My Story

About 2 years ago I noticed I was getting a pain at the base of my thumbs ... my left hand seemed to be worse than the right. As time went on it got worse. I tried treating it with niacin and anything else that I thought might work. I had been diagnosed with arthritis in my shoulder and hip at another time but both of those incidents went away with treatment and time. This bout did not go away. One day when I was working in my shop and trying to press the collet to my router to install the blade I realized just how painful it had become and how little strength I now had in my hands because of this pain.

A day or two later a client and I were discussing health issues and the subject of the pain in my hands came up. She suggested I try MSM. Of course I had never heard of it but immediately hit the net to find out what I could ... and mainly where I could find it.

I had immediate results ... I would say within hours. I buy it in crystal form. I add about 1 Tablespoon to a gallon of distilled water and use only that for drinking ... I try to drink at least 10 - 8 oz glasses a day. It has solved my problem totally unless I forget to use it or run out of it. Within hours the pain will return reminding me that I forgot my MSM.

I am sold on the stuff and would be panic stricken if I could not get it ... I even feed it to my older cats in their water. Lisa our now 8 year old Doberman gets it in her water daily.

Every body reacts differently to what we put into it.
This works for me ... it is my hope it will work for others as well.

Sulfur is a foundation mineral vital to organic life, performing many key bodily functions.

Holds together molecules of blood proteins and amino acids.
Helps form the collagen that shapes our tissues.
Forms thick, lustrous hair, clear skin, tough nails.
Synthesizes and activates thiamine, vitamin C, biotin, pantothenic acid.
Essential to creation of bile for digestion.
Needed to maintain body's acid/alkaline balance.
Required to produce insulin, metabolize carbohydrates.
Helps maintain immune system.

Did you know you get a new start every few months? Your body continually rebuilds all its cells, and it needs the proper building materials to construct a "healthy house" Surprisingly, one of the most essential building blocks in your body is sulfur.

Methysulfonylmethane or MSM, falls to earth as a natural part of the water cycle It provides the sulfur that our bodies need to create or use vitamins, amino acids, connective tissues, antioxidants and collagen. MSM, an odorless, tasteless form of sulfur, provides the same benefits as smelly DMSO, long used overseas for athletic injuries, arthritis, cystitis, central nervous system trauma and stroke and in this country to treat inflammation of joints and injuries in racehorses.

Happily, MSM does not produce intestinal gas or body odor like other forms of sulfur, nor does it cause allergic reactions like sulfa drugs or sulfite food additives. .

Essential to Most Body Functions

MSM is thought to relieve swelling, inflammation and pain in part because it sustains cell flow-through, allowing harmful substances and excess fluids to flow out while nutrients flow in.

Our bodies use sulfur to create the linkages that hold protein molecules together and for such vital processes as fat metabolism, immune function, energy production, development of the central nervous system, and maintaining health in the kidney, brain, heart and retina of the eye.

MSM may contribute the sulfur needed by the body to make both vitamin B 1 and the insulin required for carbohydrate metabolism. Sulfur helps create the antioxidant amino acid glutathione, a vital "garbage collector" that helps the liver excrete toxins. It also provides essential structure to glucosamine, needed for healthy ligaments, tendons, heart valves, skin and all connective tissues.

Processing Destroys Organic Sulfur

When foods are washed, processed, heated or dried, MSM (organic sulfur) is lost. Unless you eat primarily milk and raw food products, you probably do not consume adequate amounts of MSM. Almost everyone is thought to be deficient, a condition that may increase with age.

Allergies, Parasites and Indigestion

One of the most important anti allergic aids since antihistamines were discovered more than 40 years ago, MSM may help prevent the burning eyes, running nose and hoarseness caused by allergy to molds, pollens and dust. Scientists believe MSM works by helping cells flush out invaders, by competing with allergens for mucous membrane receptor sites and by binding to allergens so they can be readily excreted.

MSM has been reported effective against parasites including giardia lamblia, trichomonads, and intestinal worms. It may provide dramatic relief of diarrhea, constipation, nausea, acid stomach, pain and inflammation, with no dependency. When taking MSM as a dietary supplement, 75% of subjects in one study were reportedly able to sharply eliminate or reduce their use of antacid medications.

Arthritis and Inflammation

MSM relieves pain, inflammation and stiffness both from bone and muscle disorders like arthritis and from overexertion, stress or injury. In a preliminary study of osteoarthritis, the most common of all joint diseases, MSM provided pain relief equal to Motrin without toxicity." In a study at UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles, Dr. Ronald Lawrence found that 2,250 mg daily of organic sulfur (MSM) helped ease arthritis pain. Patients taking MSM experienced an average 82 percent improvement in pain whereas none of those taking the placebo reported more than 20 percent improvement. Dr. Lawrence concluded that "MSM may offer a significant new nutritional substance for the control of arthritic pain as a safe, non-toxic method." Many doctors and patients report relief with consistent use.' Research with animals shows that MSM lessens the destructive changes in the joints.

Cancer

Use of MSM greatly slowed onset of breast tumors in mice fed cancer-causing agents, suggesting it "might prevent human cancer indefinitely, especially when combined with other types of cancer prevention." It appears to also have a similar inhibiting effect on colon cancer in rats.

Suggested Use

MSM is less toxic than ordinary table salt, and it has no known negative effects. Certain grades of MSM are used for livestock consumption. Check your label for food grade purified MSM made specifically for human consumption.'

As a dietary supplement, 500 mg of MSM daily is adequate. To remedy specific conditions, doses between 1,000-6,000 mg daily have been used.

Benefits of Organic Sulfur

Two new booklets will help you understand how organic sulfur (Methylsulfonylmethane or MSM) can have such): far-reaching effects. Two authors, one a respected scientist and one a writer who struggled with her own extensive health problems, explain how MSM relieves pain, arthritis and allergies, helps digestion, nourishes skin, hair and nails, fights cancer and parasites, and more.

In his 48-page booklet The MSM Miracle, author Earl L. Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D. summarizes 25 years of scientific research and likens the role of organic sulfur to the role of "worker ants in an ant colony, making sure everything that is needed for the colony to function gets handled properly.

Mindell cites additional benefits for diabetes, eye health, stress, mental function, mouth and lung health, snoring, even insect bites and sunburn.

In the 32-page Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane: The Super-Suppleme~ of the Decade! author Martha Christy covers much of the same material in a more conversational tone, offering simple explanations and examples.

These conditions have reportedly responded to oral MSM.

Arthritis...Allergies...Asthma... Scars...Constipation...Colon & breast cancer...Skin, hair & nails...Mouth health...Hyperacidity, heartburn...Brittle/soft nails... Diabetes...Lupus... Muscle soreness, pain... Mental processes...Parasites...Snoring... Stress... Sunburn

2. Lankford, Randall T., Foundations of Normal and Therapeutic Nutrition, Albany, NY, Delmar Publishers, 1994, pp 174-75. . Atmospheric Dimethyl Sulphide and the Natural Sulphur Cycle, Lovelock, J.E.; Maggs, R.J., Nature, Vol. 237, June 23, pp 452-53, 1972.

4. Atmospheric sulfur chemistry and cloud condensation nuclei concentrations over the northeastern Pacific Ocean, Berresheim, H.; Eisele, E L.; Tanner, D. J.; McInnes, L. M.; Ramsey-Bell, D. C.; Covert, D. S., Journal of Geophysical Research,98(D7): 12701-ll,July20, 1993.

5. Bohinski, Robert C., Modern Concepts in Biochemistry, Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, p 687, 1987.

6. MSM - An Aid from Nature, Sellnow, Les, The Blood-Horse, 3459-62, June 1987.

7. Introductory Remarks: Dimethylsulfoxide Afler Twenty Years, Ann NYAcad Sci, 411: xiii-xvii, 1983.

8. Mindell, Earl L., The MSM Miracle, New Canaan, CT: Keats, 1997.

9. Herschler, R.J., "Dietary and Pharmaccutical Uses of Methylsulfonylmethane and Compostions Comprising It," U.S. Patent 4,559,329, December 17, 1985.

10. Herschler, RJ., "Use of Methylsulfonylmethane to Treat Parasitic Infections" U.S. Patent 4,914,135,April3, 1990.

11. Jacob, Stanley W. M.D., Preliminary Evaluation of MSM in Osteoarthritis, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, April 1,1997.

12.Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane (MSM):A Double-blind Study of its Use in Degenerative Arthritis-A Preliminary Correspondence,

Lawrence, Ronald M., M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Clinical Professor U.C.L.A. School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, 1998.

13. Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl sulfone on a destructive process in the joints of mice with spontaneous arthritis, Murav'ev IuV, et al, Patol Fiziol Eksp Ter, (2):37-9, Mar-Apr 1991.

14. Polar solvents m the chemoprevention of dimethylbenzanthracene-induced rat mammary cancer, McCabe D; O'Dwyer P; SickleSantanello B; Woltering E; Abou-Issa H; James A,Arch Surg, 1986Dec,121:12,1455-9.

15. Use of polar solvents in chemoprevention of 1,2-dimethylhydrazme-mduced colon cancer, O'Dwyer PJ; McCabe DP; Sickle-Santanello BJ; Woltering EA; Clausen K; Martin EW Jr, Cancer, 1988 Sep 1, 62:5, 944-8.

16. Whitaker, Julian, MD., Health and Healing, "Try MSM for Relief of Muscular Pam" October 1997,Vol 7:10.