Organic Sulfur–Why is sulfur so important to health and why has it been depleted in our foods?

Sulfur is one of the most important minerals in our body. It is critical to help us detoxify and regenerate new tissue. Historically, the foods we ate had ample sulfur. However, since the industrialization of our food supply, our soils have been depleted of sulfur and even pastured, organically grown foods will often not provide our bodies with adequate levels of this mineral. The following study will help you to understand more about this important nutrient.

The Sulfur Study

Early results of an experimental study using Organic Sulfur

By Patrick McGean, Director
Cellular Matrix Study

The Cellular Matrix Study (referred to here as “The Sulfur Study”) was organized in 1999. This study was inspired by a fatal type of breast cancer, a type of germ cell reproductive cancer that had been reported to respond to organic sulfur.

While researching this cancer, it became obvious that the sulfur cycle plays an important role in the regeneration of our cells. The Study also found that the use of chemical fertilizers had effectively broken the sulfur cycle in countries that use these fertilizers.

Diseases we hadn’t even heard of have become typical, cancer has grown at an unprecedented rate, and the quality of our food has been greatly diminished.  Is there a correlation here?

Since 1954, rates of disease in the U.S. have gone up approximately 4,000 percent. And in 1954, chemical fertilizers were mandated by our government. Fertilizers such as ammonium nitrates and sulfates, which lack bioavailability, appear to have broken the sulfur cycle. This appears to have contributed to the decline of our health, wealth, mental acuity, and quality of life. We believe that when the Study is completed, it will clearly demonstrate a connection between the lack of sulfur and the inability of cells to regenerate in a healthy manner.

Linus Pauling said that all modern diseases can be attributed to a mineral deficiency. Though Pauling is best known for his work with vitamin C, his statement was about minerals. Most researchers say that sulfur is one of the most important of the trace minerals, around the fourth to sixth most important.

What Sulfur Does

Sulfur enables the transport of oxygen across cell membranes, and oxygen is necessary for healthy cellular regeneration in mammals. Plants, on the other hand, require carbon dioxide for cell regeneration, and plants can store sulfur, while man cannot.  Man eliminates carbon dioxide, and plants eliminate oxygen. Thus, the sulfur cycle is symbiotic and vital for life as we know it.

When many health professionals are asked about sulfur, they state as if reading from a cue card, “We get all the sulfur we need from the food we eat.” That was true until man decided to change the way we grow our food and what we feed our crops.

In 1920, Otto Warburg began his study of cancer in both plants and man, for which he received a Nobel Prize in 1931. He proved that cancer in man is anaerobic. Anaerobic, by definition, is cellular metabolism without oxygen. “Cancer” in plants is linked to too much intracellular oxygen, or aerobic metabolism. The use of a gas we are intended to eliminate for cellular regeneration is not a healthy program for plants or man.

Why Most MSM Supplements Don’t Work

The Study’s initial research of organic sulfur had its participants go to the store to buy MSM (methylsulfonylmethane).  But what we hoped to observe did not coincide with what the literature said about MSM. Except for gastrointestinal improvements, our initial group had little improvement.

When we found an article about the 16 “deadly” additives found in MSM—the anti-caking additives, we realized why our early participants were not reporting any health improvements. These additives benefit only the packaging industry; our health is apparently a lesser concern to them.

Sulfur, with an atomic number of 16, is known to bond with almost every other mineral. Sulfur has demonstrated its ability to detoxify heavy metals in conjunction with the transport of oxygen across the cell membrane, thus allowing regeneration. Sulfur is also the key player as a precursor for the utilization of amino acids, the body’s building blocks. Of all of the amino acids, some 70 percent are sulfur-based.

This detoxification cannot happen with MSM that contains anti-caking ingredients, because these excipients block the bioavailability of sulfur to the cells. The same thing happens when organic sulfur is released into the ocean, or evaporates and falls with rain—that sulfur is bound up by the chemical fertilizers as sulfites and sulfates.

It soon became clear that the Study had to find a pure, uncontaminated form of MSM. After a thorough search, we believe we have found it in the form of Organic Sulfur—coarse crystal flakes which are fresh from the precipitator and have had no further processing. This Organic Sulfur is supplied to the members of the Study, and we follow them with photographs of their faces in an effort to observe the cellular regeneration they experience.

The photographic followup, the newest aspect of the Study, is too recent in its implementation to be able to share the results. However, the reports on health, diet, and medications have been very interesting. As in the beginning of the Study, many of these participants had been taking MSM in tablet or capsule form for many years. Our efforts to find a pure form of MSM was worth the effort, as their responses have clearly indicated.

Preliminary Findings

We are seeing cellular regeneration in the face photographs of our Study participants, but it takes up to seven years to regenerate all the cells in the body when the cells are healthy. Damaged cells from trauma or chemical processes cannot regenerate unless the ability to transport of oxygen across the cell membrane is functioning. Oxygen is a large molecule, so  nutrient uptake is also improved when the cell membrane becomes pliable and healthy. The purity of the sulfur is an important factor.

Old scar tissue and various types of fibroids have been reported to resolve. This is an example of cellular regeneration in cells that have been scarred and unable to regenerate over the years following a trauma.

The skin is the largest organ in the body, and it’s like a huge kidney or lung. Sulfur is known as “the beauty mineral,” and what we really are saying is that the skin is more beautiful if its cells are able to regenerate. The skin is the backup for the liver, and someone in liver distress shows it in the cells of their face and skin. When the internal filters are working well, the extracellular fluids are not polluted and the immune system is allowed to protect the body from infections.

Lab and clinical data have not been made available from the doctors or clinics who have seen our Study members. However, we can report the following dramatic examples of cellular regeneration:

  • Cancer is an anaerobic condition by definition. Study members who had cancer and used chemotherapy who took 30 grams of sulfur during the chemotherapy had no side effects—there was no hair loss, nausea, or diarrhea. There was, however, a surprisingly greater reduction of cancer cells counts, as reported by their oncologists.  Lymphomas have been responding to Organic Sulfur both in decreased pain and decreased size of tumors.
  • Arthritis: Organic sulfur, by comparison to commercially available MSM, is a remarkable mineral for arthritis, and produces the effects which have been reported. Those who had been taking Organic Sulfur reported much less pain and increased mobility. Many reported the straightening of finger joints, along with the resolution of internal scar tissue around the joints.
  • Osteoarthritis has been reported to respond to the ingestion of organic sulfur. As can be observed in old photographs of our relatives prior to 1960, most people were not bent over prior to the historical breakdown of the sulfur cycle through fertilizer use.
  • Osteoporosis has also been addressed, though the numbers are too few to be significant. Bone density tests are demonstrating reversal of bone thinning, or loss of bone density.
  • Skin conditions including acne, psoriasis, rosacea, toenail fungus, burns, liver spots, and disorders associated with Lupus Erythematosus have been eliminated. Sulfur can be used both internally and externally, but the cells which demonstrate the problem originate from the endothelial layer of the skin, which is better addressed by internal use.
  • Cardiovascular: The results which were the most startling was the number of open-heart procedures which had been scheduled and were subsequently cancelled when the individual’s EKG returned to normal. This happened in as little as six weeks of ingesting Organic Sulfur. 54 cases like this have been reported. Our blood vessels also regenerate, and we believe that these cancelled surgical procedures could be an example of such regeneration. The group has also seen the reduction of scar tissue, high blood pressure, and the breakdown of calcium plaque in the arteries. Thus, we believe organic sulfur would be likely to benefit Alzheimer’s sufferers as well.
  • Diabetes is helped, because sulfur is necessary in the production of insulin as well as other sulfur-based amino acids necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates.
  • Gastrointestinal disorders including acid indigestion, GERD, irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut, and chronic constipation have been addressed with a dosage of organic sulfur at a 4 percent level of body weight twice daily. Other digestive disorders such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease have not been observed to date, but we feel that the symptoms found in the literature will be alleviated with the use of sulfur.
  • Liver: One of our members regenerated his liver after suffering 25 years from Hepatitis C, after 15 months of taking two tablespoons of organic sulfur twice a day.
  • Parasites find that the lining of the stomach and intestines too “pliable or slippery” to sink their hooks into.
  • Migraines and headaches have been alleviated. Migraines seem to take longer than other types of headaches, and the sulfur can often can produce a migraine which then may require more sulfur to address the possible detoxification process that is occurring.
  • ADD, ADHD, hyperactivity, depression, and mood swings are greatly relieved with the use of organic sulfur. Organic sulfur acts as a stabilizer or mood elevator and relaxes the nervous system. We have reports of people getting off antidepressants and Ritalin within as little as three days of starting to take Organic Sulfur. Those who had been on antidepressants for a long time took a little longer. The ability of the body to produce its own glutathione appears to be the reason.
  • Respiratory: Just as impressive were the Study members who were suffering from lung dysfunctions such as allergies, asthma, and emphysema. Those with more serious conditions stopped depending upon the bottled oxygen they had been carrying around, in spite of the fact that they might have continued smoking.
  • Glaucoma relief has been reported by Dr. Eldon Haus, MD and by a few members of the Study.  It appears that there is regeneration of the cells of the “drainage” system of the trabecular meshwork at the inner base of the iris. Subjects who suffer from increased intraocular pressure found that the drops they used to control their eye pressure often inhibited their ability to drive or read, where sulfur has not demonstrated any such corneal disturbance.
  • Hair: Gray- and white-haired members have experienced a return to their natural color hair.  The natural color that gradually returns to the nape of the neck indicates the regeneration of the pigment glands at the base of the hair follicle. (NaturoDoc Note: Reversal of hair loss is also being reported by our users.)
  • Teeth and gums: The power of oxygen may be best demonstrated in its ability to eradicate gum disease. Organic sulfur, when used as an additive to toothpaste or tooth powder, appears to eliminate the plaque buildup on the teeth, but more importantly, it appears to regenerate the gums and “tighten” previously loose teeth.

Cellular Regeneration Requires Oxygen Transport Across Cell Membranes

Cellular regeneration appears to be closely tied to the body’s ability to transport oxygen across cell membranes. As stated earlier, this is a primary function of organic sulfur.

A study of the periodic table of elements shows sulfur, selenium, and tellurium as being the only three oxygen transport minerals. Further study shows that chlorine and fluorine are detrimental to such oxygen transport, yet these elements have been added to make our teeth “healthier” and our water “more pure” or free from bacterial infestation. These elements are poisonous at higher concentrations, and they block the uptake of both oxygen and sulfur. Drinking city tap water is discouraged in the Study for this reason.

The Study believes that a widespread deficiency in the mineral sulfur may be responsible for the great increase in disease in the U.S. Healthy cellular metabolism is the basis for cellular regeneration of all of our cells. This is the bottom line for the human body. Without intracellular oxygen, we begin to degenerate long before our biological clock runs out.

We began life as a single cell, and from that one cell we have made and regenerated all the cells of our body in a healthy manner, unless that regeneration is stymied by the food we eat.

Since 1954, our food supply has been devoid of sulfur, thanks to the use of chemical fertilizers and the overprocessing of our foods.  Unfortunately, our nation is not about to cease the use of these profitable chemicals, which involve commercial agribusiness, medicine, insurance, as well as genetic and designer foods. However, we can regenerate our internal sulfur cycle with organic sulfur, provided that this sulfur compound has not suffered the same indignities of science that our food supply has and continues to suffer.

Finland, alarmed over the increasing disease rate of its population, took a hard look at chemical fertilizers and banned all of them, fearing the levels of cadmium. They were not aware of the sulfur connection or Krebs cycle. Since doing so, they have become a leading supplier of “Bio-Friendly” or completely organic foods in Europe. They have also seen their disease rates drop to one tenth of the 1985 levels. In 1985, the U.S. was at the same marked disease level as Finland.  Why are we not following suit and banning all chemical fertilizers? It appears that the epidemiology of those countries using chemical fertilizers have an increase in disease, while those that use organically based fertilizing methods do not.

Organic sulfur is a food, not a drug. Organic Sulfur is not stored in the body and it is considered to be nontoxic.  Attempts to kill mice, rats, and Oregon State Death Row inmates failed to reach a toxic level even at 200 grams or almost half pound a day.


Since 1999, there have been 1,100 members of the Study, and new participants are welcome. The Study is based upon and supported solely by this work. If you would like to become a participant in the Study, please contact:

Cellular Matrix Study
Email: kathrynepirtle@gmail.com

6 thoughts on “Organic Sulfur–Why is sulfur so important to health and why has it been depleted in our foods?”

  1. I have had issues with a shingles or another form of what looks like chicken pox …which shows up at certain at certain times and stays for months. I eat healthy am extreamly fit…5 8’years 130. The doctors ans dermatologists can not figure out what to do ans I have tried everything. Please let me know more information in your product.

  2. Hi Kimberly,

    I think the best help for shingles is a nutrient-dense diet based on the principles of the Weston A. Price Foundations. I also suffered from shingles at one point in my healing journey. It was through maximizing the nutrients in my diet that I healed myself.

    I would recommend reading my book if you haven’t done that already. Sulfur is available from foods coming from animals raised on high quality pastureland. I get my food from a farm in Wisconsin that built their soils for three years before pasturing animals. Egg yolks from pastured chickens are very high in sulfur. I would focus on the protocol in my book to overcome this problem.

    Sincerely,
    Kathryne Pirtle

  3. Well written article! I currently have some knee issues and started taking msm sulfur supplement 2 months ago, i havent noticed too much in my knees, but my hip pain is gone as well as all my skin problems, it almost sounds too good to be true, but i believe sulfur is a crucial mineral to our health as it is helping all the cells regenerate faster. would love to see some more experements on this subject.

  4. Hi Freddy,
    Your best bet at healing is to eat a diet rich in nutrient-dense foods including bone broth soups, which will help heal bones, cartilage and muscles. Make sure you get your foods from pastured animals. I would recommend you get a copy of my book for more info on this.Supplements alone will not do the trick.

    Best in Health,
    Kathryne Pirtle

  5. Kathy great read…I stumbled upon this website looking up the benefits of organic sulfur. I had a friend give me a bag to try. He is a 73 year old man that has been taking it for Arthritis. I had shinsplints while visiting and he told me try it. I have been taking it for about 2 weeks…I have to say it is disgusting, if the granular are not dissolved all the way I almost can’t take it down. I use orange juice which I don’t ever drink. But it seems to be the only way I can take it down. Any other options? I am a healthy eater (most of the time) and exercise I am in my 40’s and have been struggling with acne for 10 years and I would have to say I have tried and done everything to get rid of it but since taking the organic sulfur my skin is much clearer. Also I have noticed when running I feel as if I am getting more oxygen to my legs and lungs which I pretty much have tried to experiment with different supplements to improve my performance and with out pain to my feet and legs. That is why I like the name of this site :) So it’s the only reason why I keep going with this sulfur but man of there was an easier way to take it I would enjoy it more, hahaha!
    Thank you,
    Dina

  6. Dear Dina,

    I would focus on all the nutrient-dense foods I discuss in my book as your first choice. When you source these foods to farms that pasture their animals and build good soil through composting, you will be able to obtain sufficient amounts of sulfur through your diet. I feel this is your best first step.

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