Silver bullet

Q: I am sick of being run down with summer colds. How can I make sure I’m up for fun in the sun?

Dr. Wright: Keep vitamin C and nano-particulate silver on hand. Research on vitamin C done decades ago showed that this nutrient doesn’t actually help prevent the common cold. It does, however, reduce the severity and duration of colds that do occur.

At the very first sign of a cold, I recommend taking a minimum of 1 gram of vitamin C four times daily, and if the vitamin C is tolerated well (meaning it doesn’t cause loose bowels or diarrhea), considerably more is safe and even more effective.

Next to vitamin C, one of the most effective germ- and infection-fighting treatments available is something that I covered in detail in the September 2006 issue of Nutrition & Healing. (If you are a subscriber you can visit my archives here.) You might recognize it by its more common name, colloidal silver, but I prefer to use a slightly more technical name, nano-particulate silver. The nano-particulate part is very important because the smaller the particle size of the silver, the greater the germicidal effect.

I recommend Argentyn 23, which is available at natural food stores, compounding pharmacies, and the Tahoma Clinic Dispensary. At the first sign of a cold, use 1 tablespoonful to start, and then continue to take 1 teaspoonful on an empty stomach every 3 to 4 hours while you’re awake until the infection is gone.

Unlike vitamin C, nano-particulate silver should not be used every day (unless recommended for a very particular reason by a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutritional and natural medicine), but reserved only for treatment of active infections.