Even though sulfur is one of six basic building blocks of life, it isn’t studied heavily by the medical establishment and receives relatively scant coverage by the mainstream press.
Sulfur Facts at a Glance
| Sulfur is the third most abundant mineral in your body, exceeded only by calcium and phosphorus. | Sulfur participates in numerous biological processes such as metabolism. |
| Known as a healing and detoxification mineral, sulfur-based amino acids are instrumental in synthesizing glutathione, which is a powerful antioxidant. | Sulfur is active in the conversion of vitamin B1 (thiamine) and biotin (vitamin B7) which, in turn, are essential for converting carbohydrates into energy. |
| Sulfur is present in insulin, which is the essential hormone that promotes the utilization of sugar derived from carbohydrates for fuel in muscle and fat cells. | Sulfur plays an important role in the health of your mitochondria, which are the energy factories of your cells. |
| A sulfur deficiency often causes pain and inflammation associated with muscle and skeletal disorders. | Treated almost like a forgotten stepchild, sulfur has not received a recommended daily allowance (RDA) update from the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board for more than 25 years. |
Don’t we get enough of sulfur naturally from the foods we eat?
The common misconception is that most of us consume plenty of sulfur from the food we eat. As a result, sulfur is generally overlooked as a potential health concern. While high-protein foods such as pastured eggs, nuts, and grass-fed meats are portrayed as excellent sources, sulfur can also be found in leafy greens and herbs such as cabbage, spinach, kale, garlic, and onions. However, much of their nutritional value is lost if they are not obtained from organic sources.
Since the 1950s, the rapid adoption of inorganic fertilizers that contain chemicals like ammonium nitrate has destroyed the natural cycle so that an insufficient amount of sulfur is being “delivered” to us in our food. In addition, sulfur is a volatile mineral that rapidly disappears from food when it is processed, cooked, dried, or stored.
Consequently, much of the processed food sold in grocery stores and restaurants is sulfur-deficient.
Sulfur: an essential mineral in so many ways
One of sulfur’s most valuable functions is as an antioxidant. While there are four sulfur-based amino acids, only methionine and cysteine are incorporated into proteins. The importance of cysteine to human health is described by JT Brosnan and ME Brosnan in their scientific study entitled “The sulfur-containing amino acids: an overview” that was published on PubMed in 2006:
Methionine is the initiating amino acid in the synthesis of virtually all eukaryotic proteins… 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… Cysteine may be converted to such important products as glutathione and taurine.
The antioxidant properties of glutathione relies on the presence and availability of cysteine, whose importance to our health is pointed out in an Immune Health Science article:
When cells have cysteine they are able to manufacture glutathione. Low levels of this all-important amino acid may reduce your ability to prevent free radical damage and may result in impaired function of the immune system.
Illness and a chance encounter started today’s sulfur awareness campaign
Patrick McGean serves as director of the Live Blood and Cellular Matrix Study that he founded in 1999. His introduction to organic sulfur came by happenstance. He had suffered from acid indigestion for over 20 years, until the day came when an elderly gentleman with a gruff demeanor abruptly threw a bag of white crystals in front of him and muttered, “Take this, you young whippersnapper, instead of those (expletive) TUMS™.” Within 4 days, Patrick was able to quit his TUMS regimen because the supplement had relieved him of this condition. Shortly thereafter, he saw how the product enabled his cancer-stricken son to fully recover from his illness whose prognosis for long-term survival was only 3%, according to the doctors.
From those humble beginnings, Patrick has spawned a worldwide customer base and documented thousands of successful case studies covering a broad range of health maladies.
“Probably 99% of the world’s population is sulfur-deficient.”
-Patrick McGean, Director of the Cellular Matrix Study
References
Sulfur: The Mineral That Helps Fight Fatigue, Stress, Pain, Cancer, and Wrinkles, Too
By Dr. Mercola
Sep 12, 2011
Could THIS Be the Hidden Factor Behind Obesity, Heart Disease, and Chronic Fatigue?
Dr. Mercola
Sep 17, 2011
Sulfur Does Your Body Good
Dr. Mercola
May 16, 2016
The sulfur-containing amino acids: an overview
JT Brosnan, ME Brosnan
PubMed | 2006
Cysteine
Immune Health Science