What is sulfur?

Agamemnon, the king of Greece, took the wounded soldiers to the hot spring in Balcova. Mozart and Beethoven always headed to the hot springs near Vienna when sick. King Louis allowed his troops to use the hot spring of Santa Lucia, West Indies. Why? Because of the sulfur in the hot spring water. Sulfur in hot springs is practical in rheumatism, digestive disorders, and wound recovery.

Among the components of the human body, sulfur is the 8th most abundant element. It’s part of all of the tissue in our body, especially in red blood cells, muscles, skin, hair, and so on, which are the most protein-rich. In addition, sulfur is an essential component of amino acids that make up the human body and is a substance that forms the basis of proteins. In particular, methionine and cysteine are sulfur-containing proteins that affect the body.

We can easily find sulfur around our lives. For example, many vegetables and foods containing this sulfur include ginseng, garlic, onion, and curry. Because of the sulfur, these plants usually have strong scents.

MSM

Methylsulfonylmethane, known as MSM, is a natural organic form of sulfur. This natural organosulfur compound has practical uses in joint health. Scientists began research on MSM in the 1960s. They studied various efficacy through clinical trials of over 12,000 people. MSM typically relieves pain and controls inflammation, skin regeneration, improvement of blood flow, anti-aging, and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. 

MSM is a natural dietary sulfur, and its official name is methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM). It’s unfamiliar to think of sulfur as a nutrient because it’s generally reminiscent of minerals. But this sulfur is easily found in the foods we consume daily. The unique smell of green onions, onions, leeks, red radishes, and cabbage that we commonly eat is the smell of sulfur compounds. In addition, hot springs, which are said to help treat diseases, contain a large amount of sulfur.

How MSM helps our bodies?

Dr. Carl Pfeiffer, a world-renowned nutritionist, also emphasizes the utility of MSM, saying, “MSM is the forgotten essential nutrient.” MSM is a natural dietary sulfur, and its official name is methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM). So, what does MSM do in our bodies?

#1 The Detoxification Effect

Detoxification is a typical benefit of sulfur, especially in inflammatory conditions. Sulfur-rich proteins, such as metallothionein, are solid elements to bind heavy metals. In glutathione, a sulfur amino acid neutralizes the toxic material. In addition, sulfur has anti-inflammatory effects by removing free oxygen radicals that damage cells. Through this effect, organosulfur compounds could inhibit cancer cell growth.

#2 Bone and Joint Care

The significant effect of MSM might be bone and joint care. It’s effective in patients with chronic pain in the musculoskeletal system. Researchers studied patients who consumed MSM for a long time, showing improved pain control and physical function without considerable side effects. 

Recently, studies on MSM for chronic arthritis patients have been underway. For those with arthritis or various muscle pain, taking MSM is an alternative way to care for the physical disorder. As many studies report, sulfur strengthens bone and muscle. Nowadays, MSM is a well-known nutrient for bone health, helping arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. MSM is helpful for joint treatment because sulfur is necessary to make collagen, the main ingredient of joint cartilage. So, taking enough MSM will help collagen synthesis and joint health. 

#3 Skin and Beuty

Another feature of MSM is related to collagen. Collagen plays a vital role in maintaining the elasticity and health of the human skin. If there is a problem with collagen formation, the skin can become sagging, and wrinkles quickly occur. MSM helps activate this collagen. The sulfur ingredients increase collagen density and empower its tissue binding. 

Helping collagen formation could maintain skin health. The human body absorbs MSM enough and extracts the rest of it throughout the skin or urine, and sulfur emitted to the skin can have various beauty effects.

In addition, skincare, cholesterol-lowering, diuretic effects, active suppression, insulin regulation, and constipation.

Are there any risk to uptake MSM?

It’s unfamiliar to think of sulfur as a nutrient because it’s generally reminiscent of minerals. But this sulfur is easily found in the foods we consume on a daily basis. In addition, hot springs, which are said to be helpful in treating diseases, contain a large amount of sulfur. Especially, MSM is a natural sulfur compound with many biological effects. It shows remarkable anti-inflammatory works in joint problems. It is also good for tissues and skin.

#Side Effects and Dosages

Even though MSM is a natural organosulfur compound, side effects cannot be ignored. Excessive intake is rare but can cause vomiting or abdominal pain. In this case, if you reduce your intake amount at once or take it several times, most of the symptoms will improve. 

Other reports about MSM are mild skin and eye irritations. 

Alcohol is mainly concerned with chronic MSM intake. 

It might seem like MSM increased sensitivity to alcohol for many reasons. Disulfiram, sulfur-containing molecules, is used to fight alcoholism by not consuming alcohol in the body. Due to the small and non-polar shape of MSM, it moves into the brain and causes such a phenomenon, but further study is needed.

For pregnant women who breastfeed, there is not enough study about safety. So avoid it. 

MSM may interact with prescripted medications. Such as drugs to prevent blood clots: warfarin, enoxaparin, ticlopidine, and aspirin. And anti-inflammatory drugs, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

Clinical observations have shown that MSM can also have a similar effect to aspirin, which dilutes the blood of platelets. Care should be taken when taking MSM, which has a similar effect if you take a lot of blood-watering drugs. MSM is an adequate blood clotting mitigating substance, and it is worth investigating its potential.

Under the FDA notification, MSM is considered safe at dosages under 4g a day.

Conclusion

Since sulfur plays a role in anti-inflammation, it is expected to calm the inflammation in joint tissue. But this level of evidence is not high yet. MSM has seen healing effects, the one where people have other people and their families to promote effectiveness. Mainly, the lack of publicity about this patent in any natural material market is just incredible growth of a market. It would be from 2029 to 2021, with a future market growth rate of 7.0 percent. It’s still controversial, but it’s clear that most people have taken MSM and seen its effects. However, MSM is one of the most prominent compounds in our body.