This book literally changed my life. I developed seasonal "hayfever" allergies when I was 17 years old. When I married my husband at the age of 25, he made me take charge of my health, and having health insurance for the first time allowed me to do so. I saw an allergy doctor, who did scratch tests, which told me what I already knew ... I was allergic to grass, trees, weeds, (as well as cats, feathers, and molds). Basically, I was allergic to summer.

I endured years of allergy desensitization shots, but four years after I stopped my allergies returned in full force. I felt like I had a bad cold every day all summer long. I tried every allergy medicine my family doctor prescribed for me, but received minimal relief. My allergy doctor gave me a drug that worked years before, but he said I couldn't take them on a regular basis as they would damage my bone marrow. GREAT! The only OTC medication that worked was Benadryl, which made me tired and dried out my sinus cavities.

After finding no relief from conventional methods, I tried bee pollen capsules and liquid chlorophyll. That helped some, but I still suffered. Then a new family physician recommended an allergy shot, which worked wonders. I did this for two years (twice every summer) until I learned it contained cortisone to suppress my immune system! I was livid that my Dr. didn't explain how this "allergy shot" worked!!

Then a friend who was in a multi level marketing company told me about MSM, but I didn't take her seriously because she was always touting a new miracle drug. Honestly, I thought she was trying to make a buck.

One day two ladies in a health food store also told me about MSM, and I purchased this booklet to become more informed. The booklet is short, only 37 pages, and I consumed it in an hour. I figured it was worth a try, and purchased my first bottle of MSM supplements.

About The Booklet

The author, Beth M. Ley, was herself skeptical of MSM, but finally found a way to make it work for her. She has personal experience with it, as well as the other substances she writes about.

MSM, or Methyl-sulfonyl-methane, is sulfur, which is an essential mineral for the human body. Ley gives a background on MSM, explains what it is, where it's found in nature, and why our bodies need it.

It helps the body in three areas: dehydration & detoxification, energy, and structure & function. She goes on to list twelve symptoms that those with sulfur deficiencies may have. Slow wound healing, scar tissue, brittle nails, brittle hair, gastrointentional problems, lung imflammations, immune dysfunction, arthritis, acne, rashes, depression and memory loss. I personally could identify four of those twelve symptoms.

Dey lists the sources of sulfur in our foods, amino acids, and other sulfur containing compounds. She explains how many of our soils are mineral depleted, which leads to less minerals in our food supply.

Now that she has explained what MSM is, why we need it and where we can find it, the second half of the booklet tells is what sulfur can do for our bodies. Each health problem is thoroughly discussed, with suggestions on how to treat it and what supplements to take along with MSM. She claims that taking MSM may help these conditions:

* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Osteoarthritis
* Lupus
* TMJ
* Allergies
* Asthma
* Cancer (as a preventative to cancer)
* Diabetes
* Digestive orders
* Gum disease
* Hair
* Nasal congestion
* Pain & inflammation
* Skin
* Burns
* Snoring

Her final bit of advice tells how to use MSM, explains the first week detox, second week, and therapeutic maintenance. She addresses topical MSM, as there are many MSM creams making their way to the market these days.

Last, she explains what organic sulfur is not. It should not be confused with sulfa-based drugs, sulfites or sulfates.

About The Author

Beth M Ley is a science writer who specializes in writing about health and nutrition. She graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in Scientific Technical Writing (combination of zoology and journalism). She is working on her masters and doctorate in nutrition and has written many books on nutrition.

The back of the books lists a very impressive bibliography, citing: University studies, International Life Sciences Institute, Nutrition Foundation, Journal of Food Science, Matrix Biology Institute, Double Blind Studies, and health articles written by Physicians & Dermatologists.

How This Helped Me

The first year I started taking 1000 mg of MSM in June, but only received partial relief. This book explained that I didn't take a high enough dose, and I didn't start it soon enough. The longer you use it the more results you'll see, and the more you use the faster you'll see results.

The next year I started taking 2000 mg of MSM in February, and I breezed through the entire summer and fall with very few symptoms. I did get the occasional itchy eyes, but no congestion, sneezing and other cold like symptoms. I have now been taking my 2000 mg of MSM, starting in February and ending in September, and I have been free of the majority of my allergy symptoms for six years!!

Mind you, my allergies were severe. I could not mow the lawn, work in the garden, and was miserable taking our motorhome out camping. The only thing my Dr. did that helped me was to give me an allergy shot of cortisone. Sure it worked great, but it worked by suppressing my immune system! Allergies are a result of my immune system working overtime. I'd much rather take a natural supplement than cortisone shots!

I have two friends who have arthritis, and they swear the MSM makes a huge difference in their lives. I have costochondritis (playing golf should irritate this condition, and I feel much better in the summer months while I'm taking MSM. I really should take it all year long, but the capsules (or pills) are large and I don't like swallowing pills.

As far as what brands to buy, I've tried a lot of them. It like Dr.'s Best, but last summer I used the Puritans Pride brand during their "Buy 2 Get 3 Free" sale, and they've been fine as well. I prefer capsules.

If you even think that MSM might be the answer for you, I urge you to get this book or any other that explains the benefits of organic sulfur!

From the back cover: "The body uses sulfur to continually create new healthy cells to replace old ones. Without it, the body will produce weak dysfunctional cells."

Copyright: 1998
Published by: BL Publications

Recommended: Yes