GLUTATHIONE –Most wonderful antioxidant for vibrant health and anti aging

Keeping yourself healthy, boosting your performance, preventing disease and aging well depends on keeping your glutathione levels high. Glutathione is responsible for keeping so many of the keys to Ultra Wellness optimized.

Glutathione is also the most critical and integral part of our detoxification system. All the toxins stick onto glutathione, which then carries them into the bile and the stool — and out of our body.

Glutathione recycles antioxidants. free radicals 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.

It also helps us reach peak mental and physical function. Research has shown that raised glutathione levels decrease muscle damage, reduce recovery time, increase strength and endurance and shift metabolism from fat production to muscle development.

Glutathione is also critical in helping your immune system do its job of fighting infections and preventing cancer. Studies show that it can help in the treatment of AIDS.

If you are sick or old or are just not in peak shape, you likely have glutathione deficiency. , the top British medical journal, the Lancet, found the highest glutathione levels in healthy young people, lower levels in healthy elderly, lower still in sick elderly and the lowest of all in the hospitalized elderly. Nearly all very sick patient population that suffers from chronic disease have glutathione deficiency.

Glutathione is a very simple molecule that is produced naturally all the time in your body. It is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids — cysteine, glycine and glutamine.

Though our body produces its own glutathione, but poor diet, pollution, toxins, medications, stress, trauma, aging, infections and radiation all deplete our glutathione.

This leaves us susceptible to unrestrained cell disintegration from oxidative stress, free radicals, infections and cancer. And liver gets overloaded and damaged, making it unable to do its job of detoxification.

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 cancer and we can’t get rid of toxins. This leads to further sickness and soon we are in the downward spiral of chronic illness.

There are genes involved in producing enzymes that allow the body to create and recycle glutathione in the body. These genes impaired in some people for a variety of important reasons. Nearly all very sick patients are missing this function.

How does it work?

The secret of glutathione is the sulphur (SH) chemical groups it contains. Sulphur is a sticky, smelly molecule. It acts like fly paper and all the bad things in the body stick onto it, including free radicals and toxins like mercury and other heavy metals. Normally glutathione is recycled in the body — except when the toxic load becomes too great. And that explains why we are in such trouble.

How to increase this natural and critical molecule in our ?

Tips to Boost Glutathione Levels

1.      Consume sulfur-rich foods. The main ones in the diet are garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc).

2.      Try bioactive whey protein. This is great source of cysteine and the amino acid building blocks for glutathione synthesis. Choose non-pasteurized and non-industrially produced milk that contains no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. Sources of whey protein- Organic milk, yogurt, cheese

3.      Exercise boosts your glutathione levels and thereby helps boost your immune system, improve detoxification and enhance your body’s own antioxidant defences. Start slow and build up to 30 minutes a day of vigorous aerobic exercise like walking or jogging, or play various sports. Strength training for 20 minutes 3 times a week is also helpful.

4.      Glutathione Supporting Supplements/foods. 

·        Many Glutathione pills are in the market, but as we know glutathione is made up of protein and the body digests protein — so you wouldn’t get the benefits if you do it this way. However, the production and recycling of glutathione in the body requires many different nutrients and you can take these. Here are the main supplements that need to be taken consistently to boost glutathione. Besides taking a multivitamin and fish oil.(You may consume the source foods or may take as supplements)

·        N-acetyl-cysteine. This has been used for years to help treat asthma and lung disease and to treat people with life-threatening liver failure from Tylenol overdose. Sources- poultry, yogurt, egg yolks, red peppers, garlic

·        Alpha lipoic acid. This is a close second to glutathione in importance in our cells and is involved in energy production, blood sugar control, brain health and detoxification. The body usually makes it, but given all the stresses we are under, we often become depleted. food sources of lipoic acid- broccoli, spinach, and other green leafy vegetables, Yeast and liver.

·        Methylation nutrients(folate and vitamins B6 and B12). These are perhaps the most critical to keep the body producing glutathione. Methylation and the production and recycling of glutathione are the two most important biochemical functions in your body. Sources- Beans, Pea nut, Liver, Leafy vegetables, yeast, Asparagus.

·        Selenium. This important mineral helps the body recycle and produce more glutathione. Sources-Brazil Nuts     Sunflower Seeds, Fish (tuna, halibut, sardines, flounder, salmon), Shellfish (oysters, mussels, shrimp, clams, scallops), Meat, Poultry (chicken, turkey), Eggs, Mushrooms (button, crimini, shiitake), Grains (wheat germ, barley, brown rice, oats), Onions

·        A family of antioxidants including vitamins C and E (in the form of mixed tocopherols), work together to recycle glutathione.

·        Milk thistle (silymarin) has long been used in liver disease and helps boost glutathione levels.

So use these nine tips and see how they work to help you optimize your glutathione levels. When you do, you will take one more step to lifelong vibrant health.