“Miracle Mineral - The Miracle Mineral of the 21st Century”. 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. 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 ebooks, 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 or 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, Crohn’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 ill and his many “trials” of this treatment in various third world locations. You can download the 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 the did, Big Pharma would use it against him. I think you can see a pattern emerging here.
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 cranial explosion, 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 can not, 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 Humble to “discover” its proposed medicinal benefits. In a study of the health effects of chlorinated water conducted in The Netherlands, researchers 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 here.
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 MMS. The FDA posted the following warning about the product 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.
Jay Walker currently works in the IT field but is pursuing a career as a skeptical writer. He has been published in AIM Magazine and various local newspapers. He is also the author of the Freethinking For Dummies blog.