According to the existing literature, positively charged silver ions are the bioactive species of silver and are more bioavailable (or useful). Therefore, you always want to look for a high ratio of positively charged silver – as close as possible to 100%. The scientific community has found that positively charged silver ions create an environment which is unfriendly to unwanted organisms, whereas the neutral silver metal particles have a “negligible effect” (Xiu et al., 2012).

Here’s one case where smaller is better! The smaller the metal particle, the easier it is for it to be converted from an inactive reservoir of silver metal into positively charged bioactive silver during silver’s normal half-life in the body.* Additionally, the smaller the size of each individual particle of silver that is suspended in the liquid, the better absorbed* and more surface area it has, which are both factors in being more effective.*

Think about it in terms of shaker salt versus chunky rock salt. The tiny grains of shaker salt cover food more evenly and provide consistent flavor. If you put chunky rock salt on your food, some bites would be too salty, and some would have no salt flavor at all. Silver nanoparticles are much smaller than shaker salt and are measured in nanometers. Just to give you a sense of how small a nanometer is, the head of a pin is one million nanometers across!

A high-quality silver product is a combination of ALL the best qualities listed above, not just one or two. Be sure the manufacturer clearly identifies each of the four Ps on the label. If they do, then the product PASSes the test. If the first four Ps aren’t met, PASS on purchasing that product.