Glutathione and Health

What is Glutathione (GSH)?

Glutathione, or GSH, is a naturally occurring protein that protects every cell, tissue, and organ from toxic free radicals and disease. It is a tripeptide of three amino acids - glycine, glutamate (glutamic acid), and cysteine. These precursors or building blocks are necessary for the manufacture of glutathione within the cells.

What Does Glutathione Do?

Your life depends upon glutathione. "Without it, your cells would disintegrate from unrestrained oxidation, your body would have little resistance to bacteria, viruses and cancer, and your liver would shrivel up from the eventual accumulation of toxins." (Glutathione, Essential Health AID by Dr. Jimmy Gutman)

Glutathione's 3 major roles are: Antioxidant, Immune Booster, and Detoxifier - AID for the body.

Antioxidant - Glutathione is the body's own natural and most powerful antioxidant, present in every cell. All other antioxidants, like vitamins C, E, selenium, and so forth depend upon the presence of glutathione to function properly, making glutathione "the master antioxidant", according to scientists.

Immune Booster - "Elevated glutathione levels enable the body to produce more white blood cells - the most important front line defense of the immune system." (Glutathione, Essential Health AID by Dr. Jimmy Gutman)

Detoxifier - The body's most concentrated source of glutathione is in the liver - our main organ of detoxification. Glutathione detoxifies the liver and other cells of many known carcinogens.

Clinical evidence shows that low glutathione levels are linked with many common illnesses as well as diseases of aging.

"Healthy people also benefit from elevated glutathione levels through an enhanced ability to fight off toxins, infectious disease, pre-cancerous cells and the aging process." (Glutathione, Essential Health AID by Dr. Jimmy Gutman)

Even athletes benefit through greater strength and endurance, decreased recovery time from injury, and less muscle fatigue and pain.

What the experts and reseach have to say about glutathione.

Raising Glutathione

Your body's glutathione levels cannot be raised by eating glutathione, since it is poorly absorbed through the digestive system. Cells must make their own glutathione. To do this, they require the precursors or building blocks - the amino acids glycine, glutamate, and cysteine.

Cysteine, although the most important of the three, is the hardest to get since it is lacking or deficient in most diets. Taking cysteine is ineffective since cysteine is potentially toxic, and is spontaneously oxidized in the gastrointestinal tract and the bloodstream, so most of it doesn't even reach the cells.

Or for more information, contact Gabriele Wills, B.Sc., B.Ed., 519-766-9889 (EST)

Copyright © 2004 All rights reserved.