A completely natural substance is helping millions of people to improve their health and well-being. SAM-e is neither a drug, herb or vitamin. It’s a molecule that all living cells require for proper function.

Alleviate Depression and Joint Pain The most compelling evidence for SAM-e’s benefits is the hundreds of published studies regarding its benefits in depression, making SAM-e the most well-documented non-drug antidepressant available today. Many studies also show SAM-e is useful for alleviating the pain and inflammation associated with chronic joint diseases such as osteoarthritis.

According to studies, SAM-e offers pain relief equal to NSAID’s such as naproxen or ibufrofen, as well as relief for inflammation and swelling, with extremely minimal side-effects. The American Journal of Medicine dedicated much of an issue to the effects of SAM-e and osteoarthritis in 1987, and the researchers concluded, “From these trials SAM-e appears to be effective in pain relief and remarkably free from serious side-effects.”

Thousands of arthritis sufferers have found SAM-e to be very beneficial, possibily due to its ability to improve joint lubrication, reduce inflammation, relieve pain and stimulate cartilage regrowth. Over a dozen documented research trials have observed the effectiveness of SAM-e for people with arthritis.

Years of Research show antidepressant effectiveness In the 1970’s, while testing SAM-e as a treatment for schizophrenia, Italian researchers discovered that their patients were becoming less depressed. This set off a wave of studies that continues to the present. In study after study SAM-e is equal, or superior, to pharmaceutical tricyclic antidepressants. Not only is it an effective natural treatment for depression, it works faster and without significant side effects.

In 1987, a study at the University of California at Irvine tested SAM-e given intravenously to 18 people hospitalized for depression and compared its effectiveness with an anti-depressant tricyclic imipramine (Tofranil). The researchers found that 67% of the SAM-e patients had 50% or greater improvement after fourteen days of use, compared to only 22% of the patients given the drug. Tofranil is still widely prescribed for depression.

A larger study by De Vanna, MD and Rigamonti, MD, confirmed these results in a placebo controlled, double-blind study using oral SAM-e. In this study, patients with major depression were given 1,600 mg of SAM-e daily. Using four different depression scales to measure response, the researchers found that after ten days, SAM-e had decreased depression by 27% compared to imipramine’s 18% on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. After 20 days of the study, the anti-depressant effect of SAM-e and imipramine were similar, although SAM-e had a clear advantage on the anxiety scale. SAM-e and Liver Health

Almost a thousand published studies have reported on the spectrum of benefits SAM-e provides for the liver. SAM-e is a central player in liver biochemistry. The liver contains the third highest amount of SAM-e in the body, after the adrenal and pineal glands, and is therefore considered an essential nutrient for the organ. The liver also has special SAM-e enzymes specifically targeted towards regenerating tissue. In an example of just one of these studies, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, [1989; 24: 407-14]16 patients with liver disease (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) were given 1,200mg of oral SAM-e daily for six months. Liver biopsies showed a significant increase in glutathione, a crucial substance for the liver, and a significant reduction in oxidized glutathione. In the non-alcoholic, liver-damaged subjects, alanine aminotransferase (a liver enzyme indicating damage) was reduced.

Studies Confirm SAM-e Aids Joint Health A clinical trial in Germany researched over 20,000 patients with osteoarthritis of the knees, hips, spine and fingers who were given SAM-e for a total of eight weeks. The post-trial evaluation found that 80% of patients reported a reduction in symptoms in all affected arthritis sites. The Arthritis Foundation recently released a statement confirming their support for SAM-e, noting how it is able to “provide pain relief.” The Foundation will continue to evaluate SAM-e’s ability to “contribute to joint health.” HW