic or “True Colloidal” Silver?
30 Years of Experience with Colloidal Silver
Even among those who recognize the tremendous value of silver as an antimicrobial, there has been a seemingly endless controversy between two schools of thought. On the one hand, those who promote “true colloidal silver” claim that it is the only form of nano silver that is effective. On the other hand, those who promote ionic silver say it is superior. How is a consumer to choose between the two?
I have over thirty years of personal experience with making and using nano silver of the “ionic” variety. I designed the SILVERengines proton to be the most compact, fully automated, easiest to use nano silver generator on the market.
While I believe that there are some elements of truth on both sides of the ionic/colloidal debate, I have ultimately come down on the side of ionic silver. Am I biased? I’ll let you decide after I give you as clear a perspective on the controversy as I can, starting with definitions.
“Ionic silver” is individual positive charged atoms of silver (chemical symbol: Ag+) dispersed in distilled water.
“True colloidal silver” is a made-up marketing term used by some to refer to nano-scale uncharged particles of pure metallic silver in water.
“Colloidal silver” is a generic term
It can legitimately be applied to any form of pure silver that is evenly dispersed and permanently suspended in water. This includes ionic silver, metallic silver particles small enough to remain suspended, and silver complexes like mild silver protein and silver citrate.
First of all, making “true colloidal silver,” i.e. nano-scale metallic silver in a colloidal suspension, is a very complex and expensive industrial process. There are no consumer machines that produce “true colloidal silver.”
As the SILVERengines proton “brewing” process proceeds, silver ions (individual positive charged atoms of silver, Ag+) are dispersed into the distilled water. The positive charges on these ions help to widely disperse the silver atoms throughout the water because like charges repel each other. Some of the ions gain a free electron and lose their charge, becoming able to group with other uncharged silver atoms and forming microscopic nano-scale colloidal particles.
Our competitors –
some that you may have read – tout their “true colloidal silver” products as if they are superior to ionic silver and as if theirs are the only effective products. For example, you may have seen this page:
There you will unfortunately find misleading statements about ionic silver. While it is true that the SILVERengines proton produces primarily silver ions in a crystal clear solution, and that by their made-up definition this is not “true colloidal silver,” that is far from the end of the story. Having conceded that the SILVERengines proton produces mostly silver ions, let’s move on to the facts and the research, including “bioavailability.”
The controversy between “true colloidal” and “ionic” silver was settled,
definitively, by some fascinating research performed at Rice University in Houston and published in 2012. Here is an article about that research:
The researchers found that colloidal silver particles had no direct effect on pathogens, but rather it was the silver ions (Ag+) alone that killed bacteria. You can read an abstract of that Rice University research paper (Xiu, et. al.) here:
Furthermore, in an article published in Nature in 2013:
Researchers reported:
“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.”
Please note that it is the dissolved ions that attack the pathogens, not metallic colloidal particles. I have found similar comments in research paper after research paper, all in agreement that it is the silver ions (AG+) that do the job.
And so, you may now be wondering, does this mean that “true colloidal silver” doesn’t work? No, of course not. All it means is that the mechanism by which colloidal silver particles do work undoubtedly requires the silver nano particles to shed silver ions (AG+).
as is mentioned in the above article.
Summarizing, it has been well-settled science (since 2012) that it is not colloidal nano-particles that are antibacterial, but rather silver ions themselves. I’ll also refer you to an excellent article by one of our major competitors:
Any benefits of so-called “true colloidal silver” only occur in the body after silver ions dissociate from the silver nano-particles. A second, more recent (2015), research paper confirms this assertion:
Now, regarding the bioavailability of ionic/colloidal nano silver… The basic question is, will ionic silver pass safely through the human digestive system and be delivered to where it is needed in your body without being damaged or destroyed in the process? The answer is definitely “yes.” In addition to the misinformation you’ve received about “true colloidal” silver, you may have also read this page:
This page on bioavailability
does not take into account the remarkable biological mechanisms of the human body known as metalloproteins. I will refer to a very astute competitor, Mr. Steve Barwick, who has written a couple of remarkable articles about this.
By the way, I don’t hesitate to cite Mr. Barwick because, although comparing his silver machine to the SILVERengines proton is like comparing a horse and buggy to a Ferrari, I find his research and writing to be excellent.
And so, from the moment the silver solution made by your SILVERengines proton enters your mouth, silver ions are being packaged in metalloproteins for secure transport to the rest of your system. Additionally, (in case you still have concerns about this), you could administer silver solution via nebulizer if you wish, completely bypassing your digestive tract:
and, of course, you could if you wish, as some people do, simply swish the silver around in your mouth and spit it out – a considerable amount of the silver will still enter your bloodstream directly through the membranes in your mouth.
And so, why would you prefer to own a SILVERengines proton than to constantly purchase uber-expensive “true colloidal silver?”
Quite the engineering marvel,
the SILVERengines proton is, by design, superior in most ways to the vast majority of consumer machines on the market.
The SILVERengines proton detects the presence of salt or other electrolytes in the water when it starts up. This protects you from consuming silver chloride or other contaminants.
It creates a silver solution that delivers silver to your system in its effective ionic form.
Because it applies a low, constant current,
the silver particle size the SILVERengines proton produces is consistently nano scale.
It affordably makes a ~10PPM blend of ionic and colloidal nano-particle silver fully automatically, which is always clear or very slightly straw-colored. This is comparable to expensive commercial brands of ready made silver solutions on the market, such as Sovereign Silver.
As we say on Page 9 of the SILVERengines proton manual, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” By personally using nano silver in various ways, you will be able to see for yourself that it works wonderfully well.
Duncan Cary Palmer is the inventor and creator of the SILVERengines proton. As neither a doctor nor a medical professional of any kind, nothing he says can be taken as medical advice. He is, nevertheless, more than happy to share his opinions and personal experience with you.
“The content of this website has not been evaluated by the FDA. Nothing herein is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
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