Glutathione - The Master Antioxidant!

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What is Gluathione?
Glutathione (GSH) is an important antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi, and some bacteria and archaea, preventing damage to important cellular components caused by reactive oxygen species such as free radicals and peroxides. Every nucleated cell needs and uses glutathione. It is a 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. It also contains sulfur (SH) chemical groups. Sulfur is a sticky molecule that attracts free radicals and toxins like mercury and other heavy metals. Mercury depletes glutathione and is the end product of the methionine cycle in the methylation cycles. Normally glutathione is recycled in the body -- except when the toxic load becomes too great.

Glutathione protects cells against the oxidative stress that damages cell membrane proteins. Without adequate glutathione, mitochondrial oxygen metabolism produces large numbers of free radicals, which causes cells to perform poorly or die. A number of studies have shown that oxidative stress increases with aging, and leads to degenerative diseases: heart disease, memory problems, cancer, diabetes, arthritis.

Glutathione is considered the most important antioxidant because it is the only one capable of working with enzymes. One enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), works with glutathione to prevent membranes from becoming oxidized. Glutathione also helps activate the better-known antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin E.

How Does Glutathione Work?
Glutathione binds metals and other toxins and transforms them into compounds that can be excreted in bile or urine. Once bound, these toxins become water-soluble and can be transported out of cells.

The binding of toxins to glutathione creates a demand on the body to make new glutathione. Deficiency results when a tissue or system cannot keep pace with the demand.  Low serum levels correlate with the progression of coronary artery disease. This was observed not only in individuals with coronary artery obstructions that required intervention (Hong 2005), but also in people who were relatively young and apparently healthy

The liver harbors the body's largest stores of glutathione and play a critical important plays a role in detoxifying environmental pollutants, radiation, drugs, carcinogenic chemicals and heavy metals.

Glutathione s-transferases (GST) are a group of enzymes that work in concert with glutathione. They are critical for removal of many toxins. The loss of GST function will contribute to both acute and chronic illnesses. People dealing with chronic illness have glutathione deficiency and this is true for people of all ages.

Measuring Glutathione Levels
Glutathione levels in blood can be measured in both red blood cells (RBC) and plasma.

• The standard reference range for total glutathione in RBCs is 1,000-1,900 umol/L.

• Some practitioners consider levels in the range of 1,100 -1,200 umol/L to be low.

Disorders Associated With Low Glutathione

• AIDS
• Alcoholism
• Aging
• Alzheimer's disease
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Autism spectrum disorders
  A clinical study in children with autism showed that oral supplementation with liposomal glutathione can raise glutathione levels in plasma after oral ingestion (Kern 2011). In the children using this preparation, plasma levels of reduced glutathione rose from low to the low end of normal after two months.
• Cigarette smokers
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Cystic fibrosis
• Diabetes
• HIV
• Ischemia
• Liver and heart disease
• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Obesity
• Parkinson's Disease
• Seizures
• Sickle cell anemia
• Stroke

Read About mold toxicity and how it inhibits mycotoxins and related illness caused by oxidative stress:

• Deficient Glutathione in the Pathophysiology of Mycotoxin-Related Illness by Frederick T. Guilford  and Janette Hope
  Abstract: Evidence for the role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of mycotoxin-related illness is increasing. The glutathione antioxidant and detoxification systems play a major role in the antioxidant function of cells. Exposure to mycotoxins in humans requires the production of glutathione on an “as needed” basis. Research suggests that mycotoxins can decrease the formation of glutathione due to decreased gene expression of the enzymes needed to form glutathione. Mycotoxin-related compromise of glutathione production can result in an excess of oxidative stress that leads to tissue damage and systemic illness. The review discusses the mechanisms by which mycotoxin-related deficiency of glutathione may lead to both acute and chronic illnesses.

About Glutathione and Nutrition
(9:36 min.)

Vitality, Energy, Detox -Your Need for Glutathione - Dr.Tim Guilford
(1:32:56 minute)

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