Glutathione 411
Read the previous article about this topic.
Glutathione (GSH) is a molecule normally produced inside our cells. I'd heard of it but really didn't pay much attention until I stumbled across a video while researching the immune system. I found it so fascinating that I dropped what I was working on and started researching glutathione. Within a week I'd ordered some supplements to enhance my GSH l
A growing segment of the medical community is looking at glutathione as a prevention and treatment for many conditions. Dr. Oz recently did a segment about glutathione during which he referred to it as the superhero of antioxidants. Dr. Mark Hyman whose video is on the left is one of the most seasoned gurus.
Natural resources
Nature generally gives us everything needed for good health. For instance glutathione's raw materials are hard to find, but they are abundant in human breast milk and raw cow's milk. Both milks are life-sustaining for infants when they are most in need of protection.
Generally speaking we won't be drinking breast milk, but we still have raw cow's milk and its derivatives. Raw milk should be approached with caution, because it can contain viruses and bacteria. That doesn't mean you can't drink it, but be diligent if you do.
Raw milk is potent because it has not been heated or processed so it retains all its biological value. Commercially processed milk and its derivatives are essentially dead. They has nutritional value, and the gym rats' favorite whey protein power is still good for muscles, but once processed milk is biologically inactive and missing glutahione production's essential raw materials. So the options for the raw materials are raw cow's milk, and NON-denatured biologically active whey protein.
How important is the antioxidant assist we get from glutathione?
Bruce Ames, Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley estimated that each of our trillions of cells suffers about 10,000 free radical hits daily (Ames, 1993). That assault (which humans were not exposed to on such grand scale until recent decades) depletes glutathione. Aging also slows down production of GSH.
The previous article discussed antioxidants and how they counteract free radicals. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a source of antioxidants, plus I gave you a link to the top 20 foods. And there are vitamin supplements that provide antioxidants that will be covered in the next article.
Antioxidants donate electrons to free radicals, thus neutralizing them. But the process starts an electron-robbing chain reaction until something makes it stop. That something is glutathione, because it can donate electrons without becoming a free radical itself as normally happens when electrons are donated or stolen.
Glutathione can also regenerate itself via an enzymatic pathway involving lipoic acid, and it can recycle other antioxidants. Research clearly establishes that glutathione is our most important system for destroying free radicals (Meister, 1994).
Glutathione magic trick
To make glutathione the body requires the amino acids cysteine, glycine, and glutamine.
Cysteine is the limiting amino acid because it is not readily available in food but is essential to making glutathione. (DeLeve, 1991).
Glycine and glutamate are easy to get from our diet because they are present in many foods and they can also be supplemented, but ingested cysteine is easily destroyed by digestion. To get around that the body will permit cysteine to enter when two cysteine atoms are held together with a sulfur bond. In that configuration cysteine is known as cystine (note the similar but different spelling).
After safely passing through the gut the bonded cysteine is absorbed through the intestine walls, enters the bloodstream, and goes to every cell in your body. Once inside the cell the bond breaks and cystine once again becomes two Cysteines. The free-cysteine then joins up with glycine and glutamate to produce glutathione. Voila.
So the magic ingredient for glutathione production is bonded cysteine. Bonded cysteine is found in raw meat, raw eggs, human breast milk, raw cow’s milk, and a derivative of raw cow's milk known as non-denatured whey protein (NON-denatured is the operative phrase).
Non-denatured whey is virtually non-processed, which is vital because any heat or processing degrades bonded cysteine.
Most of us do not eat raw foods or drink raw milk, so we don't get glutathione's raw materials. And even though there are glutathione-boosting foods and supplements, the best source of bonded cysteine remains non-denatured whey protein.
Health benefits of non-denatured whey?
The fact that very few companies manufacture non-denatured whey reflects that as of yet there isn't a huge demand, which makes sense because not many folks understand glutathione.
Protein content of non-denatured whey is tiny compared to off-the- shelf whey powders, but the health benefits are not comparable. If you know anybody that needs to restrict calorie or protein intake but would like the benefits we've been talking about, you might tell them about this stuff.
Worthy of note is that there is no research showing that glutathione itself can be taken by mouth and find its way into the cells. So the raw materials are imperative to getting the health benefits of GSH, and non-denatured whey is the source.
Glutathione for super health and fitness, and how to get it
-
Alpha-lactalbumin, lactoferrin, and serum albumin are high in cystine and are constituents of non-denatured whey.
-
So are serum albumin and lactoferrin, which are high in gamma glutamylcysteine a glutamine and cysteine molecule that can enter cells.
-
Depletion of glutathione has been implicated in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cataracts,
arteriosclerosis, cystic fibrosis, malnutrition, aging, AIDS and cancer (Bounous et al.,1991). -
Glutathione is essential in supporting the immune system, including natural killer cells (Droege et al., 1997)
-
Recent research indicates that propensities toward many degenerative diseases and aging itself are related to the capacity of the cell to robustly recover from oxidative insult. The capacity of a cell to recover from such insult can be determined by measuring the intracellular stores of glutathione (Noelle et al., 1981).
End notes
Glutathione addresses all sorts of health issues, but chances are you are not sick and probably landed on this article because you are into fitness or fat loss. If you work out you should know that raising glutathione decreases muscle damage and speeds recovery time, increases strength and endurance, and shifts metabolism away from fat production and towards muscle development.
Britain's top 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 (more).
If you are sick, out-of-shape, or aging too fast for your liking, you may very likely have a glutathione deficiency or benefit from more. Next time I'll show you how. Cinta anda
Remember — get an annual physical. Information presented by Thomas Amshay is for education only and not meant to cure, guide treatment, or take the place of a licensed health practitioner. Consult your health care team before starting any exercise program, diet, or supplement.
Comments