The important role of glutathione in the human body, how to effectively improve it?
I believe you have heard of glutathione, the body’s most important antioxidant and detoxification molecule.
It plays a very important role in maintaining our body’s organ function, strengthening the immune system, regulating inflammation, and slowing down the body’s oxidation rate.
Many people are glutathione deficient due to inappropriate lifestyles and incorrect eating habits.
This will lead to the dysfunction of mitochondrial function, reduce the body’s antioxidant capacity, accelerate the aging of the human body, and increase our risk of various diseases. china glutathione manufacturers
How to effectively increase glutathione?
So do we supplement glutathione directly, or do we supplement glutathione directly in some other form?
Direct use of this type of supplement or medication can also increase the body’s glutathione levels, but there are some problems with this
It can cause side effects in some people, such as allergies, rashes, abdominal pain, abdominal gas, loose stools.
Inhalation of glutathione may cause breathing problems in some mild asthma patients. In addition to the above problems, oral glutathione can also increase the unpleasant taste in the mouth that is, the strong sour and sulfur taste, and the absorption rate of oral glutathione is not high.
In order to bypass the influence of the digestive tract on glutathione molecules, injections using glutathione can more easily enter the blood and cells.
However, it still has the common side effects mentioned above, as well as some risks associated with the injection process, such as pain at the injection site, itchy irritation, and redness.
It’s important to note that long-term use of glutathione, no matter what form of glutathione, may reduce zinc levels in the body which can cause further problems.
Excessive glutathione supplementation, exogenous antioxidants, or manipulation of genes regulating glutathione synthase to increase glutathione
Failure to take into account the specific requirements of individual cells may lead to reductive stress, interfere with cell function, and bring about a series of adverse effects.
A better solution in this case would be to provide cells with enough raw material to make glutathione on their own
If the cell is functioning properly, then the body’s synthesis of glutathione is mainly dependent on three amino acids.
The first is glutamic acid, which is widely found in your diet and in your body, and the other two amino acids are n-acetylcysteine and glycine, which are the rate-limiting amino acids that affect the body’s synthesis of GSH.
Previous studies have suggested that supplementation with n-acetylcysteine can increase the level of glutathione in the body.
But the latest research trend has shifted from n-acetylcysteine supplements to its glycine compound gly-nac
This supplement can improve GSH deficiency, oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and many other problems.
Glutathione research trial
Experiment one
In a study published in 2011, researchers recruited eight healthy adults over the age of 65 and eight healthy young adults.
They just gave them acetyl cysteine and glycine supplements by mouth for two weeks;
They didn’t ask them to change their eating habits or their exercise habits;
The researchers measured glutathione synthesis rates and concentrations in the cells of older and younger adults before and after the experiment, as well as plasma markers of oxidative damage.
It turned out that the concentration of glutathione in the cells of the older people was significantly lower than that of the younger people before the experiment began, and the rate of synthesis was also significantly lower.
After two weeks of dietary supplementation with cysteine and glycine, the rate and concentration of GSH in the cells of the elderly were completely restored, and the levels of oxidative stress and oxidative damage were reduced.
Experiment two
Another article in 2022 also mentioned that people infected with the novel coronavirus will lack GSH,
Especially those who are older and have higher blood sugar and lower immune function, they tend to show more severe symptoms,
So there are studies that suggest that giving them an antioxidant supplement, a glutathione supplement, may have a beneficial effect.
But there may also be a risk of reducing reactive oxygen species levels and inducing restorative stress,
So supplementation with a combination of glycine and n-acetylcysteine may be a safer and beneficial option,
Can support the body’s immune response at a deep level and help reduce some of the stress our bodies face and so on.
How do we know if we need glutathione?
The first thing to mention here is that Y-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is used in our liver function tests.
It’s an enzyme found throughout the body, mainly in the liver,
and its main job is to break down and recycle GSH,
Of course, it’s also involved in breaking down drugs and toxins,
forming amino acids that are important for the brain and the heart, and so on.
Our traditional view is that this is a sign of abnormality in people who drink heavily,
And because alcohol can damage the liver, these people often have levels in the hundreds,
But now research suggests that it does more than that. Its abnormally high levels often signal cell damage throughout the body,
Long-term exposure to organic pollutants and environmental toxins may also increase GGT levels,
There’s also a problem when we take long-term medications, especially those that damage the liver,
So this is the detoxification of the liver that’s taking advantage of GTT to increase GSH,
How reasonable is this metric? The range of normal indicators varies slightly with age and gender
The range of values we see in this chart can be considered normal indicators
But normal and optimal are two concepts, and for adults 20-30 is the optimal level of GGT
When the target of 30 exceeded then it means that the body may need to increase the level of glutathione to cope with the problem,
so the combination of glycine and n-acetylcysteine can considered in this case.
There are also a number of other natural ways we can increase glutathione levels.
First, eat right
Onions and cruciferous vegetables are particularly rich in sulphur,
Including Onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, seafood, beef, animal offal, beans, milk and eggs,
Their methionine and cysteine are also abundant, and the skin, tendons and cartilage of animals are rich in glycine,
which is an excellent source of glutathione for human synthesis.
Two, healthy sleep
Adequate deep sleep can reduce the body’s oxidative stress levels, reduce the body’s need for glutathione,
So this is actually indirectly raising the body’s glutathione levels,
three, movement
Only regular exercise that is appropriate to our current physical condition, such as aerobic exercise and strength training,
can reduce the level of oxidative stress in the human body and achieve the same effect as healthy.
If it is excessive exercise, such as long-distance running, marathon will consume more glutathione.
