Tagged with 'natural health'

There has never been a time when the hand sanitizers in the health food stores are flying off the shelves faster than they can be restocked. Over a year since the pandemic began, hand sanitizer is still essential. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a quick errand or spending the full day at work, we’re willing to bet you have at least one bottle in your purse, maybe even another in your car. These days, you simply cannot leave the house without at least one bottle of hand sanitizer. However, many of these sanitizers, even the ones sold at health food stores, are made up of 70% alcohol and can be extremely drying to the hands. Hand sanitizer is certainly a great product, but there is another that is just as effective: Colloidal silver. This lesser-known sanitizer may sound unrelated, but it’s extremely versatile as a purse staple. A small bottle of colloidal silver takes up little space yet serves many purposes. What is colloidal silver? When comparing the bottles, colloidal silver is similar to hand sanitizer. They are both clear liquids that come in small spray bottles. The difference lies in the ingredients list. While hand sanitizer is composed of alcohol, preservatives, and scents, colloidal silver is described as tiny particles of silver suspended in a liquid. Its only ingredients are silver and purified water. Don’t worry, you won’t see the “silver” in the liquid because they are nanoparticles and less than 100nm in size. How can you use colloidal silver? Before antibiotics were discovered, colloidal silver was used as an all-purpose remedy for infections and pathogens. Not only does it kill bacteria, but it can also fight viruses and fungi like candida. To reap its antimicrobial properties, you can use it as a topical spray or ingest it internally.  Most popular uses for colloidal silver sprays spray on hands to use as hand sanitizer spray on the face after a long day of mask-wearing, to prevent mask (acne caused by wearing masks long-term) spray in the mouth at the first sign of cold or flu spray in the eyes to clear out an eye infection spray on external wounds to prevent infections spray on the scalp to fight dandruff Best options: Sovereign Silver Spray 59mL*, Sovereign Silver Silver Hydrosol 946mL* *when spraying in the mouth, please follow the instructions on the bottle Is colloidal silver safe? Even though colloidal silver has many anti-microbial uses, not everyone is completely sold on the product. Silver itself is present in our everyday environment and we are constantly exposed to small amounts. Can ingesting it as a supplement be toxic? Current studies show that the risk for chronic exposure to colloidal silver is not well known. As with any substance, there can be a risk of overdose, but the exact amounts and time frame needed for colloidal silver to cause this are not known. Considering how long it’s been used and how effective it’s been, the risk of overexposure is likely low. Using colloidal silver as a spray ensures you are using low quantities, and many supplements contain low concentrations of silver. Nonetheless, it is recommended to use colloidal silver with caution. Author Grace Tien is a women’s health holistic nutritionist. She helps her clients optimize their nutrition habits so that they can get rid of afternoon slumps and live each day full of energy. Grace specializes in nutrition for healthy periods, you can find out more at @gracetien.ca on Instagram.