Glutathione, often referred to as “the mother of all antioxidants,” is one of the most talked-about supplements in the healthcare industry. It has a range of purported benefits that include enhancing heart, liver, and brain health. Read on to learn about the science behind glutathione and how to naturally increase it for optimal health.<\/p>\n
Glutathione (GSH) is your body\u2019s strongest antioxidant. It has an enormous capacity to combat oxidative stress<\/a> and neutralize harmful free radicals. Chemically speaking, glutathione is a tripeptide made up of 3 amino acids [R<\/a>]:<\/p>\n The body uses glutamic acid to make glutamine<\/a> [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n When these three amino acids are combined into glutathione, they gain the power to detox dangerous free radicals, toxic drugs, and heavy metals<\/a>. This mechanism protects your entire body from dysfunction and disease [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n At first glance, glutathione is similar to other well-known antioxidants such as vitamin C<\/a> and vitamin E<\/a>. What\u2019s remarkable is that unlike most antioxidants – think resveratrol<\/a> and quercetin<\/a> – your body can make its own glutathione<\/b>. It just needs the right building blocks.<\/p>\n In fact, your body needs<\/i> to make glutathione in order for you to live a healthy life. Scientists have even suggested its levels as a great predictor of one’s lifespan [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Glutathione deficiency increases susceptibility to oxidative stress, which may be the underlying cause of many diseases including cancer, heart disease, Parkinson\u2019s, and Alzheimer\u2019s [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Glutathione is a broadly beneficial compound that the human body makes on its own. It is available as a supplement, but supplemental glutathione has poor bioavailability<\/b>, meaning that not a lot of it is absorbed from the gut to the bloodstream. Plus, the FDA has not approved glutathione supplements for any medical purpose.<\/p>\n Thus, this section focuses primarily on the benefits of healthy glutathione levels in the body<\/b>, not on the effects of taking it as a supplement.<\/p>\n Glutathione reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS<\/a>) and oxidative stress in the body, which would otherwise damage cells and DNA. This benefit underlies all the other ones we\u2019ll cover in more detail below [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Essentially, oxidative stress is associated with cancer, inflammation, brain damage, and a range of other health problems.<\/p>\n Glutathione is equally important for the regeneration of other antioxidants your body needs, such as vitamin C<\/a> and vitamin E<\/a>. It increases your overall antioxidant defense, a task that can never be accomplished just with one substance [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n\n
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Functions & Benefits of Glutathione<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
1) Fights Oxidative Stress<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n