Day 124- The "master antioxidant" Glutathione

Everyone knows about antioxidants, they seem to be the "craze" in every health foods store and smoothie bar, but when most think of antioxidants what comes to their heads is usually blueberries, acai, pomegranate, or goji berries. What many people are unaware of is that glutathione is the most powerful antioxidant that the body has. Glutathione (GSH) is present inside every cell in the body and is the body's best defense against free radicals.

“Without glutathione, other important antioxidants such as vitamins C and vitamins E cannot do their job adequately to protect your body against disease.”

-Breakthrough in Cell Defense, Dr. Allan Somersall, Ph.D., M.D.-

Before we get into glutathione, let's review what free radicals are and why they are so detrimental to our health. Free radicals are unstable molecules; their electron count is essentially out of balance. They either have one extra electron or they lack one electron. Their purpose is to attack the healthy molecules and snatch electrons away from these healthy molecules, just like a greedy child. This greediness causes the healthy molecules to transform into free radicals themselves.

So what exactly is this super powered antioxidant?

There are over 89,000 medical articles regarding glutathione, yet many have never heard of it. Glutathione is a combination of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamate, and glycine. There are also sulfur groups attached, which is a big reason why this antioxidant is so effective, it attracts the bad things such as free radicals, heavy metals and toxins and sticks to them. It also works differently than other antioxidants in that it is intracellular, has the ability to maximize the activity of other antioxidants, and removes toxins from the cells. Glutathione is produced naturally by our bodies, but is decreased with age, toxic overload, pharmaceutical drugs, poor nutrition, alcohol, blood sugar dysregulation, inflammation and chronic illnesses. In a normal healthy working body glutathione is also recycled in the body, but when the toxic load becomes too great this ability is hindered.

Dr. Mark Hyman said it in a way that describes the role of glutathione best, "Glutathione is critical for one simple reason: It recycles antioxidants. You see, dealing with free radicals is like handing off a hot potato. They get passed around from Vitamin C to Vitamin E to lipoic acid and then finally to glutathione which cools off the free radicals and recycles other antioxidants. After this happens, the body can "reduce" or regenerate another protective glutathione molecule and we are back in business.

However, problems occur when we are overwhelmed with too much oxidative stress or too many toxins. Then the glutathione becomes depleted and we can no longer protect ourselves against free radicals, infections, or cancers and we can't get rid of toxins. This leads to further sickness and soon we are in the downward spiral of chronic illness."

So how can we increase glutathione levels and efficiency in the body?

Oral glutathione is not recommended, but research has shown that creams containing glutathione and superoxide dismutase are highly effective in restoring glutathione levels, when applied to a vascular area. You can also talk to your doctor about glutathione IVs.

What also may help is taking glutathione supporting supplements such as:

• N-Acetyl-Cysteine
• Cordyceps
• Alpha Lipoic Acid
• Cotu Kola
• L-glutamine
• Selenium
• Milk thistle
• Antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E
  

Or Methylation nutrients such as:

• Folate
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12

Some of the beneficial effects of glutathione:

• Anti-aging properties
• Naturally detoxifies and improves liver function
• Immune booster
• Anti-inflammatory
• Improves mental function
• Increases energy
• Improves heart and lung function
• Numerous other positive effects on health disorders

Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP

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