Can I Get The Organic Sulfur My Body Needs Through Diet?

Thrive-JeffBell_Close_Cropped_Headshot_10-29-2013The short answer is, “No.” But don’t lose heart; there is a simple solution.

First, we need a little background:  What is organic sulfur and why do we need it?  Simply put, organic sulfur is one of the most important elements that our biology absolutely depends on.  Sulfur is an element and as such certainly cannot be created within our bodies.

We must have it in order to synthesize a number of the proteins our bodies need and must produce.  We need sulfur in order to eliminate many of the toxins that build up as a byproducts of our normal metabolic functions, as well as toxins we may absorb due to exposure.

Our livers do most of this detox work, as well as quite a bit of the protein synthesis work.

The protein synthesis processes are complex examples of biological organic chemistry and are beyond our scope here.  We really do not need to understand them in any detail to recognize that sulfur is an essential element.  It is sufficient to understand that sulfur is an essential building block for many of these proteins.  Without it they simply cannot be synthesized.  And if there is a deficiency, then the protein synthesis will be limited to a level well below that required for optimal health.

Also, there are several amino acids which are not used in normal protein synthesis, but which are still required for key metabolic functions.  Proteins are composed of combinations of various amino acids.  There are 20 “canonical” or essential amino acids.  These are the amino acids that are required to synthesize the proteins that most mammals, including humans, must have.  However, there also are amino acids that are just as important because they are absolutely required for normal metabolic functions even though they are not used in protein synthesis.  At least 4 of contain sulfur.

Homocysteine and taurine are two of these amino acids that are not required for protein synthesis, but which are needed for crucial metabolic functions.  Methionine and cysteine are two of these amino acids that are required for protein synthesis.

In addition to being required for protein synthesis and the metabolism cycles involving several amino acids, sulfur is essential for detoxifying the body.  Our bodies accumulate toxins both as a by-product of our normal of our metabolic functions and as a result of exposures to the many toxins that surround us these days.

Sulfur’s role in this detoxification is complex.  Our livers filter these toxins out of our body, sequester them, and then combine them with sulfur to form compounds called: “sulfates”.  Once converted to these sulfates, the various toxins are far less reactive and dangerous, and they can then be relatively safely excreted from the body.

Further, sulfur plays an absolutely critical role in the transfer of various gases across the cell membranes.  It is required to facilitate the transfer of oxygen into the cell and carbon dioxide out of the cell.  And it is needed for the oxidative reduction process that is supposed to take place within the cells, (another aspect of cellular respiration).  So to the extent that we are deficient in sulfur, we also limit the ability of our cells to carry on their normal respiration processes.

As you can see from the above discussion, if we are deficient in sulfur, we will suffer diminished metabolic function, restricted protein synthesis, disruption of cellular respiration and a limited ability to keep our bodies free of toxins.

Sulfur is an element, which is not something we can create in our bodies.  We must take it in from some source, dietary or otherwise.  Further, we cannot store significant quantities of sulfur for any extended length of time.  Therefore, to maintain good health we must replenish our sulfur supply on a daily basis.

Why Are Almost All Of Us Sulfur-Deficient?  To answer this we need a brief history lesson – in this case agricultural history:  At the advent of agriculture, which goes back in human history about 8,000 years or so, the soil was rich in organic sulfur.  As a result, produce raised on such soil typically has been rich in organic, bioavailable sulfur, as well.

One of the key reasons why soil that is used on an ongoing basis to grow produce must be fertilized is to replenish the organic sulfur that the plants extract from it as they grow.  Organic fertilizers are typically rich in sulfur and therefore are ideal to maintain the soil’s healthy sulfur level.

But a true agricultural and health disaster struck about 60 years ago – the triumph of greed over health and ecology.  A consortium of petro-chemical companies got together and figured out that they could make lots of money by producing and selling artificial fertilizer and replacing organic fertilizer with it as the new standard.  It was a bold and ambitious plan, but they were determined and they had the financial and political resources to get the job done.

They succeeded all too well.  As part of their sales strategy, they promised that the new artificial fertilizer would cause the plants to grow at least as fast as they had with the organic fertilizer.  And this is the only promise they were able to keep.  The new, artificial fertilizer was nitrogen-based rather than sulfur-based.  The plants seemed to grow just as fast, maybe even a little more rapidly in some cases.  But now instead of being rich in the essential sulfur that we must have, the produce was rich in nitrogen, which we do not need and which does not sustain our health.

At first, farming with the new artificial fertilizers instead of the organic fertilizers was cheaper.  So raising food seemed more profitable.  That was not the case for long.

Soon various health problems began to show up in the livestock that was raised on produce grown with the artificial fertilizers.  By the time this became a real problem, the new “technology” or artificial chemical fertilizers was entrenched, and going back was already quite difficult and expensive.

By now the petro-chemical companies that started this disastrous trend had accumulated so much wealth and the consequent power that often follows industrial wealth that they were able to effectively nullify any voices begging to go back to the older, safer ways of growing food.  Instead of fixing the root problems in the livestock by returning to a sulfur-based system, they used their resources to create new drugs and technologies to cover up the problems.  Of course, they sold these drugs and technologies to the food producers, garnering still more profits for their misdeeds.

The bottom line is that on average our food contains approximately 4 percent of the bioavailable sulfur it contained before the switch to synthetic fertilizers.  Given what we have discussed here about the crucial roles that sulfur plays in maintaining our health, it is clear that this might be a problem.

So why can’t I just eat organic and get my sulfur?  If only it were that simple!  Unfortunately, it is not.  There are 2 problems with this approach:

1.  Most of the soil has been damaged from years of having synthetic fertilizers applied.  This is true in many cases even for organic farms.  Many farms that are now organic were not organic for most of the last 60 years.  The advantages and preferences for organic farming were not widely known in the industrial world for at least a few decades after the advent of synthetic fertilizers.  (The petro-chemical companies and others that profited from the promotion of synthetic fertilizers went to great lengths to keep it that way.)

2.  Even many of the organic farms that have always been organic are now producing food that is lower than normal in bioavailable sulfur.  This is because much of the organic fertilizer that they must use comes from sources that originate on damaged soil, so even the organic fertilizer is low on sulfur.

It will take generations of strictly organic farming and careful, intelligent soil management to return the food production to normal, healthy sulfur levels.

In the meantime, I highly recommend eating organic food as much as possible.  If nothing else, you will lessen your exposure to various toxins and chemicals, and the food will taste much better and be more healthful, overall.  Depending on the source, you may also increase you bioavailable sulfur intake that way.  But it is highly unlikely that you will be able to completely overcome the sulfur deficiency that is so pervasive in our food supply just be going organic.

What are the primary symptoms of dietary sulfur deficiency?  I have listed a number of the most prominent and most important symptoms in a number of my other blog posts about organic sulfur.  I will not repeat the list here.  It is lengthy.  However, if you plug organic sulfur into the Search Space on the site, (to the right of this post), you will come up with a number of blog posts about organic sulfur.  They will detail the symptoms for you.

Just know that sulfur deficiency can make you more vulnerable to parasites, can lead to cardiac problems and related disease, can lead to a higher level of toxins, low energy, a sluggish immune system, mental fog and memory problems, vision deterioration, and it is particularly associated with most types of arthritis.

So what do I do about my sulfur deficiency?  So far, the best solution I have found is to take a high-quality organic sulfur on a daily basis.  This needs to be in a bioavailable form.

Assuming a high-quality bioavailable organic sulfur, a person weighing 150 pounds will need approximately 4 grams twice a day.  It is best to take this at least ½ hour before or after your meals so that the sulfur does not accidentally get combined with things that may be in your food.  For example, if you eat a meal that has significant vinegar in it, (I don’t recommend doing that), and you take your sulfur with that meal, a good percentage of the sulfur will combine with the acetic acid in the vinegar, forming sulfates and rendering itself no longer bioavailable.

The best form of bioavailable, organic sulfur to use is MethylSulfonylMethane.  You might recognize this as “MSM”, which has been promoted off and on over the years as a sort of “health miracle”.

Chemically, what I use myself and recommend is MethylSulfonylMethane, or “MSM”, but there the similarity ends.  Over the years I have tried and tested nearly every “MSM” product I could get my hands on.  I have tested more than 50 MSM products.  Almost all of them either do not work at all, or at best work poorly.

Here are the problems with almost all MSM products:  Most of them include additives that disrupt the body’s ability to utilize the sulfur, (in this case known as “sulfur uptake”).  Some come from non-organic sources and are therefore not truly compatible with the body.  Many are overly-refined, which again disrupts the sulfur uptake.

Truly bioavailable organic sulfur, in the form of MethylSulfonylMethane, or “MSM”, should be carefully distilled from 100% plant lignum, without the use of solvents or other potential toxins.  It should be minimally distilled, so that the result is in the physical form of crystals or flakes that are about the size of typical table salt.  Distilling beyond that point makes the sulfur all but useless.

Further, the organic sulfur must be free of any additives.  Often, suppliers will add various substances to make it easier to encapsulate, or to prevent clumping.  This has been shown to disrupt the body’s uptake of the sulfur.  And the various lotions and liquid MSM products are even worse.

What you want is Organic Sulfur, (checmically MethylSulfonylMethane, often abbreviated as “MSM”),  in the form loose crystals that appear similar to conventional table salt.   A further test is to make sure that it is a little difficult to dissolve.  If you drop a teaspoon or more into a glass of water and it immediately dissolves with almost no stirring or other effort, be suspicious.  It most likely has had something added to help it to dissolve.  That will not get you the results you are looking for!

If it passes this test and dissolves slowly and with significant stirring and at least a few minutes required, then there is a second test:  Take your solution of dissolved Organic Sulfur in water and let the water evaporate.  You should have what are clearly crystals in the bottom of the glass.  If crystals do not form, then your Organic Sulfur was not made correctly and will provide very minimal benefits.

Again, I have tested more than 50 so-called Organic Sulrfur or MSM products over the years.  So far, I have found 2 that work.  Because it is so hard to find Organic Sulfur or MSM that is ideal for overcoming the sulfur deficiency and that actually works, as a convenience to my clients I offer the best of the 2 pure Organic Sulfurs that have passed my tests.

Each shipment includes detailed instructions to help you get the maximum benefit from your Organic Sulfur. They are simple to follow and have led to great reports from our clients.

There are links at the bottom of this page that you can use to easily order your Organic Sulfur. There also are links to several of my previous posts about Organic Sulfur. There is even a great protocol for instantly reducing most physical pains by using Organic Sulfur in a special way.

Please feel free to e-mail me any questions you may have. Or even better, please post them as comments below so that others who may have the same questions can benefits from your questions and the dialog we will have to address them.

To your great health!

Jeff Bell

Here are the links to purchase your Organic Sulfur, as well as to several informative posts about Organic Sulfur:

IMPORTANT!   Please note that the shipping and handling costs listed are for fully insured mailing via U.S. Priority Mail, within the continental U.S.A.  If you need to have yours shipped outside the continental U.S.A. please be sure to e-mail us or call us in advance so we can let you know the shipping and handling costs: jeff@MyHealthOptimizer.com or (925) 827 -3895.

The Organic Sulfur we offer is sourced through The Cellular Matrix Study, which is the world’s largest health study of the effects of sulfur deficiency and supplementation.  Their staff personally supervises and quality tests all of the Organic Sulfur that we offer.  It is the most consistently high-quality organic sulfur that we have ever found.

2 pounds of Organic Sulfur, including insured shipping and handling via U.S. Priority Mail: $78.95, within the U.S.A.

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5 pounds of Organic Sulfur, including insured shipping and handling via U.S. Priority Mail: $169.95, within the U.S.A.

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9 pounds of Organic Sulfur, including insured shipping and handling via U.S. Priority Mail: $283.86, within the U.S.A.

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Links to additional posts about Organic Sulfur:

Organic Sulfur – A Super Detox And Metabolic Support Agent

Organic Sulfur For Rapid Pain Management

DMSO And Organic Sulfur To The Rescue!

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