One of the most important aspects of being prepared is addressing medical concerns — having a first aid response kit and solutions to medical problems of any sort as they arise. If our society were to collapse, we would no longer be able to rely on hospitals and doctors, so we would have to cure our ailments ourselves.
This post deals with the question: Should You Trust Colloidal Silver?
Over the years, various propponents of preparedness have offered solutions to medicine after a collapse of society, but the one that stands out as probably the most controversial is a literal solution. It’s called colloidal silver.
Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver particles in water that purportedly has a kind of miraculous healing power. Given that silver ions are bioactive, can kill bacteria in vitro as well as in external living tissue wounds, are disinfectants, antiseptics, and are regularly found woven into wound dressings, the hypothesis that silver can act as a universal antibiotic isn’t all that surprising.
And if you had to fend for yourself medically, the wide availability of silver and the relative ease of making a colloidal silver suspense would make it an excellent and obvious candidate for medical treatment.
In fact, before antibiotics were introduced into the medical system in the 1940’s, silver was widely used in the medical field, treating everything from infections to epilepsy and gonorrhea.
With all these reported usages and alleged benefits of colloidal silver, you may begin to wonder why silver isn’t used more extensively in the medical field now, especially since silver is so abundant, and relatively inexpensive.
There is no shortage of theories explaining this phenomenon, most of them conspiratorial. (Doctors, hospitals, and governments wouldn’t make any money if they used silver.) The theory that shouldn’t be ignored, however, is the one that is based on scientific tests and trials.
While colloidal silver hasn’t been proven to have any adverse health risks — except for argyria, which is a silver coloration of the skin due to high silver levels in the body, which is only cosmetic, as it were — doctors and scientists have yet to find definitive and consistent evidence that colloidal silver has any curative properties whatsoever.
Silver by itself is not ionized, and it is only ionized silver that has been proven to cure and treat ailments. The silver delivered to the body by colloidal silver suspensions is inactive, and therefore should not have the same properties as silver ions.
The FDA has prohibited manufacturers of colloidal silver to market it based on any medical claims — in fact, it is illegal to do so — and practicing doctors will never prescribe or even recommend colloidal silver to patients. Claims made about the effectiveness of colloidal silver are largely unsupported, and where they are supported, the evidence is spurious.
It is possible that colloidal silver is a kind of placebo, in that if someone who truly believes that colloidal silver will cure their ailments administers a dose to herself, it might actually work. But whether you want to base the success or failure of your post-collapse society on colloidal silver is, in the end, up to you.
Author Bio:
This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.
I am the only person responsible for me. No one else is responsible for my actions, safety, or future. If I want to be well fed it is my duty to go outside, find food, kill it, and drag it home.
(The corollary to that is that because I am responsible for me, I get to choose my actions instead of having them chosen for me. Big boy rules for those that put up childish things…)
I am discussed by those that claim to be adults but are dependent on others for their basic needs. Recently the lottery got to a record breaking 1.5 billion dollars. The next morning my social media feeds were crammed full posts about a person begging for money because she spent every dime she had. All includes rent money, grocery money, gas money. It all went for losing lottery tickets.
Being Irresponsible is stupid and stupidity should hurt a little.
Rules of Civility: The 110 Precepts that Guided Our First President in War and Peace
These precepts are my creed, and having prepper precepts guides me when I face tough choices. A wise man once told me that when facing a moral problem, the right choice is usually the action you don’t want to take.
I am not a pollyanna person that is wishy washy or blindly follows rules. I have a little rebellious streak and love to know the WHY of rules. However, I do respect and understand the need for law. I know how vital it is for a society to have a moral code.
By knowing what I believe in you can know how I will act. This is very important in times of stress.
Finally, if you don’t want to read these precepts one by one, the completed list can be found here: Completed 27 Prepper Precepts.
Knowing how to make corn tortillas and nacho chips is a great way to change up your eating experience.
Because flat bread is easy and cheap many cultures use variations. In Asia they have Nan, in the Middle East you have chapatti, in North Africa you have injera, and you also have puri and pita breads.Some techniques or ingredients change enough to warrant the names, but basically it’s all just unleavened bread that does not rise cooked on a hot skillet or fried.
For corn tortillas you use a special corn flour called masa. In this flour the corn is Nixtimalized (which we will do in a later post). Nixtamalization chemically changes the corn so that its nutritional value is increased. Pellagra is a disease caused by eating dent corn as a staple, as without nixtamalization the nutrients in the corn are unavailable to humans.. Basically hominy is Nixtimalized corn. Coarsely ground hominy is grits, and finely ground grits is masa.
The great thing about tortillas is that all you need is a bit of masa, some water, and salt if you like.
The tools are simple also. A dry skillet and your hands is all you really need at the most basic level. A comal (flat cast iron griddle) and a tortilla press is used if you specialize.
To make the dough
- Add 2 cups of masa into a large bowl
- Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of very warm water to the masa.
- Mix let sit for 5 minutes.
- Working the masa into dough, to me it seems a little like putty. If at any point through the tortilla making process the dough seems too dry or too wet, add a little more water or masa to the dough.
- Take a piece of the masa dough and shape it into a ball the size of a plum, or slightly large golf ball. Make about 16-18 balls from the dough.
To Press Tortillas
You can pat the balls into tortillas, but that is difficult for a beginner.
You can also roll them out on a floured surface.
I use a press.
To use a press, take two pieces of wax paper, parchment paper or plastic from a plastic bag and cut them to the size of your press.
Open the tortilla press and lay one piece of wax paper on the press.
Place the dough ball in the center.
Place another piece of wax paper over the masa ball.
Gently close the press and press down, until the dough has spread to a diameter of 6 inches. If you press it too much the dough will stick to the paper and not peel easily
To Cook Tortillas
Heat a skillet on high heat. Use a SMALL amount of oil to lubricate, but make sure it is light… You are not making fry bread.
Cook the tortilla for ½ to 1 minute on each side. It should be lightly toasted with little air pockets.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate for storage.
Nachos
While I am making tortillas I normally make some nachos at the same time.
You use the same tortillas, you just cook them differently.
Once I press out the tortillas I normally cut them into 4 quarters. I then fry them in hot oil until they are a nice golden brown.
I then drain them and season them to taste.
You can be flexible with the seasonings, but a nice “Dorito flavor” can be done with taco seasoning, a little cayenne pepper, and a little citric acid for bite.