Parenting Fails

Whats The Harm – Miracle Mineral Solution – Part 1

A week or so ago I came across an article about a couple who had their children taken away because the father was known to use Miracle Mineral Solution and the state was concerned that the children were being made to use it as well.  This made me go back and visit an article I wrote about Miracle Mineral Solution back in 2012 for the JREF.  My plan was to reference that article for this post about the could who had their children taken away, but the JREF have revamped their site and my article no longer seems to be available, so I am going to make it available here.

“This breakthrough can save your life”.  This is the headline to Jim Humble’s website about his perennial product, The Miracle Mineral Solution, a compound so powerful and miraculous that it can cure almost every ill known to mankind including cancer and HIV.  If you think that this sounds too good to be true, give yourself a pat on the back and thank whatever deity/talisman/spirit/astrological sign, or, more likely since you already seem to be thinking clearly, rational thinking, that you do.  For those of you who think this sounds like a wonder that you can’t wait to try, run away…very fast. What is Miracle Mineral Solution?  According to Jim Humble, Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) is, well, complicated.  I say complicated because when you read what he has to say about it in his many free e-books, interviews, and other writings, it seems difficult for him, in a few words, to sum up just what MMS is.  His descriptions usually consist of long, rambling, often disjointed concepts such as stabilized oxygen, anti-oxidants, chlorine dioxide, a New Look at Disease.   Pick any of these topics and go and read what Jim has to say and you will quickly become disorientated and befuddled because, struggle as you may, you can read through dozens of pages of an “explanation” and still have no clue what he is talking about.

The most important of the above terms you need to know is chlorine dioxide, because this is the essential compound in MMS.  What is chlorine dioxide?  Essentially, it is industrial bleach.  That’s right, according to Jim Humble, cancer, HIV, malaria, Chron’s disease, and a host of other ills can be treated and cured by ingesting bleach.

The history of MMS, according to Jim Humble, is a convoluted story of his travels in African jungles, the “discovery” of chlorine dioxide as a miracle treatment for every possible ail, and his many “trials” of this treatment in various third world locations.   You can download a partial eBook of MMS Part 1 from his website (a complete part 2 of the eBook can be purchased for a “small charge of $12.95”).  Pretty much everything that Jim says is unverifiable, in the sense that he refuses to give any evidence that could verify anything he says.  When pressed, he will give one rationalization after another as to why he can’t give us details; the government would prosecute him for telling the truth, his life would be in danger if they did, big pharma would use it against him.  I think you can see a pattern emerging here of a paranoid, conspiracy nut job, albeit one who is more than happy to take your money.

15682058024_fa05852e36 by minakimycegu

Speaking of money, you need to understand that Jim isn’t actually selling MMS.  He does not manufacture or distribute MMS.  While he does provide links to suppliers, this isn’t where he makes his money.   Jim is selling information about MMS in the form of books and DVDs.  Here is listing of some of his wares from his website:

The Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century

(Published 2006)
Hard Copy Book – $21.95
Part 1 Ebook – Free
Part 2 Ebook – $12.95
Book Pack (5) – $109.75
Book & DVD Combo – $51.90
Book Pack (10) – $186.57
Book Pack (15) – $246.75

I have read the Part 1 Ebook and from that reading I can safely say that, unless you really enjoy being confused to the point of your head exploding, you shouldn’t waste your money on any of his books.  I haven’t seen any of his videos so I can’t say what they are like, but if they are anything like his writings, I’d steer clear.

The real issue I have with MMS is that it causes real harm to real people.  Jim Humble can boast all he wants about thousands of cures throughout the world, but he cannot, or refuses to, support even one with any real evidence.  There is, however, a good amount of strong, clear evidence that the main constituent of MMS, chlorine dioxide, is harmful in the doses that he recommends.

Chlorine dioxide is commonly used as a water disinfectant.  In fact, it is just this use that supposedly lead Jim Humble to “discover” its proposed medicinal benefits.  In a study of the health effects of chlorinated waste conducted in The Netherlands found a statistical association between chlorination by-products in drinking water and cancer of the esophagus and stomach for males. (B. Co J. Zoeteman, et al, 1982)

Another study showed,

“Children born of mothers who drank disinfected water treated with either chlorine dioxide or hypochlorite were noted to have an increased incidence of small cranial circumference, small body length, and neonatal jaundice. All of these findings were statistically significant.” (Bingham, E.; Cohrssen, B.; Powell, C.H. 2001)

Nasal abnormalities (including injection, telangiectasia, paleness, cobblestoning, edema, and thick mucus) were observed in 13 individuals (1 man and 12 women) who had been accidentally exposed to chlorine dioxide from a leak in a water purification system pipe 5 years earlier. (DHHS/ATSDR. 2004)

A list of more studies of the effects of chlorine dioxide can be found at http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+10049-04-4.

The good thing is that while Jim is comfortable with pushing bleach as a cure for whatever ails you, the FDA isn’t quite as enamored with MSS.  The FDA posted the following warning about MSS in 2010:

Posted 07/30/2010]

AUDIENCE: Consumers, Emergency Medicine

ISSUE: FDA warned consumers not to consume or use Miracle Mineral Solution, an oral liquid solution also known as “Miracle Mineral Supplement” or “MMS.” The product, when used as directed, produces an industrial bleach that can cause serious harm to health. The product instructs consumers to mix the 28 percent sodium chlorite solution with an acid such as citrus juice. This mixture produces chlorine dioxide, a potent bleach used for stripping textiles and industrial water treatment. High oral doses of this bleach, such as those recommended in the labeling, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration. (FDA, 2010)

The sad thing is that even though the FDA has issued a warning about MMS, its sale has yet to be banned in the U.S.  Canada has banned it and other countries, including the U.S. Are considering it.

Citations:

Ogata, N., and Shibata, T. “Protective Effect of Low-Concentration Chlorine Dioxide Gas Against Influenza a Virus Infection.” Journal of General Virology 89, no. 1 (2008): 60.
B. Co J. Zoeteman, J. Hrubec, E. de Greef and H.J.Kool. “Mutagenic Activity Associated with By- Products of Drinking Water Disinfection by Chlorine, Chlorine Dioxide, Ozone and UV-Irradiation.” Environmental Health Perspectives Vol.46,pp.197-205,1982
Bingham, E.; Cohrssen, B.; Powell, C.H.; Patty’s Toxicology Volumes 1-9 5th ed. John Wiley & Sons. New York, N.Y. (2001)., p. V3 p.788] DHHS/ATSDR; Toxicological Profile for Chlorine dioxide and Chlorite (PB 2004-107332) (September 2004). Available at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp.asp?id=582&tid=108
FDA warning about MSS: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm220756.htm

Featured image by jepoirrier

Jay

Jay is a dad, husband, and pet lover. He has a degree in Theater Arts and works as a Unix systems administrator, mainly because he has a degree in Theater Arts. He used to be a single dad, but now he is married to the perfect woman. He has two teenagers, a daughter, and a step-son. He also has an adult son. He shares his home with his wife, kids, an Australian Shepherd, and a bevy of adorable chihuahuas. He is a skeptic and humanist and tries to contribute to spreading rationality by writing about skeptical topics. You can find samples of his writing on his personal blog at Freethinking For Dummies, the JREF blog, and in Skeptical Inquirer magazine.

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2 Comments

  1. I was in complete shock when I found out people were using MMS, not only on themselves but their children as well. You didn’t reference it in your post, but it seems like I also read somewhere that people were using it for enemas as well. Is that true, or something I made up entirely?

    1. I believe I read somewhere that they were using it for enemas too, but I suspect I wasn’t able to independently confirm it, so that’s why I didn’t mention it. I like to stick to the facts with issues like this.

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