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MSM: Organic Sulfur: The Key to Beautiful Hair, Skin and Nails
By Robert Pastore, Ph.D.
What is MSM?
MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane) is a natural form of organic sulfur found in small amounts in food and in the human body. Sulfur, the eighth most abundant element present in all living organisms, is essential for life. Some of the essential functions that make sulfur possible for us to live include maintaining the structure of the proteins of the body, helping in the formation of keratin, which is essential for hair and nail growth, maintaining immune system function, catalyzing the chemical reactions which change food into energy and neutralizing or eliminating toxins from the body.
We can derive a lot of information from the rare genetic disorder called Trichothiodystrophy (TTD)that is associated with a sulfur deficiency, resulting in brittle nails, hair, and an increased rate of aging skin. Sulfur is essential for the strength, appearance and overall quality of hair, skin and nails.
Every patient that I put on MSM notes an increase in the strength of their nails, an increase in hair growth rate, and better skin. The first thing they notice is increased hair growth rate. I noticed that myself. I have an extensive family history of male pattern baldness. I only needed to get a hair cut twice a year. My hair just stopped growing by the age of 33. I expected it to be my turn at losing hair. However, since taking my 100% form of MSM, I now need a hair cut every 6 weeks! My nails are very strong as well.
I never thought of MSM as a beauty supplement. Being a clinical scientist, my focus was on relieving pain and healing joint tissue in patients that had chronic degenerative pain conditions, such as arthritis. The improvement on hair skin and nails seemed to be a side-effect that I noticed after as little as 6 weeks of MSM supplementation.
In a small hair and nail study at Oregon Health Science University, nail growth improved and hair growth and appearance improved by week six, in subjects taking MSM.
Since that study, and my personal experience as a practitioner, I started using a minimum of 4000mg of 100% pure MSM to address hair, skin and nail health.
My favorite story is that my colleagues have been experiencing an improvement in hair quality and growth on MSM Pure 2000. A colleague recently cancelled his hair transplant appointment! |