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Glutathione is formed daily in your body by your liver cells. It is involved in many body functions, including tissue building, repair, making proteins and building the immune system. Amazingly glutathione can also be found in fruits, vegetables and meats! Glutathione can be give as an injection into the muscle to prevent the poisonous side effects of cancer treatment. It has also been used for treating alcoholism, asthma, heart disease and infertility! Most people simply get a daily feeling of energy and good health when levels are adequate. Glutathione is critical for your immune system to work well and when the levels fall your immune system becomes compromised. 

One way to raise the bodies glutathione levels is to supplement daily with a nutrient called NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine) which is a derivative of the dietary amino acid l-cysteine. NAC has a high affinity for lung tissue, which it supports through mucolytic and antioxidant action. By disrupting di-sulfide bonds, NAC thins mucus. It is a powerful free radical scavenger and thus supports the body's natural defense system. NAC supports tissue levels of glutathione, a key component of the antioxidant defense system.Immune And Respiratory System Health: When mucus thickens, it can become difficult to expel. If you are a healthcare provider you might be interested in knowing that a recent meta-analysis of 8 double blind, placebo controlled trials provided additiona lsupport for NAC's ability to support respiratory tract health!  

Due to its sulfur content, NAC is able to disrupt di-sulfide bonds, thinning the mucus so that it, along with the trapped particles and bacteria, are more easily expelled from the lungs. NAC is a powerful free radical scavenger and thus supports epithelial cell health and healthy cilia activity in the respiratory tract. NAC is also a precursor to the antioxidant Glutathione.

The biochemistry camps certainty have done an awesome job publishing their findings about this miracle substance but medicine is really behind in integrating Glutathione into medical management of disease. Glutathione is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids − cysteine, glycine, and glutamine − and it is produced naturally in the body. It is called “the master antioxidant” because it can regenerate itself in the liver and fight free radicals produced from environmental toxins or every day toxic food metabolism and aging. 

Glutathione is critical for the power-house of your cells called the Mitochondria. Damaged or malfunctioning mitochondria are part of the cancer process, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, asthma, kidney problems, liver disease, autism, heart disease, chronic fatigue and autoimmune diseases. NAC is a building block for Glutathione because NAC has Cysteine that survives the digestive tract and gets into the cells thus increasing your glutathione levels. 

For those of you who have access to organic raw milk have a nice supply of daily cysteine! Cow's milk once pasteurized or heated breaks down the bonded cysteine molecules and cysteine then is essentially useless for building intracellular Glutathione. Human breast milk has loads of bonded cysteine and is why God created the breast milk miracle as a "stand-in immune system" for our infants! 

L-cysteine (synthetic) is made using chemicals.Cysteine is not really good to take isolated as a dietary supplement because it can promote hypercysteinemia and can be potentially toxic. Its absorption into the blood stream is limited and it is easily oxidized in the digestive tract. It does get used in baking dough, commercial breads and pastry products and also in pet food for flavor.  FDA does not require L-cysteine to be listed on food labels as flavor so this may be why some people get gut issues when they eat bread products. I feel that NAC is a much safer way to consume cysteine and raise the Glutathione levels in your body. NAC has been used in HIV patients with severely low levels of glutathione, and in emergency departments to treat over-dose of Tylenol. It has been used for chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, emphysema and asthma just to name a few lung disorders. 

So how else can you raise Glutathione levels? I am a fan of IV Glutathione and have seen it work well with Parkinsons patients. I am also a fan of getting glutathione markers measured in your urine by having an Organic Acid Panel. 

You can take Liposomal Glutathione orally but you have to make sure you are getting the "real" patented liposomal delivery technology. You can also take undenatured whey protein concentrates which has excellent bioavailability. 

Certain foods contain precursors that help the liver produce more glutathione such as garlic, onions, broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, whey products and colostrum. Some studies have reported EXERCISE will boost glutathione levels. B6 and B12 are critical to help the body produce glutathione as well as vitamin C, E and selenium.


Blessings,

Dr. Carly