What is Glutathione?
Glutathione (GSH) is a simple molecule that is made up of three amino acids (glycine, glutamine, and sulfur-rich cysteine) that perform several different vital roles within the body. It is so important to our health that the levels of GSH in your cells could be considered an indicator of how long we will live!
Pronounced “gloota-thigh-own,” it is one of the hottest topics in the health and wellness circles today with nearly 150,000 peer-reviewed articles have addressed this powerhouse molecule.
Deficiencies
Experts are now recognizing that an alarming rate of people are deficient because of:
Benefits
Some of the functions that GSH is responsible for include:
In addition to helping these vital functions continue in the body, the list of glutathione benefits is long and wide:
Pronounced “gloota-thigh-own,” it is one of the hottest topics in the health and wellness circles today with nearly 150,000 peer-reviewed articles have addressed this powerhouse molecule.
Deficiencies
Experts are now recognizing that an alarming rate of people are deficient because of:
- Pre-mature aging
- Infections
- Chronic stress
- Injuries
- Environmental toxins
- So-called “health foods”
- Genetically modified foods
- Artificial sweeteners
- Overuse of antibiotics
- And radiation therapy that is all too easily given to cancer patients today.
Benefits
Some of the functions that GSH is responsible for include:
- Works with drugs to make them more digestible.
- Acts as an Antioxidant
Is a “helper molecule” for some important enzymes including glutathione peroxidase (which protects you from inflammation damage). Reduces peroxides (natural bleaching agents that are harmful to the body). - Is involved in building 1/3 of all human proteins.
- Participates in leukotriene production (vital component for inflammatory and hypersensitivity reactions).
- Helps the liver detoxify fat before bile is emitted, which takes stress off of the gallbladder.
- Helps detoxifies methylglyoxal, a toxin produced as a by-product of metabolism.
- Cancer apoptosis (“programmed cell death”).
In addition to helping these vital functions continue in the body, the list of glutathione benefits is long and wide:
- Plays a crucial role in immune function.
- Promotes T-cell function, which is critical for a strong immune system.
- Helps prevent drug resistance.
- Protects from environmental toxins
- And it fights cancer
Cancer and Glutathione
As researchers have continued to investigate these phenomena, they have actually discovered that GSH is a more potent anti-cancer agent than previously anticipated. In the words of Jeremy Appleton, ND – chairman of the department of nutrition at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon:
"If you look in a hospital situation, at the people who have cancer, AIDS, or other very serious disease, almost invariably they are depleted in glutathione," says Appleton. "The reasons for this are not completely understood, but we do know that glutathione is extremely important for maintaining intracellular health."
The bottom line, according to Appleton, is that, “There’s no evidence that supplementing with glutathione, even intravenously, is in any way going to make any cancer worse. In fact, the evidence we have suggests the opposite. It suggests that glutathione and other antioxidants, far from interfering with the activity of chemotherapy, appear to reduce side effects without decreasing efficacy and may, in fact, improve the efficacy of the chemotherapy in fighting cancer.”
"If you look in a hospital situation, at the people who have cancer, AIDS, or other very serious disease, almost invariably they are depleted in glutathione," says Appleton. "The reasons for this are not completely understood, but we do know that glutathione is extremely important for maintaining intracellular health."
The bottom line, according to Appleton, is that, “There’s no evidence that supplementing with glutathione, even intravenously, is in any way going to make any cancer worse. In fact, the evidence we have suggests the opposite. It suggests that glutathione and other antioxidants, far from interfering with the activity of chemotherapy, appear to reduce side effects without decreasing efficacy and may, in fact, improve the efficacy of the chemotherapy in fighting cancer.”
Boosting Your Glutathione Levels
Although it is possible to take a Glutathione supplement, few that are on the market have any definitive scientific proof that they increase Glutathione levels in humans. The reason for this is that Glutathione is destroyed if it is exposed to oxygen. So devising a process to manufacture Glutathione that keeps it from being exposed to oxygen during the process is difficult and expensive.
Until the Nutrition Education Center can verify a specific Glutathione boosting supplement, we recommend to stay with the consuming the 9 natural sources of Glutathione boosting food/ingredients and skip the man-made stuff.
Until the Nutrition Education Center can verify a specific Glutathione boosting supplement, we recommend to stay with the consuming the 9 natural sources of Glutathione boosting food/ingredients and skip the man-made stuff.