Sulfur is a mineral that occurs in our bodies and is the third most plentiful mineral in the human body.
Sulfur is needed for many processes that the body goes through constantly. It is present in each and every cell of our body and is an important building block for proteins.
Sulfur has many beneficial uses and is found to be effective in the treatment of various illnesses including osteoarthritis, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. Sulfur is a natural anti-histamine and is thus very useful in controlling allergies.
Sulfur also helps to keep up your energy levels, reduces tiredness and fatigue, and is especially vital for the health of your hair, nails, and skin.
Because of the many advantages of sulfur to your health, it is important that people do not have a sulfur deficiency. But how does one ensure that they are getting the required amounts of sulfur? We'll show you how.
Sources of Sulfur: Sulfur Foods and Supplements
Most food items contain varying amounts of sulfur. As sulfur is an essential component in many types of proteins, if you have a diet rich in protein foods, you can get the required quantities of sulfur from your food itself. Here is a handy list of some sulfur foods:
o Vegetables: Asparagus, broccoli, watercress, cabbage, pok choy, parsley, garlic, and onion.
o Chicken, eggs, and red meat.
o Coconut, avocado, and most other nuts.
o Milk and cheese
o Legumes and dried beans
Of all the above, onions and garlic are the richest sources. Although you can get all that your body needs through sulfur foods, there are some problems with relying only on foods alone.
Not all people eat a diet high in protein foods and sulfur foods. You may not even be aware of how much sulfur is there in what food stuff, and will thus not be able to tell if you have got the right quantities of sulfur from your diet.
Thus, taking a sulfur supplement is a great way to ensure that your body gets its daily dosage of this essential mineral.
Effects of Sulfur
1) Too little sulfur: If your body is deficient in sulfur, you could face many health problems such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, asthma, lupus, allergies, and acne.
2) Too much sulfur: Taking too much sulfur is also a problem and can result in diseases such as Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease etc.
Thus it is essential that your sulfur intake is optimum and neither too little or too much. There are no RDA guidelines for the intake of sulfur as it is believed that people get enough sulfur from sulfur foods.
But as shown earlier, you cannot depend only on sulfur foods for your mineral needs, thus supplementing your diet with 250-500mg of sulfur (from sulfur supplements) is the right thing to do.
Tips On Choosing A Sulfur Supplement
Choose a sulfur supplement that is made by a manufacture that complies with pharmaceutical GMP standards. This is very essential as the dietary supplements industry is not regulated in the United States. Because of this, many supplements do not even contain half the ingredients mentioned on the bottle. Thus, by buying a product as stated above, you can ensure that you get a quality product.
Avoid buying any sulfur supplements that contain additives such as silica, sugar, starch etc as these can be very harmful to your health.
Try and choose a sulfur product that contains the mineral in the form of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) as this form of sulfur is very beneficial to your wellbeing. One of the most popular alternatives today is to use a natural multivitamin that not only contains MSM (sulfur) but also other vital nutrients.
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