Sulfur has historically gotten a bad rap because it’s associated with things like rotten eggs, skunk sprays, and Lucifer himself. (Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.)
Sulfur, in short, smells bad. If you have ever been to Florida in the inner swampier regions, you may have come across that smell, which is reminiscent of rotting eggs.dmso for humans That is because of the sulfur in the water, and you actually find these type of sulfur springs/bogs in a lot of places around the world (I’ll get to another place that I’ve been that is characterized by a strong sulfur scent, which actually became a popular spa back around the 1920s).
In any case, we all know that sulfur smells bad, but what we don’t always know is that sulfur is a vital mineral that we all need in order to have things like healthy skin and healthy joints.
One more interesting side note: remember Ponce DeLeon? He was that Spanish explorer who was searching for the fountain of youth. He never found it, but eventually became governor of Puerto Rico, and as a result became rather wealthy live comfortably for the rest of his life. Do you know where he searched for the fountain of youth? The heart of Florida. That’s right. Were all the sulfur springs are.
So maybe there is more to sulfur than just a bad smell.
In fact, there’s a lot more to sulfur, and in many ways it’s probably one of the most underappreciated minerals that we use to make our body run. Here are just some of the things that sulfur does in your body:
· Sulfur is of vital cofactor that gives three-dimensional shape to proteins that provide both the structure of your soft tissues and many enzymes and hormones that provide the catalyst for metabolism.
· Sulfur in the form of special bonds called disulfide bonds give your nails and hair not only structural integrity, but also the beautiful look but they have when they are healthy. Indeed, if you are sulfur deficient, you may find that you have thinning hair and brittle nails as a result.
· In addition, your skin contains quite a bit of sulfur in the form of keratin which helps give your skin both structural integrity, as well as a shiny radiant look. Sulfur deficiency in the skin can lead to loss of structural integrity which ultimately leads to saggy looking and sallow appearing skin.
· Your joints also are dependent on sulfur, particularly the connective tissue within the joints. I have written about this before in the past after visiting French Lick, Indiana (the hometown of Larry Bird), and visiting the sulfur spring spa there. Sulfur is one of the essential building blocks of glycosaminoglycans (GAG’s for short ). These are part protein part carbohydrate molecules which help provide cushioning within the joint. Supplements like MSM, are touted to have joined healing properties because of their sulfur content, and acting as a building block for things like GAG’s. Indeed, the sulfur content within your joints is correlated with having supple and flexible joints.
· Sulfur is also extremely important in the production of an antioxidant called glutathione. Glutathione has sometimes been called the master antioxidant because what it seems to do is recharge other antioxidants in your body such as vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q 10.
— A note about glutathione: Unfortunately, in spite of the powerful antioxidant properties of glutathione, it is not readily absorbed through diet. You cannot simply take a bunch of glutathione and expect to get all of its powerful antioxidant properties. Instead your body has to make it through complex process which depends on sulfur. Likewise, you cannot simply take a bunch of sulfur supplements to help with the synthesis of glutathione. In short, you need to get your sulfur through food.