Re: The Sulfur Study and Super Sulfur

[Guest guest]

Hi DB,

I did a reverse look up on the phone number for the site

order info NaturoDoc Customer Service Phone: 1-

and got Lee S (street address not available) Dolan

Springs, AZ . I did the same

search for the person who is in charge of the study

and got L 5416 Alpine Dr Salt

Lake City, UT 8410 . The point being that the

information does not point to any type of research institute

or facility. This is pinging my radar already.

To answer your initial question about what the term

" organic " sulfur means. In chemistry there are various

states of " bonding " which includes co-valent bonds. Sulfur

can be covalent bonded in either a double or single bond.

" Organic " sulfur is sulfur that exists in a double bonded as

opposed to a single bonded state. It is said that humans and

other mammals need sulfur in the double bonded state because

it is more bioavailable than single bonded sulfur. Many

minerals are more bioavailable in a plant based matrix than

when in a metallic or elemental state. That is why fresh and

raw organically grown produce is so important to health.

This is also the importance of MSM. It has been, to this

point in time, the only commercially available source of

double bonded sulfur *other than fresh unprocessed foods.

DMSO has double bonded sulfur, so yes to answer your

question it would presumably be an alternative source of

double bonded sulfur. Many people do take a daily dose of

DMSO for basic health. 's suggests 4 cc (a little less

than I teaspoon) as a good starting point.

You can see a picture of the DMSO molecule here,

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_sulfoxide>

upper right hand corner. Notice the S is connected to the O

by two lines, this indicates a double bond.

I read the article http://www.naturodoc.com/sulfurstudy.htm.

Immediately it occurred to me that this person stands to

make a lot of money selling the product that he claims works

so much better than MSM. This was confirmed by the price he

is selling his organic sulfur for. $39 lb is a lot of money

for sulfur, double bonded or not. That would buy a lot of

organic produce which I would personally would consume by

juicing yielding many more nutritional benefits than just

the organic sulfur.

His product is also not 100% pure yet he does not detail the

impurities in either his product or the MSM product which he

does not name a brand or source so one can not verify what

he is claiming. He further offers no documentation of his

claims that MSM has " deadly " impurities in it -- and he uses

a soft term " deadly " rather than a more technical term

" toxic " . He even states that he cannot reveal results of the

newer stages of his study. He does not provide raw data or

even statistically manipulated data. All of this points me

to view this so called study as merely advertising.

He is correct that sulfur is necessary for human metabolism.

According to The Elements, the standard lab reference by

science writer in residence, Emsley, at Oxford

University and published by Oxford University Press the

content of the human body is 140 g of sulfur. Dietary intake

is 850 - 930 mg, slightly less than one gram, yet

calls sulfur a trace mineral. This apparent mis perception

of sulfur as a trace rather than a macro mineral draws my

attention to his lack of understanding of the term

" trace " mineral.

He further states " Of all of the amino acids, some 70

percent are sulfur-based. " I did a little searching and

could not confirm this figure in human metabolism. It

appears that he may have not been looking at amino acids

occurring in the human body, but perhaps plant based amino

acids as well, so in essence his statement could be correct,

just misleading due to the context. Or he could have just

pasted and copied that figure without even realizing his

mistake. Either way this points to less than optimal science

reporting skills.

From:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL & _udi=B6VKN-4B6K8NB-2 & _user=1\

0 & _rdoc=1 & _fmt= & _orig

=search & _sort=d & view=c & _acct=C000050221 & _version=1 & _urlVersion=0 & _userid=10 & md5=\

cb629ea5a262fca45b

7e142bf2399c81

" Sulfur containing amino acids contribute substantially to

the maintenance and integrity of cellular systems by

influencing cellular redox state and cellular capacity to

detoxify toxic compounds, free radicals and reactive oxygen

species. Methionine and cysteine are the two primary

sulfur-containing amino acids in mammals. Methionine is an

essential amino acid, obtained by dietary intake while

cysteine is non-essential and a metabolite of methionine

metabolism. "

The Elements also states that sulfur is part of the amino

acids methionine and cysteine. Methionine is the only

essential amino acid of the two since cysteine can be made

from methionine but humans cannot make methionine.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid

" The distinction between essential and non-essential amino

acids is somewhat unclear, as some amino acids can be

produced from others. The sulfur-containing amino acids,

methionine and homocysteine, can be converted into each

other but neither can be synthesized de novo in humans.

Likewise, cysteine can be made from homocysteine but cannot

be synthesized on its own. So, for convenience,

sulfur-containing amino acids are sometimes considered a

single pool of nutritionally-equivalent amino acids... "

From http://www.springerlink.com/content/lf3fbf3ax77u4ja5/

" Sulfate and taurine are major end products of

sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism in mammals including

humans... "

Taurine is important to heart health as well as other

metabolic processes in humans, dogs and cats. It is use by

body builders to enhance muscle building. It is an amino

acid but not one that we can not produce given adequate

methionine. However this does not mean we cannot enhance our

health by providing it. I am not sure that taking double

bonded sulfur is the best way to enhance taurine in the

body. This is just one of the questions that comes

to mind when considering supplementing double bonded sulfur

as an over all health enhancement thinking that perhaps

other nutriceuticals would then become unnecessary in our

health regimens. I wonder if this is the assumption

is leading to without explicitly stating this as the goal of

his marketing plan?

Bottom line is why pay that kind of money for double bonded

sulfur? I would want to see much more documentation before

purchasing his product.

Garnet

===========================

More info:

From http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/136/6/1636S

© 2006 The American Society for Nutrition J. Nutr.

136:1636S-1640S, June 2006

Supplement: 5th Amino Acid Assessment Workshop

The Sulfur-Containing Amino Acids: An Overview1,2

T. Brosnan3 and Margaret E. Brosnan

Department of Biochemistry, Memorial University of

Newfoundland, St. 's, NL, Canada A1B 3X9

Methionine, cysteine, homocysteine, and taurine are the 4

common sulfur-containing amino acids, but only the first 2

are incorporated into proteins. Sulfur belongs to the same

group in the periodic table as oxygen but is much less

electronegative. This difference accounts for some of the

distinctive properties of the sulfur-containing amino acids.

Methionine is the initiating amino acid in the synthesis of

virtually all eukaryotic proteins; N-formylmethionine serves

the same function in prokaryotes. Within proteins, many of

the methionine residues are buried in the hydrophobic core,

but some, which are exposed, are susceptible to oxidative

damage. Cysteine, by virtue of its ability to form disulfide

bonds, plays a crucial role in protein structure and in

protein-folding pathways. Methionine metabolism begins with

its activation to S-adenosylmethionine. This is a cofactor

of extraordinary versatility, playing roles in methyl group

transfer, 5'-deoxyadenosyl group transfer, polyamine

synthesis, ethylene synthesis in plants, and many others. In

animals, the great bulk of S-adenosylmethionine is used in

methylation reactions. S-Adenosylhomocysteine, which is a

product of these methyltransferases, gives rise to

homocysteine. Homocysteine may be remethylated to methionine

or converted to cysteine by the transsulfuration pathway.

Methionine may also be metabolized by a transamination

pathway. This pathway, which is significant only at high

methionine concentrations, produces a number of toxic

endproducts. Cysteine may be converted to such important

products as glutathione and taurine. Taurine is present in

many tissues at higher concentrations than any of the other

amino acids. It is an essential nutrient for cats.

From http://www.tjclarkinc.com/minerals/sulfur.htm

Sulfur (S) is a nonmetallic element that is found mainly as

part of larger compounds.

Sulfur represents about 0.25 percent of our total body

weight, similar to potassium. The body contains

approximately 140 grams of sulfur-mainly in the proteins,

although it is distributed in small amounts in all cells and

tissues. Sulfur has a characteristic odor that can be

smelled when hair or sheep's wool is burned. Keratin,

present in the skin, hair, and nails, is particularly high

in the amino acid cystine, which is found in sulfur. The

sulfur-sulfur bond in keratin gives it greater strength.

Sulfur is present in four amino acids: methionine, an

essential amino acid; the nonessential cystine and cysteine,

which can be made from methionine; and taurine, which is not

part of body tissues but does help produce bile acid for

digestion. Sulfur is also present in two B vitamins,

thiamine and biotin; interestingly, thiamine is important to

skin and biotin to hair. Sulfur is also available as various

sulfates or sulfides. But overall, sulfur is most important

as part of protein.

Sulfur - occurs also as Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). MSM has

been helpful in allowing doctors to be able to lower the

dosage of medication that they prescribe for pain relief. In

some instances they were able to completely discontinue the

medication previously prescribed. MSM supplies biologically

active sulfur as a nutritional supplement.

IMPORTANCE:

As part of four amino acids, sulfur performs a number of

functions in enzyme reactions and protein synthesis. It is

necessary for formation of collagen, the protein found in

connective tissue in our bodies. Sulfur is also present in

keratin, which is necessary for the maintenance of the skin,

hair, and nails, helping to give strength, shape, and

hardness to these protein tissues. Sulfur is also present in

the fur and feathers of other animals. The cystine in hair

gives off the sulfur smell when it is burned. Sulfur, as

cystine and methionine, is part of other important body

chemicals: insulin, which helps regulate carbohydrate

metabolism, and heparin, an anticoagulant. Taurine is found

in bile acids, used in digestion. The sulfur-containing

amino acids help form other substances as well, such as

biotin, coenzyme A, lipoic acid, and glutathione. The

mucopoly-saccharides may contain chondroitin sulfate, which

is important to joint tissues.

Sulfur is important to cellular respiration, as it is needed

in the oxidation-reduction reactions that help the cells

utilize oxygen, which aids brain function and all cell

activity. These reactions are dependent on cysteine, which

also helps the liver produce bile secretions and eliminate

other toxins. L-cysteine is thought to generally help body

detoxification mechanisms through the tripeptide compound,

glutathione.

Deficiency and toxicity: There is minimal reason for concern

about either toxicity or deficiency of sulfur in the body.

No clearly defined symptoms exist with either state. Sulfur

deficiency is more common when foods are grown in

sulfur-depleted soil, with low-protein diets, or with a lack

of intestinal bacteria, though none of these seems to cause

any problems in regard to sulfur functions and metabolism.

Diet recommendations: There is no specific RDA for sulfur

other than the amino acids of which they are part are needed

to meet protein requirements. Our needs are usually easily

met through diet. About 850 mg. are thought to be needed for

basic turnover of sulfur in the body. There is not much

information available on sulfur content of foods, nor are

there supplements specifically for sulfur.

Food Sources: As part of four amino acids, sulfur is readily

available in protein foods-meats, fish, poultry, eggs, milk,

and legumes are all good sources. Egg yolks are one of the

better sources of sulfur. Other foods that contain this

somewhat smelly mineral are onions, garlic, cabbage,

brussels sprouts, and turnips. Nuts have some, as do kale,

lettuce, kelp and other seaweed, and raspberries. Complete

vegetarians (those who eat no eggs or milk) and people on

low-protein diets may not get sufficient amounts of sulfur;

the resulting sulfur deficiency is difficult to

differentiate clinically from protein deficiency, which is

of much greater concern.

Recent research: Clinical experience has shown that MSM

provides major pain relief through the following actions:

The inhibition of pain impulses along nerve fibers

Lessening of inflammation

Increasing of blood supply

Reduction of muscle spasm

Softening of scar tissue

[Guest guest]

Thanks Garnet. While that site had a lot of possibly good info, it was

impressing me as bait for a trap and I think you've confirmed that. DB