MSM

What Is MSM?

MSM is methylsulfonylmethane, a small sulfur molecule: two methyl groups either side of a sulfone. It belongs to the sulfur cycle that runs between ocean plankton and rain, and turns up in trace amounts in milk, coffee, tomatoes and green vegetables.

How It Works in the Body

Sulfur is the third most plentiful mineral in the body, after calcium and phosphorus. Most of it arrives in two amino acids, methionine and cysteine.

Cysteine's sulfur ends up in glutathione, in taurine, and in the disulfide bridges that hold proteins such as keratin in shape. The body also hangs sulfate groups onto sugar chains: the sulfate on chondroitin is one example. MSM adds to the sulfur available for that chemistry, and what goes unused leaves unchanged.

What It Supports

• Sulfur supply: MSM contributes to the pool of sulfur the body draws on to build its own molecules.
• Hair and nails: Keratin is a sulfur-rich protein, held in shape by disulfide bridges between cysteines.
• Antioxidant defense: Cysteine's sulfur atom is the working end of glutathione, the body's own antioxidant tripeptide.
• Joint tissue: Sulfate groups sit on the sugar chains that give cartilage its structure, and sulfur supports that chemistry.

Who It May Suit

Adults who train hard, and anyone who would rather take one straightforward ingredient than a blend. MSM is made by chemical synthesis rather than from animals, and the capsule is plant cellulose, so it fits vegan eating.

Good To Know

MSM has a faintly bitter, sulfurous taste that the capsule keeps out of the way. A serving is two capsules and carries 2,000 mg per serving. Talk with your healthcare provider before use if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you take a blood thinner.