What is Glutathione?

Glutathione, also known as L-glutathione,  is often called the ‘master antioxidant’ because that is simply what it is. As an antioxidant, glutathione is the most powerful protector of our cells defending them against damage inflicted by free radicals.

Free radicals are harmful unstable oxygen molecules that are created natural in the body as a byproduct of natural metabolic processes. UV light is another natural source of free radicals but today we are bombarded with a lot more of them from industrial process. Gas emissions, smoke, pesticides, and toxic heavy metals in our water supplies and fish are all sources of man made free radical pollution. So glutathione really has its work cut out!

Of course the reality is that many of us are way too deficient in glutathione as a result. This creates a condition called oxidative stress, a situation in which there are more free radicals in the body than glutathione and other antioxidants can handle. Oxidative stress can lead to a variety of health conditions; most notably heart disease, cancer and premature aging.

Aside from its role as the ‘master antioxidant’ glutathione is also a detoxifying agent responsible for maintaining cell homeostasis. This means that glutathione ‘ejects’ unwanted toxins out of cells and into the blood stream so they can be flushed out of the body. Drug metabolites, toxic heavy metals and carcinogens are all examples of such toxins.

If many of us are low in glutathione levels what can we do to increase them?This is a good question because glutathione is not effective as a supplement, it gets destroyed in the gut before it has a chance to reach our blood stream to be delivered to our cells. However there is another way. Structurally speaking glutathione is a protein made up of 3 amino acids, glutamate, gylcine and cysteine. Glutamate and glycine are found abundantly in our cells but cysteine is usually the Achilles heal in this trio because it is less present in food. So taking supplements that contain the correct form of cysteine and a few other useful ingredients can help. One such supplement is called ‘Immunocal’ and has been scientifically proven to increase the amount of glutathione supplements in our bodies. To read more about this visit Boost Glutathione Levels With Immunocal.

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