What a bonus when a natural substance for pain relief also feeds our hair, skin and nails. Monica Morell takes a look.
Two American pain specialists - Dr Stanley Jacob and Dr Ronald Lawrence - were busy on the manuscript of The Miracle of MSM with medical writer Martin Zucker, when the phone rang at their clinic. And it rang again a short while later with an almost identical call. They were both from women who'd started using MSM and, a within a few weeks, began to notice that their wrinkles had lessened. Needless to say, both were very excited. (What woman wouldn't be?)
"Does MSM really get rid of wrinkles?" the first caller wanted to know. The doctors had to point out that, as physicians who treated pain disorders, they were not dermatology or cosmetic experts - and that, while ThreshHold RealMSM did a lot of good things for the body, there was no scientific evidence that it erased wrinkles. However they did admit that many women using the supplement had observed that it made their skin ‘softer'. And, as they say in the book, "this effect probably also softens the wrinkle lines."
Internal cosmetic
"That's good enough for me," their first caller said. The second one agreed, adding: "I'm happy with what I'm seeing. You should probably call MSM an internal cosmetic."
The doctors would be the first to admit that two phone calls do not add up to medical evidence but where there is smoke, there's usually a fire of sorts. "We do receive frequent feedback from out patients about how surprised they are to experience the cosmetic bonuses of MSM: softer skin, harder nails and thicker hair," they write. "This gives us additional clinical evidence that MSM is a biologically active source of sulfur that is utilized by the body."
They point out that MSM is one third sulfur which has a reputation as a natural ‘beauty mineral' that can help keep the hair healthy and the complexion youthful. Cystine, one of the amino acids found in sulfur, also occurs in skin, hair and fingernails and it feeds the keratin or protein found in these tissues. This can contribute to faster hair and nail growth, making both thicker and stronger.
While writing this, I've registered that my nails have stopped peeling - and the timing coincides with my starting to take ThreshHold RealMSM regularly. Irma Schutte swears she has to go to the hairdresser more frequently to have her hair cut as she has been using the supplement constantly for a long time.
Slow down scarring
Returning to skin benefits, it appears that MSM can also play a role in reducing scar formation. Whether the cause is an accident or an operation, anything that cuts deeply through the skin layers will leave some scar tissue which, in turn, can result in tightness and a reduced range of motion.
It's thought that scarring is partly the result of a process called cross-linking that occurs in the collagen (protein) of the skin. Any increase in the cross-linkage enlarges the bulk of the scar. Jacob and Lawrence point out in their book that laboratory experiments some years ago showed that MSM normalises the cross-linking so supplementing with ThreshHold RealMSM could help lessen scar formation and reduce the potential for pain (if small nerve fibres are trapped in the scar tissue).
They suggest that one takes MSM before and after surgery: it won't prevent a scar forming but will help minimise it. It can also help lessen the evidence of stretch marks. "Start using it right after childbirth," they write. "The marks won't disappear but you should start seeing a reduction within two months."
So although skin imperfections and hair loss are not life threatening, their appearance causes its own kind of pain. And if using ThreshHold RealMSM can help to ease that - at the same time as offering relief from physical pain, inflammation and allergies - what a bonus!
MSM: Helping not harming
Dr William Regelson, Professor of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA, writes in his foreword to The Miracle of MSM: "As a physician, my concern for patient care always involves the fundamental principle of ‘Do no harm'.
Unfortunately in our efforts to help patients with disability and discomfort, we often rely on medications that have significant toxicity and create adverse side effects.
"As a medical oncologist and gerontologist, I am always sceptical of the value of a nontoxic drug, but many vitamins and food supplements have a place in medicine as substances offering therapeutic effects without major clinical toxicity.
The use of agents such as MSM is giving health professionals new, safer options with which to help combat the debility of chronic disease."
SOURCE: LIVING NATURALLY MAGAZINE - SUMMER 2008/2009
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