Many discoveries in history have been accomplished by adventurous people with a keen sense of observation. This would seem the case of Jim Humble who stumbled upon a simple molecule that could have the most extraordinary consequences for world health.

Jim Humble was a mining explorer searching for precious metals in recondite tropical areas where diseases are rampant. In a dire case of malaria he daringly used a simple substance used to purify water to treat the disease. To his own surprise it worked which led him on a life-long pursuit to perfect and communicate this discovery.

The substance is chlorine dioxide ion, a molecule composed of a single chlorine atom accompanied by two oxygen ones. Living in places where health care was virtually nonexistent, Jim Humble developed a sodium chlorite solution (NaClO2) that when combined with acid briefly produces chlorous acid (HClO2), which in sequential steps oxidizes ambient chlorite (ClO2-) to create chlorine dioxide (ClO2). He successfully applied this substance, which he coined Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), to some of the desperate cases he encountered. Thanks to the evidence, medical doctors soon joined his effort and developed this into a simple therapy that claims to be treating a whole myriad of diseases and saving thousands of lives worldwide. The use of MMS has spread the world over like wildfire and there are perhaps millions of users.

All the essential information is available on the Internet, including the possibility to download the first part of Jim Humble's book for free at his website, Miracle Mineral.

Doctors all over Africa, in a coordinated effort with European institutions, are now taking this treatment to the areas in the continent most affected by endemic diseases. Jim Humble himself has created clinics and has set up an educational centre for people to be trained in the use of this therapy; learn more on Jim Humble's MMS Home Page

Recently, the FDA has made a vociferous statement condemning MMS, and has made it illegal to sell. Indeed MMS lacks all the research data that conventionally is required for conventional pharmaceuticals. Being un-patentable and dirt-cheap, it is difficult to foresee that anybody would be motivated to spend millions of dollars to do that. However, through a coordinated effort by FAIM, Dr. Jose Aranda director of IMET of the Peruvian Social Security in Iquitos, has taken the initiative to do a preliminary animal study. While waiting for the results to be published, an interview of Dr. Aranda revealed that no toxicities in animals were found with normal doses. It would be auspicious, due to all the people who are nevertheless already consuming this product, that African medical authorities do a phase-4-type study to see if indeed there are any long term toxic effects (other than the allegedly short-term effects of saving someone's life!).

While MMS is used successfully on most viral infections like AIDS, Jim Humble has recently revealed the use of a parallel substance called MMS2 to treat cancers. He claims that the results are as impressive. An interesting interview by health activist Bill Ryan can be seen on Project Avalon's website.

It seems that people around the world, especially in developing countries, are empowering themselves by concocting and administering this cheap remedy on their own by overriding local and regional health authorities. In the coming year, due to the interest from all over the world, FAIM will put together a scientific dossier with all the scientific information available.