Health Benefits of SAM-e

Health Benefits of SAM-e

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (also known as S-adenosylmethionine, S-adenosylmethionine, SAMe, or SAM-e in the USA or ademetionine in Europe, and also abbreviated as SAM and AdoMet). It is a chemical that is present naturally in your body. SAM-e is sold in the USA as a dietary supplement.

SAMe was discovered in the 1950s. It is prepared in the body from methionine, an amino acid available in foods. It is also beneficial for regulating the critical functions in living cells.

Abnormal levels of SAM-e in your body have been seen in liver disorders and depression. It encouraged scientists to disclose whether SAMe may be beneficial in treating these health conditions. The idea that SAM-e may be beneficial for osteoarthritis originated from studies of SAMe for depression. Some of the individuals in the depression research who also suffered from osteoarthritis said their joint symptoms included when they consumed the SAMe.

In this article, we will deeply study whether SAM-e is beneficial for you or not. Furthermore, we will also tell its importance, usage details, and other relevant details!

What is SAM-e?

S-Adenosyl Methionine or abbreviated as SAM-e is the amino acid methionine attached to an ATP molecule. This molecule moves in the blood naturally and functions as a 'methyl donor'. A methyl group is simply a carbon molecule attached to some hydrogen's), and offering a methyl group to other molecules may boost or preserve reactions in your body as a form of metabolic 'maintenance'.

Choline is another prominent methyl donor in your body, but because of the selectivity of specific reactions, the two are not significantly interchangeable.

Somebody claims appear to be linked to reducing circulating levels of SAM-e, involving osteoarthritis or depression where it has 

remarkable therapeutic potential; after a buildup duration of 1-2 months, supplemental SAM-e at 700-1500 mg per day is potent as specific medication options for both depression or osteoarthritis and may increase some antidepressants.

Though reduced circulating levels of SAM-e have also appeared in diabetes, its benefits and glucose control are not well-developed as depression and osteoarthritis.

SAM-e seems to follow plenty of nutrient-like motifs in your body, controlled within a specific serum range and linked to severe drawbacks when that range is altered. It remarkably holds a lot of health benefits for your body where circulating SAM-e levels reduce.

However, side-effects are not usually stated with SAM-e; different research-based studies note a little set of people who feel mania after taking SAM-e. It is unusual, but it does seem to be associated with SAM-e supplementation for reasons that we don't know yet. It has been stated in some individuals without a history of mania and does not seem to be associated with any pathological condition.

Uses of SAM-E

SAMe is a molecule that is made naturally in your body. It can also be prepared in the laboratory. SAMe is included in the preparation, breakdown, and activation of other chemicals in your body, such as hormones, phospholipids, and specific medications.

It has found a beneficial supplement in the United States since 1999. But SAM-e has been utilized as a recommended medicine in Italy since 1978, in Germany since 1987 and in Spain since 1986.

You can use it through the mouth for anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disorder, fibromyalgia, abdominal pain, weaken bones, bursitis, chronic lower back pain, tendonitis, insomnia, Alzheimer's condition, minimizing the aging process, maintain mental performance, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), liver disease, and Parkinson's condition.

SAM-e is also utilized for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, migraine, headache, lead poisoning. It was also beneficial in breaking down a chemical in your body known as bilirubin or may aid with problems linked with the buildup of a chemical known as a porphyrin or its precursors.

Health Benefits of SAM-e

1. May be Helpful Against osteoarthritis

SAM-e is considered as the best medicine for patients of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a disease related to bones. Especially damage to cartilage present between two bones. The SAM-e not only protects us from osteoarthritis but also takes steps to prevent stiffness of bones.

A study of twenty thousand people suffering from osteoarthritis shows that using the SAM-e helps equal recovery compared to NSAIDs but with fewer side effects. If we compare NSAIDs and the SAM-e then scientifically, it is proven that long term use of NSAIDs can cause stomach disorders like ulcers. So the SAM-e is the best treatment considered in this sense.

2. May Be Beneficial Against Depression

In the current world, the depression rate is rising day by day. So in this sense, we cannot neglect depression treatment. We can say depression is getting a rank of joint disease. For the treatment of depression, there are a lot of drugs available in the market. All of them are effective, but there are some side effects of them also.

In this case, the SAM-e is considered the best herbal treatment of depression. When the dose of the SAM-e is taken it immediately causes a fall in serotonin and an increase in homocysteine. Health professionals do not recommend its use, especially for males, because it can put the worst effects on males' sex life due to drug interaction with other antidepressants.

3. Protection of Liver

The SAM-e is a naturally occurring chemical in our body that boosts antioxidants in our body. Significantly glutathione that is effective against liver diseases. It is the best antitoxic in our body. In clinical research, it is observed that the SAM-e helps reduce liver damage markers like bilirubin and AST. Researchers revealed the following facts.

• Liver cancer
• Alcoholic liver disease
• Cholestasis
• Cirrhosis

With all of these, SAM-e is also found useful in the case of ursodiol. It also helps in cholesterol reduction in our bodies. It also protects our body against the harmful effects of steroids and toxic drugs.

4. Prevention of bile flow

Toxicity in the liver may cause a decrease in bile flow that is called cholestasis. Reduction in bile flows leads to accumulation in one place that can damage liver cells. This condition mostly occurs in females while pregnancy and may cause complications during childbirth. Research says that a 1.6-gram intake of SAM-e daily can improve your liver health.

Not only this, but also it can relieve symptoms of cholestasis like itching, discomfort, or nausea. But it's intake in pregnant females may place harmful impacts on them because it may combine with ursodeoxycholic acid and may give rise to cholestasis. However, in some pregnant females, it caused lowered chances of

• Preterm birth by 65%
• Fetal suffocation by 72%
• C. section by 55%

5. Protection against alcoholic diseases of the liver

SAM-e is a naturally occurring chemical in our body. Its primary function is to boost up antioxidants in our body. It increases bile flow resulting in the prevention of toxic effects of alcohol and drugs. Alcoholic consumption can increase the oxidative stress of the liver.

In this situation, SAM-e delivers positive effects in collaboration with silymarin in people consuming alcohol and preventing their livers from toxic damage. In a study of 123 people, it is clear that a daily dosage of 1.2 grams of SAM-e lowered the death rate and chances of liver transplantation in such patients. The duration of this dosage was two years. In earlier stages, SAM-e starts reducing liver symptoms and then leading to complete liver disease treatment.

6. Prevention of Fibromyalgia

Studies explored that SAM-e is the best treatment of fibromyalgia. Almost 73 studies have been performed in this regard with different people with different scenarios. All explored the result that Magnesium and SAM-e have a lot of potential to fight in case of fibromyalgia. In a study, 44 people who have fibromyalgia were given with the dose of SAM-e. Quantity delivered to these patients was almost 0.8 grams for nearly six weeks. As a result, they felt a significant reduction in

• Morning stiffness
• Fatigue
• Muscle pain

However, It also helped them in pain tolerance and depression killing. Still, further studies are going on to reveal the mystery of SAM-e.

7. As a cognition promoter

The essential feature of SAM-e is glutathione production in our body. Glutathione protects our brain from oxidative damage resulting due to degenerative and toxins. It also helped them in reverting cognitive symptoms due to drug-resistant depression in 46 patients.

Their blood was too messed with a high creatinine level. To find the fact behind this, the researcher made a group of 12 healthy people with no disease and supplied them with 1.6 grams of SAM-e supplement. This supplement worked as an energy booster in them and raised their creatinine level In blood. This improvement in creatinine level delivered the statement that SAM-e can play a significant role in improving cognition and mood in the human body.

8. Against Alzheimer disease

People who have Alzheimer's disease and protein mutation damage their neurons and result in a decrease in cognition, which may cause a decline in the thinking power of the brain due to the lowering of antioxidants. A brain supplement was given to patients of Alzheimer's disease in very early stages. Nutrients of this supplement were

• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin E
• Folate
• N-acetylcysteine
• Acetyl-L-carnitine

As a result of this formulation, their mood and cognition improved by 30% compared to other people. However, in people suffering from vitamin B deficiency SAM-e restricted the formation of inflammatory brain plaque, the progression of disease reversion, and improvement in memory.

9. Anticancer effects

SAM-e promotes methylation. Methylation prevents the uncontrolled division of cells and inhibits harmful activities and enzymes, boosting unchecked cell division. A study scientist revealed the fact that SAM-e has inhibition property for the following diseases.

• Liver cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Bone cancer
• Breast cancer

It can also improve metastasis and reduce advanced forms of cancer. We can drive from the studies that SAM-e is a considerable way to treat a cancer patient. But still, there is a lack of evidence of how SAM-e is effective against cancer. However, further studies are still going on to reveal the secrets in SAM-e that what nutrients it is useful for.

10. Aid in weight loss

In the current era, where everyone is in a struggle to lose weight, we can also list SAM-e in the list of these supplements. But the only way to lose weight is to do laborious physical exercise and have a balanced diet recommended by nutritionists.

However, some scientists observed that SAM-e helps a lot in the reduction of weight loss. People taking SAM-e found a valuable decrease in insulin and weight gain in obese persons.

However, a study of SAM-e on fat cells also showed SAM-e results as we know that depressed people love to eat more, and SAM-e helps a lot in the reduction of obesity due to overeating. Indirectly we can reach the statement that it can control your appetite and protect you from getting obese.

11. May Be Helpful Against Cirrhosis

Most recent studies recommend that consuming supplements of SAMe through the mouth or intravenously (by IV) can improve liver function in individuals with chronic liver disorder or cirrhosis. But particularly recommends that proving SAMe through IV after surgery does not minimize the risk of mild liver dysfunction in individuals having cirrhosis liver resection.

Abdominal pain for which there is not enough (Functional abdominal pain) study. A recent study recommends that consuming a daily multivitamin or SAMe orally can minimize stomach pain in kids having functional abdominal pain. But it does not seem to prevent the pain altogether.

12. May Helpful against Gilbert syndrome

Individuals having Gilbert syndrome involve a reduced amount of the protein that usually aids break down a chemical known as bilirubin. As a result, too much bilirubin may gather in your body. It may cause jaundice or other signs. The early study recommends that consuming SAMe orally or intravenously (by IV) may break down bilirubin in individuals with Gilbert syndrome.

13. Dementia

Plenty of evidence recommends that SAM-e maintain cognitive symptoms, like the ability to recall details and remember words. Scientists expect that SAMe functions on regions of your brain that maintain gene expression of amyloid proteins, one of the leading causes of Alzheimer's disease.

14. Benefits for dogs

Not only for humans SAM-e is much popular with pet owners. It has a lot of health benefits, especially in dogs against liver and joint diseases. In various studies, it is observed that it boosts glutathione production in dogs and gives support to their liver due to its antioxidant functionality. It also reverts the effect caused by the damaging of

• Chemotherapy
• Tylenol
• Corticosteroids

A study is also performed with a group of 36 dogs. Giving them 18mg/kg a day is also found useful in the improvement of cognition. However, no effect of SAM-e was found on dogs suffering from osteoarthritis.

15. Beneficial for Other Conditions

Specific research recommends SAMe may remarkably suppress cancer tumor cells. Other research recommends that consuming the drug levodopa (L-dopa) for Parkinson's condition may reduce the levels of SAMe in your body. It can contribute to depression and enhance the side effects of L-dopa. However, scientists have also found scientific proves that consuming SAMe can lead to L-dopa less efficiently. If you have Parkinson's disease; do not consume SAMe without consulting your doctor or medical health provider first.

It also helps against following conditions;

• Hepatitis

A recent study recommends that consuming SAMe by mouth or intravenously maintains liver function in individuals with hepatitis. We still need enough study to prove it.

• Schizophrenia

Early research recommends that SAMe can decrease aggressive behavior in individuals having schizophrenia.

• Blood infection (Sepsis)

A plethora of studies also show that consuming supplements of SAMe along with the medicine sulodexide may decrease the amount of time required to recover from a septic infection.

• Quitting smoking

Different research also discovers that consuming SAMe (Nature-Made, Gnosis, Italy) by mouth does not aid individuals quit smoking.

How much SAM-e should you take?

There is no recommended perfect dose of SAM-e. For depression, a plethora of studies have utilized between 800 -1,600 mg per day. For osteoarthritis, 600-1,200 milligrams per day of SAM-e supplements split into three doses is typically known. Speak to your doctor or medical health provider for advice. For some reason, the dose of SAM-e is enhanced gradually over a few weeks. This can help reduce side effects such as restlessness or anxiety.

Some women consume SAM-e supplements orally for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or intense kind of PMS known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

SAMe is incredibly beneficial for intravenously (by IV) for osteoarthritis, depression, AIDS-related nervous system problems, fibromyalgia, liver disorder, cirrhosis, and for a liver problem that happens in pregnant ladies known as intrahepatic cholestasis.

Safety and Side Effects of SAMe

There is massive information on the safety of using SAM-e. But still, we need enough scientific shreds of evidence to prove this claim that using the SAM-e supplements is remarkably essential for us to do without any side effects.

In one recent research on alcohol-related liver problems, participants consumed SAMe for one year; in that research, no severe side effect was reported.

Individuals having bipolar disorder (an illness featured by mood swings, from anxiety to mania) must not consume supplements of SAMe for their depressive signs except under the guidance of a doctor or health care provider as it may worsen symptoms of depression or mania. SAMe has been utilized for the treatment of cholestasis during pregnancy, but the fact is its safety during pregnancy has not been known.

SAMe can reduce the impacts of levodopa (L-dopa), a medicine utilized for the treatment of Parkinson's condition. It may be possible that it can interact with medicines and dietary supplements that maximize serotonin levels (a chemical created by nerve cells), like antidepressants, St. John's wort, and L-tryptophan.

There is also concern about the usage of SAMe by individuals who are immunocompromised (such as individuals who are HIV-positive). Immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk of Pneumocystis carinii infection, and SAMe boosts this microorganism's development.

Side effects of SAMe are unusual, and when they do happen, they are minor issues like nausea or digestive problems.

Why do people take SAM-e?

SAM-e has positive scientific evidence as it can effectively treat osteoarthritis pain. Careful research has found that oral supplements of SAM-e are effective painkillers, just like NSAID painkillers (for example, ibuprofen or Celebrex). SAM-e takes some time to function than medicines do, but it also has a minimum number of side effects than NSAIDs.

SAM-e has also been utilized as a treatment for depression for a couple of years. 

Recent studies have also discovered that SAM-e could function and also as tricyclic antidepressants in getting rid of its worst symptoms. However, plenty of such types of studies don't have enough scientific proof.

Other uses of SAM-e are also very famous. There is evidence that it may aid in easing the pain of fibromyalgia and spinal cord disturbance due to HIV. SAM-e may also be beneficial for controlling cholestasis (a buildup of bile in the liver), especially in pregnant ladies during the third trimester. One scientific study recommended that SAM-e could be important for people with ADHD. However, more studies need to be done.

Some individuals utilize SAM-e as a treatment for specific health problems conditions, like liver disease, Alzheimer's condition, restlessness, migraine, and bursitis.

Interactions of SAM-e with Other Medications

Below are possible interactions include;

• It may interact with antidepressants and other drugs or supplements that enhance levels of serotonin. Avoid consuming SAMe with antidepressants. The mixture may cause impacts similar to a health problem because of high levels of the chemical serotonin to gather in your body (it is a serotonin syndrome).
• You should take care when consuming Antipsychotic drugs with SAMe. The combination may maximize the risk of serotonin syndrome.
• Avoid consuming Amphetamines drugs with SAMe. The combination may also increase the risk of specific health problems.
• Consuming SAMe with Dextromethorphan may also maximize the risk of serotonin syndrome.
• Consuming SAMe with meperidine (Demerol) may also enhance the risk of serotonin syndrome.
• Take care when using St. John's wort with SAMe. It may also lead to increased serotonin syndrome.

Conclusion

S-adenosyl-L-methionine is also known as SAM-e is a naturally present chemical component available in all cells of your body where it is significant in more than 300 metabolic pathways. SAM-e has been approved as a prescription medicine for depression in Italy, Spain, and Russia. It has also been in use in Europe for over two decades. SAM-e is available in the USA without a prescription and also in some other countries.

More like a vitamin than a medicine, it is a natural metabolite that your body requires more of as you age or if you become ill. SAM-e supplements are typically safe and evidence-based for treating different health conditions such as depression.

There are plenty of health benefits of SAM-e like it plays a beautiful role in treating different health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and many others. It may also be preferred for most prescriptions for antidepressants. There are no everyday medicinal interactions with SAM-e, but some are still present.

It may also be helpful against preventing other medicines from interacting with the liver. Like any other activating antidepressant, it may worsen underlying agitation, restlessness, or anxiety. You can use it as a mood stabilizer if there is any sign of mania or bipolar disorder. In the absence of a bipolar sign, a calming agent may be utilized to manage any undesirable activating influences of SAM-e.