Doctor's Best Sam-e 200 mg, 60-Count

Potent Promoter of Mood and Cognitive Health After at least 18 controlled human trials, published over almost four decades, SAMe is clearly proven to promote healthy mood.5-12 The latest double-blind trial was published in 2010,7,8 and its findings were so impressive that the journal also published an editorial in praise of SAMe.9 This editorial attributed SAMe’s marked mood benefits to its diverse roles in brain metabolism.9 SAMe is essential for the healthy metabolism of the major brain transmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.1,2 SAMe is also essential for the main metabolic pathway that makes PC (phosphatidylcholine), a key cell membrane phospholipid for the nerve cell informational connections (synapses). Myelination—insulation of the nerve cell extensions to optimize their electrical conduction—also requires SAMe.13 And SAMe is also essential for the brain to produce melatonin, a hormone that regulates healthy sleep patterns.14 Individuals who have mood difficulties often also have problems with memory and other cognitive functions. In a 2010 double-blind trial, SAMe supported cognitive health while promoting healthy mood.10 SAMe supports the metabolism of acetylcholine, a major nerve transmitter that is essential for attention, learning, and memory and for numerous other functions outside the brain.15 Even as SAMe ameliorates mood difficulties, SAMe also has improved energy levels, as found in two other double-blind trials.11,12 Optimal SAMe intakes for mood and cognitive support are 800-1600 mg per day, preferably as divided doses taken between meals. Promotes Joint Comfort and Mobility A minimum 14 controlled clinical trials prove SAMe is consistently effective for the support of joint comfort and mobility.5,16-18 In the longest trial, which lasted two years, 97 subjects received SAMe at 600 mg per day for the first two weeks, followed by 400 mg per day for the remaining period.16 SAMe continued to improve joint health over the entire course of this long trial, and was very well tolerated. Most of the controlled trials for joint health used SAMe at 1200 mg per day.5,17,18 Researchers conducting these trials noted SAMe’s relative lack of adverse effects and its capacity to continue improving joint comfort and mobility over the entire period of the trial.16-18 A 2002 “meta-analysis” of pooled clinical trial data5 and a 2011 clinical review19 both concluded SAMe is a premier joint support nutrient. The tissues of the working joint have a matrix of collagen and proteoglycans, large fibrous molecular complexes that give the joint structural stability. SAMe’s energized “active sulfur” group supports collagen and proteoglycan formation.20 SAMe’s active sulfur also supports the bio-synthesis of glutathione, cysteine, and taurine, key components of the joint’s antioxidant defenses (and of the liver and the body as a whole).21 Protects and Supports the Liver and Intestine The liver makes most of the body’s SAMe, and itself relies heavily on SAMe for its structural and functional integrity.22 The liver’s SAMe reserves are readily depleted by alcohol consumption,23,24 or by a variety of chemical toxins.25-28 In three human trials,26-28 supplementation with SAMe protected the liver against alcohol or other manmade toxins. These benefits of SAMe are most likely mediated by its support for the liver pathways that make glutathione and the other sulfur antioxidants.21 Most of the liver’s glutathione comes ultimately from SAMe.21-23 The liver is the major organ wherein “active sulfur” from SAMe is fed into the vast web of sulfur pathways that make glutathione and the other sulfur antioxidants.1,2 These are at the hub of the liver’s considerable detoxication activity, and also provide its major defense against chemical damage.21-23 Functionally, glutathione status (and therefore liver health) is highly dependent on SAMe: experimental depletion of glutathione causes SAMe to be used up in replacing the glutathione, while repleting SAMe leads to restoration of glutathione reserves.24,25 In addition to its multifaceted support for liver detoxication, SAMe also supports the liver’s bile secretion function, as reported in at least two clinical trials.29,30 SAMe also helps keep the colon healthy. The colon normally houses bacteria that produce hydrogen sulfide, which is potentially toxic to biomolecules. The cells that line the colon use SAMe to detoxify hydrogen sulfide.31 In a clinical study, difficulties with colon function were linked to low blood levels of SAMe.32