Metabolic Health
Three Tips to Maintain Healthy Glutathione Levels Naturally
Glutathione is an essential antioxidant of the body for detoxifying cells and promoting immune cell function. Thus, keeping healthy levels is vital for health.
What Glutathione Is and Why We Need It
The human defense system is highly complex, including chemical and electrical signals creating intricate reactions.
Oxidative stress caused by free radicals is one of the threats to human survival and longevity.
The body has a built-in antioxidant mechanism as part of the immune system aiming to reduce the effects of oxidative stress. One of the critical molecules created by the liver, defined as a tripeptide, is glutathione.
The reason glutathione is called tripeptide is its composure from three amino acids. The liver creates glutathione from cysteine, glycine, and glutamic acid.
Thus, if our body lacks one of these amino acids, the formation of glutathione can be an issue. This need indicates the importance of bioavailable proteins in our diet.
Even though the importance of glutathione has been well documented and accepted in the body of knowledge, scientists, clinicians, and nutrition providers have differing views, not reaching a consensus on its maintenance for the body yet.
While scientists identify the mechanisms, nutrition providers create direct or indirect ingredients to maintain healthy levels. Clinicians highly focus on glutathione as low levels are associated with numerous severe health conditions.
For example, healthcare professionals inspect and manipulate glutathione levels when dealing with immune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, pulmonary diseases, liver diseases, and age-related disorders.
Besides, longevity experts pay special attention to the function of glutathione as it relates to aging. For example, this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study concluded that “250 mg/d of oral glutathione supplementation in reduced and oxidized forms effectively influences skin properties.”
However, there are concerns related to injectable forms. For example, in 2019, FDA raised a concern about dietary glutathione to compound sterile injectables.
Even though the body creates glutathione naturally, some people prefer to supplement it. I don’t supplement with glutathione but use different mechanisms to maintain levels naturally, as I explain in the subsequent three sections.
Concentrations and glutathione levels in the bloodstream can be tested using blood tests by test centers.
Without going into detail, I’d like to summarize the essential functions and benefits of glutathione that I extracted from an article published on IMCJ.
1 — Neutralization of free radicals
2 — Being a cofactor for several antioxidant enzymes
3 — Regeneration of vitamins C and E
4 — Transportation of mercury out of cells and the brain
5 — Regulation of cellular proliferation and apoptosis
6 — Mitochondrial function and maintenance of mitochondrial DNA
Purpose of the article
I mainly focus on cellular cleansing in my articles as I believe our health improvement starts with cells.
Previously, I touched on cellular cleansing in articles covering autophagy, mitochondrial health, and somatic mutations.
This article offers three tips to maintain healthy glutathione levels contributing to our defense system using fundamental lifestyle habits.
Thus, these tips are part of our lifestyle choices, excluding medical interventions for exceptional cases.
This piece is not health advice, but it aims to create an awareness of this critical antioxidant detoxifying our cells.
I present three practical and natural ways to maintain healthy glutathione levels based on my reviews, observations, and experience.
1 — Improve Sleep Quality
I deliberately start my lifestyle articles with quality sleep as it significantly impacts all aspects of our health and well-being.
Possibly it is not a surprise to my readers as restorative sleep can also contribute to the rise of glutathione levels. In addition, sleep deprivation can significantly reduce the levels.
For example, a 2012 study investigating patients with insomnia demonstrated that “patients experiencing primary insomnia had significantly lower levels of glutathione peroxidase activity and higher levels of malondialdehyde compared with the controls.”
In addition to deep sleep, REM sleep is also critical for recovery and the immune system.
For example, an animal study in 2012 showed that “96 hours of REM sleep deprivation results in increased lipid peroxidation and reduction in total reduced glutathione level in the discrete regions of the brain studied.”
2 — Increase Nutritional Support
As explained in this paper in the Journal of Nutrition:
“Sulfur amino acids and their chief metabolites are of significant importance in health and disease. The metabolic pathway between the two amino acids (methionine and cysteine) contains the intermediate homocysteine. Sulfate and taurine are the major endproducts of sulfur amino acid metabolism.”
My understanding of this paper is the importance of foods containing sulfur amino acids to synthesize glutathione.
This 1994 study in Carcinogenesis indicated that “consumption of glucosinolate-containing Brussels sprouts slightly increased glutathione S-transferase levels in human blood plasma.”
Interestingly in the same journal, another follow-up study in 2007 provided additional evidence for the role of cruciferous vegetables in cancer prevention among individuals with common, functional genetic polymorphisms related to glutathione levels.
Vitamin C is another contributor to glutathione levels. For example, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that “Vitamin C supplements increase glutathione in human lymphocytes.”
Another nutrient affecting glutathione is selenium. This 2014 randomized clinical trial confirmed that “selenium supplementation increased glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity in the patients with chronic kidney disease.”
I was interested in maintaining healthy glutathione levels, so I experimented with it years ago. However, I could not create a test case for food to experiment with glutathione levels as it is challenging to monitor foods.
Nevertheless, I used a specific supplement to create a test case for a year. Supplementing 600 mg of N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) increased my glutathione concentration slightly in the blood after a year. I still supplement with NAC as it brings me additional health benefits.
Studies on the nutritional and supplementary aspects of glutathione are still inconclusive. However, a 2019 animal study in MDPI indicated promising results for boosting glutathione using N-acetyl-cysteine and β-mercaptoethylamine.
3 — Customize Workouts
I left this one to the end as the other two approaches to increase glutathione are relatively easier. But, like sleep and nutrition, a balanced movement is also a fundamental need of our bodies.
Exercise also seems to affect glutathione levels. For example, this 2007 study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology demonstrated increased glutathione in the exercise group compared to the control group who didn’t exercise.
Interestingly, overtraining might deplete glutathione levels. For example, researchers found that overtrained mice had much lower glutathione levels in this 2001 animal study.
The results of the animal study suggest that “glutathione plays a central antioxidant role in blood during intensive physical exercise and that its modifications are closely related to exercise intensity.”
In my opinion, customizing our training to our needs and fitness levels is vital to keep our immune system more functional. Besides, excessive exercise might significantly increase cortisol levels suppressing immune activities.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Glutathione is the master antioxidant of the body, preventing us from oxidative stress. Thus, optimal amounts of this tripeptide are essential for our defense system.
Even though the research into glutathione is still inconclusive, preliminary studies indicate that by improving sleep quality, nutritional support, and moderate movements, we might be able to maintain glutathione levels and keep our immune system active.
Some people directly use glutathione as a supplement which appears problematic as the molecule seems to disappear in the digestive system, in my understanding, so believed to be useless.
Thus, my approach is to increase the glutathione levels by supplementing with cofactors such as cysteine (NAC), glycine, glutamic acid, vitamin C, and selenium from the diet.
Of course, this is not a recommendation, as we are all different. However, even though scientifically unproven, I believe NAC supplementation might contribute to a slight increase in glutathione levels based on my experiments. I hope future studies shed light on this.
A wise approach would be to discuss the matter with qualified healthcare professionals who can assess our medical history, check the levels, and create corrective plans for maintenance.
For example, after the assessment by the family doctor, a dietician might create a customized diet, including food rich in the components of glutathione.
In another story, I further elaborated on details giving a broader perspective on eliminating loose skin.
Here’s How I Got Healthier and Smoother Skin via 5 Lifestyle and Holistic Health Methods.
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