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Rating: 
Summary: MSM science is still really flimsy
Review: Although I liked this book, I hope that this definitely isn't the definitive guide on MSM because the science of MSM is still really flimsy. This book doesn't change that at all, there's no research mentioned here that has been replicated several times (based on serious scientific double-blind studies with a significantly-sized test group) and has consistently shown MSM to be effective against any particular ailment.
I don't want to discount people's personal experiences but at this point their success using MSM is based on luck, not wisdom. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. But until there are a lot more double-blind scientific studies of the effectiveness of MSM for the wide range of ailments for which it is claimed to work, users of MSM simply don't know if they're throwing away their money or not. I am especially interested in MSM's effectiveness against allergies and asthma because I have a hunch (I use it myself) that it is effective against these ailments. Buy this book if you're interested but consider it another book on MSM. Also, this book makes the connection between sulfur -and the supposed sulfur deficiency we are supposed to suffer from- and the effectiveness of MSM. That is a testament to just how flimsy the science of MSM is because in the western world it is quite the opposite. Americans are eating way too much and consuming so much protein, the body's most important source of sulfur, that suggesting MSM combats a sulfur deficiency is ridiculous. Even for people who hardly consume any protein it is unlikely MSM will provide their bodies with the extra sulfur needed, several studies indicate only very little sulfur from MSM is actually absorbed. If MSM works it is extremely unlikely it works the way this book and other books suggest it works. The books would have received three stars if it didn't carry the superlative `definitive' which is misleading.
Rating: 
Summary: Re-reviewed: I've become more positive about this book!
Review: I didn't know the author reacted to my review. I am very positive about his reaction, he is right that statements about how MSM might work are not stated as being his opinion but as existing theories.Weaknesses in MSM research:
- The almost complete lack of double-blind research studies
- We still don't know how it works I think the lack of double-blind research studies is the most worrying, and until there are enough of them do consider the possibility that you're throwing your money away. On the other hand, MSM has become dirt cheap. The fact that they don't know how it works is also worrying. On the other hand, there are many conventional drugs that work in ways the research don't or only partially understand. Having now read some of the other MSM books, I think I can safely say this is one of the best ones. The fact the author responded to my criticism in a fair and balanced way is something not often seen in authors of health books. Just like with Doctors trying to push pills from a drug company they're receiving nice sums of money from, keep in mind the author is associated with a producer of MSM. He's not impartial, unfortunately that seems to be the way it is in the drug business. Considering the fact that pretty much anyone can afford to use MSM, it doesn't really bother me. People getting ripped off by pharmaceutical companies does bother me. Most importantly for me, I suffer from allergies and MSM works for me like nothing else. Looking at the research, it could be entirely attributed to the placebo effect. I suspect MSM is a very powerful and very safe drug. Independently funded double-blind research (studies that compensate for the placebo effect) are essential to make MSM a believable drug. Until that time, websites like www.quackwatch.com have every right to question the effectiveness of MSM from a scientific perspective. I think it deserves four stars, but I'm now giving five stars to compensate for my previous two stars. Please drop the word 'definitive' when the book is reprinted. I get 44451 results when I search for 'definitive' on amazon.com! Most of these authors don't seem to have a clue about what the word 'definitive' means.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Beef?
Review: I went on the Internet looking for reliable information about MSM, for no better reason than the fact that the drugstore started selling pills in which it was combined with glucosamine and chondroitin. I take those with the approval (not the urging) of my doctor, who felt that there was at least enough evidence to make them worth the effort. Subjectively, I think they make a difference for my arthritis. But I would not bet the farm on it.
Recently, there was a sale on supplements, so I bought some MSM and started taking it. First thing that happened is I got a rash. Luckily it went away after a couple of days, but the MSM seemed to be the only likely cause. Perhaps I have acclimated to the MSM, or else the rash may come back, who knows.
So far, it's too soon to tell if it will make my aching joints feel 10 years younger. So, rather than wait and risk more allergic reactions, I hoped to find decent information on the web that might convince me either that relief was around the corner, and that I should stay the course, or that I might be wasting my time.
Well, of course all I found in a typical web search was hype from people selling the stuff. How can one expect such sources to be fair? Then I found a place that had published the study by Dr. Lawrence at UCLA -- the one that every other website refers to as "preliminary" but leans on heavily as if it had come down with Moses from a mountaintop on stone tablets.
I know enough about research design to know that you can't change the number of subjects halfway through a test, and that dividing your subjects up 10 to 6, drug to placebo, is not exactly the kind of randomization that one seeks in a true double blind study. And any student of statistics knows that the margin for error in a sample of only 16 people is HUGE.
The doctor performed no blood work or other tests to ensure that the patients weren't self-medicating at home with other painkillers during this study. Anyway, that same study kept coming up on many search hits, so I refined my search terms, and found my way here.
I was hoping to find a book that had done more than I could do myself on the Internet, but from the sound of things, this book is not it. Large double blind clinical trials with strict controls are the only way to prove efficacy of any substance. If nobody has done any such study, then all one can say "definitively" is that the data is inconclusive. That doesn't seem very useful -- and that's what these readers seem to have said.
Telling the story of a doctor who tries stuff out on thousands of people does not prove anything. After all, not long ago there were thousands of lobotomies performed on prisoners and mental patients, by doctors who thought they were doing something beneficial. OOPS, when the real science came in we found out that the brain didn't quite work the way they thought. No, I want some real science before I take some unknown substance for long periods of time.
So here I am, reading these reviews, and I find that the author has come and written an addendum to the book right here on Amazon. Sir, I think it beneath professional standards to engage in argumentative dialogue with readers who are simply providing their personal opinions, no matter how appropriate or inappropriate you might think they are.
And how can you claim that the book eschews hyperbole, when its very title refers to MSM as a "Nutritional Breakthrough for Arthritis, Allergies and More?" I mean, really! If the book text concludes that the "breakthrough" is simply that the substance has garnered more media attention than it had before, that ain't what your title implies, now is it? No, your title tells the reader to expect an effective, proven, therapeutic treatment for multiple ailments. There is no equivocating in that title.
You chose it, now live with it. Your book should stand on its own. Personally, I always read editorial and professional reviews before checking customer reviews. Evidently the doctors for whom you wrote the book did not find time to review it, or were not told about it, which must have been an oversight by your publisher. You have more of a bone to pick with them than with everyday consumers who visit this site.
I think the consensus of all the viewpoints I see here, including yours, is that there really is not enough to write about yet. If the book reports all sorts of studies, of varying reliability, and comes to the end with a conclusion like, "Well, we really don't know," then I think it's fair to let readers point that out and not waste space here defending your work.
I'm sorry to say that it strikes me that a book on this topic, with such a sensationalistic title, is simply an opportunistic chance to make money off the latest health supplement fad. Why not get to work on another book instead, or write some grant proposals and see if you can get real research done? That would seem to be more useful than a book which, as the other reviewer noted, uses the same adjective in the title as several thousand other books, but which does not quite live up to it.
Rating:
Summary: Retraction
Review: I wrote this book. It is awkward to submit a review, but I think it is important that I respond to the previous reviewer and this is the only forum in which I can do so. The submission form required me to rate the book, which I obviously cannot do objectively. I gave it 5 stars, because... what am I going to do? Give my own book a negative review? It is far from perfect, but I remain confident that it is the "best" book on the topic. The state of the science and the paucity of controlled clinical trials are openly discussed by the authors. We made an honest attempt to present the known information on MSM, and carefully avoided any misleading language. The book offers-in the absence of results from controlled clinical trials-a balanced look at the clinical evidence for MSM in the treatment of many health conditions. We included many case studies, which are a legitimate (if preliminary) form of scientific evidence. To say that the evidence for MSM is "flimsy" or that people's successes with it are based on "luck" is simply incorrect and not consistent with what evidence does exist. Just because large double-blind trials have not been performed does not mean something doesn't work. (That is what the pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe.) The lack of double-blind trials only means that one type of objective evidence is lacking (one such trial is forthcoming, BTW). These studies take time and cost a lot of money. In the meantime, Dr. Jacob's experience treating more than 18,000 patients with MSM could hardly be considered "flimsy" nor should it be dismissed lightly in considering the efficacy of MSM. It is strong empirical evidence gathered over an entire career, and it deserves to be preserved for posterity, which was the purpose of this book. I would also like to correct the previous reviewer on his point about sulfur: we never suggest that Americans are sulfur-deficient. This is an unfortunate marketing myth about MSM, which we answer with a sound theoretical consideration of the role of sulfur in the body. Were we supposed to ignore the sulfur in MSM? That would be like ignoring the oxygen in water or the iron in hemoglobin. MSM is 34% sulfur. It is undoubtedly important, we just don't know exactly why. Nutrients and drugs can have "physiological" effects and they can have "pharmacological" effects. Although I do not think one can reasonably argue that "physiological" amounts of sulfur from MSM are therapeutic, it is evident that giving sulfur in the form of MSM, above and beyond the amount needed to prevent or correct a deficiency (i.e., a "pharmacologic" dose), does have therapeutic effects. The reviewer says that "several studies indicate only very little sulfur from MSM is actually absorbed." That is incorrect. Only one published study suggests that (Richmond, 1986.) He also states, "If MSM works it is extremely unlikely it works the way this book and other books suggest it works." We do not claim to know how MSM works. We present some theories, based on the known effects of DMSO. We would welcome any alternative theories as well as studies to demonstrate mechanisms of action. The fact remains that no one knows how MSM works. We know THAT it works, but science has yet to discover how. We agree with the reviewer that MSM probably also exerts effects via other mechanisms. Finally, this is not just another MSM book. It is a completely unique guide that presents a vast amount of never-before published information on MSM:
--It was originally written for doctors, and it provides many protocols for using MSM (including IV, oral, topical, subcutaneous, intravesicular) that appear nowhere else in the medical literature:
--It contains an unprecedented chapter on quality issues in the MSM manufacturing industry, which alerts consumers to vital elements of the manufacturing process that can affect supplement quality;
--It contains heretofore-unpublished information on MSM toxicity;
--It contains dozens of medical case histories (not testimonials) that had not been published to date;
--It includes an unprecedented chapter on the veterinary applications of MSM, with much previously unavailable information from a private collection of letters and articles donated by the estate of the eminent veterinarian, the late John W. Metcalf, DVM;
--It concludes with a critical examination of MSM myths, many of which are still circulating on the Internet and in various publications. Our book is the most comprehensive collection of data on MSM yet made available, and it was purposely written without the hyperbole that discredits other discussions of MSM. Perhaps someone will write a better book on MSM some day. I hope they do. But until that happens, this is the definitive guide.
Dr. Jacob and I are proud of this book, and we are available to discuss it with interested readers.
Rating:
Summary: Retraction
Review: The review prior to this one is fake. It was not intended for being published. Please disregard it
Rating:
Summary: This book is ok...but...
Review: To my knowledge, Dr. Jacob did NOT use MSM in his practice, rather DMSO. While he was one of the first people to bring MSM into the public eye (last 20+ years anyway), he is not the first to have known about the benefits of MSM. MSM is as old as the earth. There were communities enjoying its benefits thousands of years ago - happened upon while soaking in pulp water. It has been used for healing since recorded time. Put aside all the so-called 'use-patents' and trademarks, MSM is in many living things: the grass you walk on, the rain that falls upon you, and the trees growing around you. Dr. Jacob is a newcomer to retailing MSM - perhaps this is one of the reasons he wrote this book. I'd get his first book: The Miracle of MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain, here on Amazon. I learned most of what I know about MSM from original-msm.com. They don't sell this book, so you have to get it here. There are many other things that MSM can do for you that are not covered in this book, perhaps the author is afraid of the FDA or something(?) I'd certainly get the aforementioned book, and do a little research elsewhere. Best of Health to You. Long Live Amazon Too :)
Rating:
Summary: This book is ok...but...
Review: To my knowledge, Dr. Jacob did NOT use MSM in his practice, rather DMSO. While he was one of the first people to bring MSM into the public eye (last 20+ years anyway), he is not the first to have known about the benefits of MSM. MSM is as old as the earth. There were communities enjoying its benefits thousands of years ago - happened upon while soaking in pulp water. It has been used for healing since recorded time. Put aside all the so-called 'use-patents' and trademarks, MSM is in many living things: the grass you walk on, the rain that falls upon you, and the trees growing around you. Dr. Jacob is a newcomer to retailing MSM - perhaps this is one of the reasons he wrote this book. I'd get his first book: The Miracle of MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain, here on Amazon. I learned most of what I know about MSM from original-msm.com. They don't sell this book, so you have to get it here. There are many other things that MSM can do for you that are not covered in this book, perhaps the author is afraid of the FDA or something(?) I'd certainly get the aforementioned book, and do a little research elsewhere. Best of Health to You. Long Live Amazon Too :)
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