About Organic Sulfur *** Instructions for use at bottom of page
Linus Pauling has been quoted that all of our modern diseases can be attributed to a mineral deficiency. Though he is best known for Vitamin C, his statement is regarding elemental minerals. Most researchers say that bio-available sulfur is one of the most important of the trace minerals, anywhere from 4th to 6th most important. Some research reports suggest about 1% of our body weight should be bio-available "organic" sulfur (as it is essential for the structure of amino acids and oxygen transport). It is the best natural detoxifying-chelation agent for heavy metals that we have found.
Cellular regeneration (healthy miosis and mitosis) is closely linked with our body's ability to transport oxygen across the cell membrane. A study of the periodic table shows sulfur, selenium, and tellurium are the only oxygen transport minerals. Facilitating oxygen transport at the cellular level, meaning across the cell membrane, is a primary function of bio-available organic sulfur. It is also essential for the creation of amino acids. In mammals these are crucial for health.
It is important to note that plants can store the sulfur they need, while living animals (people) cannot. We must consume sufficient quantities of organic sulfur on a daily basis. The sulfur most companies sell (the MSM sold anywhere else) doesn't occur naturally in nature. It is all made in a chemical plant. Some plants manufacture a more pure MSM than others.
The Sulfur Cycle
Regarding Retail and Other Methylsulfonylmethane Products
Bio-available MSM
Black Liquor — DMSO / DMSO2
Powdered vs. Large-Flake MSM
What's a “flow agent”?
What's Silica?
Instructions for Use
The Sulfur Cycle
Sulfur exists in both mineral (yellow mineral - not bio-available) and organic (white crystals - bio-available) forms. Yellow mineral sulfur in the earth—the “yellow dirt” from mining—is present in a volcano's lava that is forced into the ocean through volcanic activity on the ocean floor. These under-water volcanoes are called “black smokers”. The sulfur mineral from black smokers reacts with ocean water and is changed to bio-available sulfur that becomes a part of ocean water. Through nature's cycle of water distribution, evaporation, and condensation (rain), and microscopic life forms, bio-available organic sulfur becomes a part of the nutrients for plants and animals. Bio-available sulfur (not the yellow mineral) is then consumed by animals and people. The sulfur cycle is symbiotic and vital for life as we know it.
* * *
“Bonding” is a part of chemistry and is related to electrons. Sulfur, with an atomic number of 16, is known to easily bond with many elements and molecular compounds. Bonding weakens the sulfur's bio-availability. If we do not get the correct amount of organic sulfur, or it's weakened through bonding with other substances, it cannot do these four crucial things: (i) facilitate the detoxification of heavy metals, (ii) effectively enable the transport of oxygen across the cell membrane, (iii) foster healthy cell regeneration, or (iv) act as the key agent in the effective utilization of amino acids. Amino acids are the body's building blocks, of which some 70% are sulfur based. Four of the more crucial amino acids, methionine, cystine, cysteine, and taurine, can't effectively function without organic sulfur. Only a pure and unprocessed bio-available sulfur can contribute to our health.
The West Coast Organic Sulfur Study/Project uses organic sulfur (methylsulfonylmethane) in a pure, large flake form, made from DMSO. DMSO from pine lignans is rotated in a stainless steel vat and sulfur crystals condense on the outside. They're then removed with a hammer- heat is not used to separate the sulfur. You can take our sulfur and grow large crystals from it in a glass of water, but you can't do this with most MSM on the market- remember- most MSM is only 39% sulfur which has been damaged by high heat, and is mostly methyl cellulose. Whats worse, is they've added silicon dioxide, an anti caking ingredient that interferes with the uptake of sulfur to the cells- this stuff will work, sort of, but you have to take about five times as much!No fillers, anti-caking agents, or preservatives are added. It is 99.7 % pure and uncontaminated in large white flakes that have no further processing. The West Coast Organic Sulfur Study does not use the “MSM” that is purchased in retail outlets or from other on-line sources. Our product is NOT from offshore (China, India, or Russia). It is a North American-made product made to our rigid standards of pharmaceutical/food quality.
The organic sulfur of our study is not processed beyond its pure state of large white flakes. The organic sulfur used for the West Coast Organic Sulfur Project is not the “yellow dirt” sulfur from mining and it is not related to the sulfa drugs that some people are allergic to. We refer to this as organic sulfur for two reasons -- (i) it is purchased, packaged, and sold to you in the purest form available / food grade, pharmaceutical quality; and (ii) it is 100% bio-available. Organic sulfur is made of carbon, oxygen, and bio-available sulfur. Your body uses all of it.
Regarding Retail and Other Methylsulfonylmethane Products
All retail and internet sulfur/MSM products that we have examined (except for the organic sulfur used in the West Coast Organic Sulfur Study) are sold in pills, capsules, or in a finely powdered form. To our knowledge, all these other forms of sulfur or MSM, whether in retail outlets or purchased on-line, have been processed after precipitation. This makes MSM ineffective as a healing agent. There are several important considerations for deciding which MSM to take:
whether or not it's in its “flake” form (small chunks, not a fine powder); and,
what additives there are. If it's sold in pills or capsules there are additives. In many of the powdered forms there are silica additives (flow agents) which are harmful to your health (see below).
Our belief at the West Coast Organic Sulfur Project is that by far the most health-effective form is non-processed organic sulfur in it's naturally occurring flake (crystal) form. Despite the claims of retailers and distributors that the type of organic sulfur doesn't matter, our research proves it does (matter). This is verified by the reports that we receive from the long-term participants of the study.
Bio-available MSM
The organic sulfur used in the West Coast Organic Sulfur Project is a biologically available large flake form of the element “sulfur” that is crucial to cellular health. Organic sulfur occurs naturally in the growth cycle of all living things and should be present in significant quantities in the human body. To be healthy, our body must be able to utilize the sulfur that we are supposed ingest through eating food. The MSM must be in our food and biologically “available” (hence bio-available).
As we reported elsewhere on this site, the agricultural business of industrialized nations removed bio-available sulfur from food with the introduction of chemical fertilizers. As far back as 1954, organic sulfur was virtually eliminated from our diets, and we at the West Coast Organic Sulfur Project believe this has had disastrous consequences for our health. The following factors influence whether or not, and how effectively, our bodies process organic sulfur (or MSM), which in turn significantly affects our health.
The quality of its manufacture (pharmaceutical grade, veterinary grade, or industrial grade);
What form it is sold in—pills, capsules, fine powder, or large crystal flakes; and,
What it is combined with i.e.: anti-caking agents, flow agents, or other “nutrients” and products when it is packaged for resale.
All organic sulfur, or MSM, is manufactured chemically in a chemical production facility. It is fairly inexpensive to produce and is usually presented for sale as “organic” MSM. Drug and vitamin companies appreciate the misleading play on the word “organic” and use it to their advantage. They buy a chemically produced product (it's all manufactured), market and promote it as organic, and reap quite massive profits.
MSM (DMSO2), organic sulfur, consumed as a health product, whether its mixed with additives or is in some other form, is originally made in a chemical plant.
Black Liquor — DMSO / DMSO2
Black liquor is a by-product of the pulp and paper industry. There is a similar product from the petrochemical industry. From this black liquor, a chemical company makes DMSO. It is more accurately called DMSO1. That, DMSO1, is then heated, other chemicals are added, and that precipitation process results in pure DMSO2. DMSO2 is methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) or organic sulfur. All organic sulfur is chemically referred to as DMSO2 and is precipitated out of DMSO1.
Some retail/online companies promote lignin as a crucial component of their MSM. Naturally occurring lignin is present in tree cells and gives the tree its “rigid” form—lignin acts like glue in the tree cells and keeps the tree “standing up”. Without lignin it couldn't hold its shape. Here, at the West Coast Organic Sulfur Study , we are researching the claims of resellers regarding lignin in MSM. At this time it appears there is no chemical evidence to support the claim that some MSM has lignin and some doesn't, or that some sources of MSM are lignin-based and others aren't. Research continues.
Powdered vs. Large-Flake MSM
Contaminates: A molecule of sulfur, because of its “atomic make-up” (ions, protons, electric charges, etc.), is easily affected or modified by any substance it comes into contact with. This is the bonding we spoke of earlier. Sulfur is affected in a negative way whenever it is “packaged” in pills or capsules, processed into a powder, or combined with other products. It becomes less efficient and cannot be effectively utilized for vital cellular oxygen transport, cellular health, amino acid production, and is less efficient as a detoxifying agent.
Processing: In order for our bodies to use MSM to it's maximum potential it should be a clean precipitation of DMSO1 to DMSO2. That means in the precipitation process the sulfur molecule solidifies and takes on an extra oxygen molecule. Tt should also be as pure and un-processed as possible after precipitation — this means in its large flake form. Grinding the organic sulfur into a powder exposes more of the surface area of the molecules. It is negatively affected by air pollutants, chemicals, flow-agents, additives, pill bonding agents, pill coatings, the container it's stored in, other nutrients it is mixed with, and the paste ingredients of creams and gels.
Clumping: When it's pure, organic sulfur, also because of its electron make-up, tends to clump together in chunks or “cakes”. This is natural; however, this makes it very difficult to manufacture pills and retail products. To our knowledge virtually all the other MSM is ground into a fine powder and flow agents or “anti-caking” agents are mixed with it (usually silica). This makes it easy for packaging in capsules, pill making, and as a component of creams; it makes it more profitable, but this processing renders it significantly less effective.
What's a “flow agent”?
A flow-agent, usually some form of silica, prevents the powdered MSM from caking or clumping. This allows the powdered sulfur to be packaged in pills or capsules. The added silica significantly increases its bulk. Silica is very inexpensive and significantly increases the volume of “MSM”, hence more profit. The MSM, with or without silica, in pills or in powdered bulk, according to the members of our study, is dramatically less effective.
What's Silica?
Most manufacturers and retailers define silica as harmless and inert, so they add silica and market their MSM as “organic”. Here are parts of articles taken at random off the internet:
The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO2 and has been known for its hardness since antiquity. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. Silica is the most abundant mineral in the earth's crust. Silica is used in the production of:
Soda-lime glass, typically found in drinking glasses, bottles, and windows.
Raw material for many white-ware ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
Raw material for the production of Portland cement.
A food additive, primarily as a flow agent in powdered foods, or to absorb water.
Silica can protect silicon, store a charge, block current, and even act as a controlled pathway to allow small currents to flow through a device. It is also the raw material for aerogel in the Stardust spacecraft.
Silica is the powder in the small packets that are included with electronics and transistor components to reduce moisture. It is also in the small packages in some powdered food products (like pills and health powders) so the powder doesn't clump or the pills don't destabilize or decompose from excessive moisture. On the packets it is clearly marked we should not eat silica.
Silica blocks body energy and unnecessarily absorbs water, both of which have a detrimental effect on our bodies. It is an insulator and interrupts the dynamic body energy processes. Silica is quite detrimental to body energy and when added to powdered MSM, makes the sulfur less efficient. Our estimate, after ten years research, is from 50% to 70% less effective. Silica is a packaging agent that shouldn't be in our bodies and blocks the sulfur from doing its job.
It is important to remember:
ORGANIC SULFUR IS FOOD, NOT A VITAMIN OR A DRUG
West Coast Organic Sulfur is not the yellow dirt from mining.
It is not related to the sulfa drugs that some people are allergic to.
This is not the less effective MSM that is available in retail stores.
Otto Warburg began his study of cancer in 1920 in plants and humans, for which he received a Noble Prize in 1931. He proved that cancer in humans is anaerobic. [Anaerobic, by definition, is cellular metabolism without oxygen.] Cellular regeneration and good health is closely linked with our body's ability to transport oxygen across the cell membrane. As stated earlier, oxygen transport is a primary function of organic sulfur.
There are two ways our body cells get oxygen. One is through breathing. The other is through ingesting (eating) organic sulfur. Both are necessary and essential for health, for different reasons. Eating organic sulfur is a way of getting oxygen into your body, directly into the blood and lymph system. It then creates a healthy detoxification process, proper and timely cellular regeneration, and healthy manufacture of amino acids. It is worth considering that if the fundamental body organ, a body cell, is not working properly, then the larger organs are not, and aerobic exercise (like jogging) will only be partially effective. If the body cells, themselves, are not functioning properly, nothing is. Since, in our estimation, almost everyone is deficient in organic sulfur, most exercise programs are not as efficient as they could be. Even if you are in good physical shape, without the right amount of organic sulfur, your body, at it's cellular level, is not working properly.
Further study shows that chlorine and fluorine are detrimental to this oxygen transport, and yet these have been added to our water and toothpaste to make our teeth “healthier” and our water “more pure” and free from bacterial infestation. Chlorine and fluorine are poisonous and when it comes to oxygen and sulfur, these poisons block the effective use of both oxygen and sulfur. Drinking pure or filtered pH water is encouraged in the study for that reason. (Please read the Hydration page.)
We estimate, through the reports of our study members, that pills and retail MSM (powdered or processed) are about 30% as effective as the organic sulfur you get through the West Coast Organic Study. What this means is, it is approximately 70% more effective.
The organic sulfur sold through the West Coast Organic Sulfur Study is 99.7% pure (the rest is DMSO1 moisture). It has nothing added to it. It is precipitated from DMSO1 at pharmaceutical quality, and distributed in it's naturally occurring large flake form.
ORGANIC BIO-AVAILABLE SULFUR IS A FOOD NOT A VITAMIN OR A DRUG
Please remember, this is a research study. The reported health improvements may seem unbelievable, but they have been consistently reported. Rates and degree of success vary and are dependent upon regular, long-term use of Organic Sulfur according to the guidelines we have established over the years of the West Coast Organic Sulfur Project.
Instructions for Use:
TAKING WEST COAST PROJECT ORGANIC SULFUR
1 measured teaspoon = 4 - 5 g
The standard amount for a person in reasonably good health is:
Metric: 5 - 6 g per 45 kg of body weight, twice a day, about 10 hours apart.
US Measurement: 1.5 measured teaspoons per 100 lbs of body weight, twice a day, about
10 hours apart. i.e: a generally healthy 150 pound person would take 2 teaspoons early morning and the same amount again, in the late afternoon (about 30 minutes before the evening meal).
Too much Organic Sulfur has not been demonstrated to be harmful. Actually, it is evident the body works better with too much rather than too little. Adults, under 125 lbs, take a minimum of 1.5 tsp twice a day, about 10 hours apart. If in doubt, always take a little more
than you think you should. Too much organic sulfur has not been demonstrated.