[manmal]

I was in a similar situation to yours, until I took MSM (review: http://www.vitaflex.com/res_msmreva.php). It's a little-known, little-researched substance (my link only contains refs to veterinary studies), but reportedly contained in raw meat and vegetables. Once I began taking 3-5g a day (powder form), I have been almost unable to put on bodyfat, and already lost a good deal of it. People say it changes carbohydrate metabolism, but I suspect it's also got to do with detoxification (bodyfat stores toxines - can't find studies for that) and the fact that it does away with candida.

[biot]

For a counterpoint: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/msm.ht...

[singular]

Hm the conclusion there appears to be that claims for it aren't based on research as there is very little, which the parent acknowledges.

The weight loss claims here are of course anecdotal, but it certainly seems worth a try, given that it seems perfectly safe. Presumably the worse that can happen is you simply pass it out of your system and it does nothing.

[biot]

According to the research, unused MSM is processed by the renal system. In relatively high doses, no adverse effects were observed but I'd be cautious about effects which didn't get observed, especially from prolonged use for which there are inadequate studies. So the worst that can happen in passing it out of your system might be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renal_failure

[singular]

Ah, point taken! That wouldn't be such a good outcome :-)

I slightly regret the response now actually, I was being quite majorly hand-wavey, I guess the fact that there is a great deal of uncertainty here and the promise of easy weight loss has combined to provide some bias here :-)

[manmal]

There is no indication (neither anecdotal nor peer-reviewed) that this poses a problem. All the quackwatch page says is "Well we found no objections, but be careful nonetheless, even though there is no indication that it it's dangerous to take MSM". That's a speculative conclusion based on assumptions, not exactly what I would expect from someone debunking quack myths based on scientific reasoning.

[biot]

This part is also notable:

  In October 2000, the FDA warned [Karl Loren] that the long list
  of therapeutic claims he was making for these products made them
  drugs would be illegal to market without FDA approval. The letter
  stated that the FDA had seen no evidence that the products were
  safe and effective for their intended uses.

Absence of evidence that it's safe doesn't necessarily imply that it's unsafe. However, one should be cautious until peer-reviewed research on the long-term effects have been studied.

[ljf]

Very interesting, it's available from health food shops in the uk, labelled as helping with joint pain. Since I also get a bit of that I'm going to have to try this. Do you have any other links that discuss its use for weight loss?

[manmal]

Interestingly there is hardly any information on weight loss. I'm quite sure that there are not many people taking as much as I do (the effect occurs with 2 teaspoons daily). I know for certain that this dose has quite quickly done away with candida (no white tongue anymore, and IBS almost gone), while lower doses were not as effective.

[trentlott]

You lost me at detoxification

[manmal]

Why? What's wrong with that? Do you think the stuff we ingest nowadays will completely leave our bodies? Side products from maldigestion? Traces of BPA, pesticides, antibiotics? Don't you think the body will deposit some of those toxines _somewhere_ if we don't drink enough every day, allowing for flushing them out?