Fellow silver-listers, in regard to the recent discussions of the FDA and its recent Final Rule announcement about products containing silver . . . here is my current comment: I seem to recall that there was a "FDA scare being talked up" regarding aloe vera product sales a few years ago. A doctor who fervently preached this FDA scare, as well as the medicinal values of aloe vera, on the lecture circuit -- and had written on the subject as well -- had decided to get out of the business of selling aloe vera products "to avoid having his products confiscated by the FDA." His plainspoken advice from the podium to everyone was, "If you sell, don't tell. If you tell, don't sell." Today, I believe that there are more aloe vera products on sale everywhere than back then (five years ago) during the "FDA scare period." And today there is a private industry watchdog group that puts its seal of approval on aloe vera products it has examined and certified. The labels I read now on the aloe vera products in the stores don't claim anything other than a nutritional product or value.
And today I only purchase an aloe vera product that displays on its label the seal of the "International Aloe Science Council" (IASC). If you want good, authoritative, and objective (their view and contrary views) information on aloe vera you can just browse for this Council on the Internet. I use aloe vera products for my "personal nutritional purposes" when they seem to meet some of my perceived personal health needs. Those who manufacture colloidal silver products should seriously consider setting up a similar watchdog organization -- an "International Colloidal Silver Council" (ICSC) -- to voluntarily police your industry and create a Seal of Approval or Certification of product contents and labelling. You could get some good pointers by studying the way the IASC started up and now functions. It is a relatively new organization. I am sure the founder of the IASC will talk to you. You could let your ICSC do your "telling" of the fabulous colloidal silver story. It would be more credible as well as legal in the USA. The ICSC would have more clout with government entities and the public. (If this has already been done why have I not heard about it on the silver-list forum?) When the FTC took over supervision of the USA sale of nutritional supplements and OTC products, in 1994, they set up some rules. These rules included the rule that company literature published by the product manufacturer or other literature that accompanied their product shipment in the USA was considered to be the same as labelling ON the product. Fair enough, in my opinion. Another rule was that if a therapeutic claim was made for the product, the claim had to be substantiated with research references. Negative research results also had to be reported. Hence the "shocking" TV commercials we see and hear these days for some products. I believe, also, that this research reference information must be made available in writing to any consumer who requests it of the manufacturer. It would appear that colloidal silver is still marketable as a mineral supplement along with other colloidal mineral supplements, for its nutritional value. But It seems to me that there is an obvious danger of overdosing with anything and especially with colloidal multi-mineral supplements as presently labelled and marketed in the USA. Multi-mineral supplement products that do not list on the bottle label the bottle's exact content of each mineral are particularly worrisome to me. Even more worrisome is the colloidal multi-mineral label that reads, "contents may vary from batch to batch" or somesuch. Yikes! Talk about playing Russian Roullette with your body! For example . . . If your ancestry is at least partly of Western European origin you owe it to yourself to browse and read thoroughly the Internet-available information you turn up when you browse with the words, "Iron Overload Syndrome." If you think you are of this ancestry, albeit distant, and you use a colloidal multi-mineral supplement or a multi-vitamin supplement that does not say on the label, "Without Iron" or "Iron Free," YOU BEST DO IT SOON. "Silver beaucue [bow-coo] may turn you blue, but iron may be much worse for YOU." Why did Belgium, France and Germany prohibit food companies from adding iron to their food products and the United States of America required iron to be added to food products!? -- Spiroflex, an Iron Free Advocate and Aloe/CS Sipper PS from Spiroflex -- I seem to get just as much herxing (Lyme disease victims will understand the term herxing to mean a sign of effectiveness) from sipping Aloe juice and CS as I did with the Metronidazole prescription that I had to abandon due to its gastrointestinal side effects after just three weeks of use. I would have gladly switched to a Tinidazole prescription if it were available in the USA. I had to make a switch immediately. I chose CS and Aloe juice and things are going so well now I plan to stick with it along with Doxycycline, Olive Leaf Extract, Grapefruit Extract, and digestive aids. I know from experience it takes a good while to get rid of the Lyme spirochetes as well as the cystic formations of the bug when you have had the disease for more than a year before beginning treatment. For this long term treatment program I need to find the least toxic as well as the most effective products. Doxy, CS and Aloe meet that requirement for me at the present time. ================(see previous discussion below) List members, This is a CS dealer I contacted. I would guess he is not one of us. His view of the recent blurb from the FDA is different. Please read and comment. God bless you all, Bob ******************* ******************** We just sent out a letter to our customers regarding a New Ruling by the FDA. That letter follows this note. I hope this answers your question adequately. Yours in Health, Denise Merchant -----letter follows: September 2nd, 1999 Dear Friends, This is to inform you of the FDA's "Final Rule" on Colloidal Silver. As of September 16th, 1999, colloidal silver cannot be sold as an OCD (over the counter drug). According to the FDA "Talk Paper," the government wants to "investigate" the "unsubstantiated health claims" being made about colloidal silver in regards to AIDS and some of the "newer" diseases. They also want to investigate the side effect known as "argyria" -- a grayish blue discoloration of the skin. Years ago, argyria was caused by prolonged exposure to silver metal and by inferior colloidal silver solutions produced via the "Grind" method, which deposited ground silver into the system. The Grind method is no longer used. Argyria was diagnosed in LESS THAN 1% of those treated with colloidal silver. Nevertheless, the FDA feels compelled to test colloidal silver (again) to ensure the "safety of the public." Okay. A friend of mine said that the FDA is as arrogant as the IRS, and I have to agree. They approve of how many drugs a year? Have you heard the television commercials for drugs that include a list of side effects such as: dizziness, drowsiness, cramps, diarrhea, headache, etc. Brother! But, have no fear. The FDA has left a BIG loophole in their plan to take colloidal silver away from the masses. As long as the colloidal silver solution is labeled as a "mineral supplement" it can be sold legally. That's it! No problem! All of the manufacturers will now re-label their products and sell them as mineral supplements. I talked to Crystal Wyand at the FDA's Drug Department, and she informed me that because I am the author of The Wonders of Colloidal Silver, and that I sell the book (which is now considered "labeling the product"), my company, AA-MICRO can no longer sell colloidal silver solutions. Ms.Wyand is not sure about the machines because that is handled by the Device Dept. and they have yet to get back to us about that. So, as of September 16th, AA-MICRO will only be selling The Wonders of Colloidal Silver - which is (thank God) protected by the First Amendment. All of us at AA-MICRO want to thank you for your interest in our products. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. We are still interested in collecting any testimonials you want to share. We are in the process of revising The Wonders of Colloidal Silver, and welcome your comments. If you want to check out the FDA's website, their URL is www.fda.gov. Type in "colloidal silver" in the word search. Check out the "Talk Paper." Our URL is still www.aa-micro.com. You can email us at silver...@aol.com. We appreciate you. Blessings in Health, Dhyana Coburn AA-MICRO 1311 Sierra Drive, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 800/ AA-MICRO (226-4276)
