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There was a time when only scientists had heard of
cholesterol and vitamins, but today everyone knows about them.
Now its glutathione’s turn. In the last five years, over
twenty-five thousand medical articles about this substance have
been published and this scientific understanding is rapidly
becoming common knowledge. Each and every cell in the body is
responsible for its own supply of glutathione and must have the
necessary raw materials to make it. Glutathione is always in
great demand and is rapidly consumed when we experience any sort
of pressure – illness, stress, fatigue and even exercise. Some
well-known causes of glutathione depletions are:
Drugs
Poor Diet
Radiation Pollution
Stress
Infection
Injury
burns Trauma Why Glutathione
is Essential to Health Glutathione’s three major
roles in the body are – Anti-oxidants, Immune booster, and
Detoxifier – three critical processes driven by glutathione.
The Master Antioxidant
Over the past thirty years researchers have explored the value
of antioxidants in good health. Free radicals have been
implicated in all sorts of illness, including heart disease,
cancer, diabetes and aging itself.
Well known and widely used antioxidant such as vitamin C vitamin
E and selenium neutralize free radicals. They occur naturally in
nature but not in the body – they must be introduced as part of
a balanced diet. Given the critical role of antioxidants in good
health, it is not surprising that the body itself manufactures
it own natural antioxidants. The most important of these is
glutathione. Because all other antioxidants depend upon
the presence of glutathione to function properly scientist call
it “the master antioxidant”.
Food for the Immune System
The immune system’s function is to identify and attack germs and
other invaders, including cancer cells. A body with plenty of
glutathione fights off these threats more easily by denying most
of them a foothold and by confronting the few that get through
with an enhanced immune system. Elevated glutathione levels
enable the body to produce more white blood cells – the most
important front line defence of the immune systems.
Glutathione plays a central role in the functions of these
immune cells. Dr. Gustavo Bounous, leading glutathione experts
says, “The limiting factor in the proper activity of our
lymphocytes (white blood cells) is the availability of
glutathione.” Put simply, glutathione is “the food” for the
immune system.
Natural Detoxification
Whether we know it or not, we are continually inhaling and
ingesting natural and synthetic toxins. They are unavoidable in
these modern times, both in our polluted cities and our
engineered food supplies. When the body has its health and the
nourishment it needs it works tirelessly to eliminate toxins and
protect itself, but increasing levels of environmental
pollutants are depleting its stores of glutathione more and more
rapidly.
Our main organ of detoxification is the liver – the
body’s most concentrated source of glutathione. Studies show
that low glutathione levels lead to poor liver function, causing
more and more toxins to circulate through the body and resulting
in damage to individual cells and organs. Doctors routinely use
glutathione promoting drugs to detoxify victims of certain types
of drug overdoes. Drugs That Raise Glutathione Levels
Pharmaceutical drugs like those shown below have been used to
raise glutathione levels: however, they all produce side effects
and are unsuitable for long term use.
NAC
SAM
OTC
OTZ
Procysteine
The drugs NAC (n-acetyl-cysteine) is a potent glutathione
precursor that has been available for many years and is also
found on the shelves of health supplement stores. This
pharmaceutical chemical is used to break up mucus in lung
diseases such as cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis and asthma.
It remains the standard treatment for acetaminophen overdoes.
Most traditional glutathione studies in humans have been
conducted with NAC NAC therapy has two common problems:
firstly, it is a pharmaceutical drug and carries certain
toxicity itself; secondly, NAC induced glutathione levels reach
rapid peak and decline within hours. The drug is thus described
as having a short half life. Rapid peaks are often followed by a
sudden fall, often to below normal levels. To maintain
constantly elevated glutathione levels, NAC must be swallowed or
injected several times
per day, and this is very hard on the body. Many people taking
NAC report symptoms including rash, wheezing, nausea, vomiting,
cramps and diarrhea. However it is still the most commonly used
way to raise glutathione levels in clinical settings. OTC
(ornithine decarboxylase procysteine), OTZ (oxothiazolidine
carboxylate), are synthetic compounds with only limited ability
to raise glutathione levels and have unproven safety records.
Herb and Supplement Alternatives
These choices have little effect in raising glutathione
significantly because the stomach acids destroy them during
digestion before they can have any significant effect.
Life Wave Glutathione
Patches
Life Wave glutathione non-transdermal patches, when applied to
the body provide a signal which tells the natural resource of
the body to develop its own glutathione naturally. This patented
technology, developed for the U.S. Military, eliminates drugs,
chemicals or stimulates from entering the body or blood stream.
Instead, when a patch is placed on the meridian point (two
finger widths below the navel) the glutathione
levels have been show through extensive studies to elevate
glutathione an average of 300% within 24 hours. A new patch
should be worn every other day according to the above protocol
as a state-of-the-art way provide this critical resource to your
body efficiently.
Glutathione
in Health and Disease It is believed that
glutathione has an important role to play in the treatment and
prevention of hundreds of diseases. It may in the future be
considered as important to health as a well rounded diet,
exercise and good lifestyle. Clinical tests show that raised
glutathione levels may address some of the major health issues
of our
time – heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol,
asthma, cigarette smoking, hepatitis, AID’s and more.
Glutathione provides the body with tools to fights off these
threats naturally. Healthy people also benefit from elevated
glutathione levels through an enhanced ability to fight off
toxins, infectious diseases, pre-cancerous cells and the aging
process itself. Diminished glutathione levels are a symptom of
aging and are particularly evident in such ailments as
Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Glutathione is
also important to physically active people. Many world-class
athletes are discovering that well-maintained glutathione levels
give them an edge over their competitors, bringing greater
strength and endurance, decreased recovery time from injury,
less muscle pain and fatigue and muscle-promoting activity.
Glutathione is an essential to anti-aging, master anti-oxidant,
optimizing the immune system and detoxifying a long list of
pollutants and carcinogens. However, the body’s glutathione
levels are not raised by eating glutathione since it is poorly
absorbed through the digestive system. It must be manufactured
within the cells of the body. Therefore, the best way to raise
glutathione levels is by providing the building blocks used by
the cells to make it themselves. The Life Wave Glutathione patch
does this by signalling the body to use the natural resources
which are already there to step up this production to robust
youthful levels. Selected
Medical References Aging
It is well known that aging is accompanied by a precipitous fall
in glutathione levels. Lower glutathione levels are implicated
in many diseases associated with aging including cataracts,
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, atherosclerosis and others
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 47: 1021-26, 1994
Antioxidant Functions
Antioxidants are well documented and known to possess vital
roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. Glutathione
is your cell’s own major antioxidant. Maintaining elevated
glutathione levels aids the body’s natural antioxidant function.
Biochemical pharmacology8 47: 2113-2123. 1994
Neurological Disease
Low glutathione levels have been associated with
neurodegenerative diseases such as MS (Multiple Sclerosis), ALS
(Lou Gehrig’s disease), Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s
disease, among others.
The lancet 344: 796-798, 1994 Cancer
Glutathione plays a role in eliminating many carcinogens and
also maintains an optimized immune function, providing stronger
anti-tumour defences.
Cancer Letters 57: 91-94, 1991 Athletic Performance
Raised glutathione levels help increase strength and
endurance. Those interested in physical fitness can benefit from
a definite athletic edge
Journal of Applied Physiology 87: 1381-1385, 1999
Toxins, Pollution, Radiation
Glutathione detoxifies a variety of pollutants, carcinogens and
poisons, including many found in exhaust and cigarette smoke. It
also retards damage from radiation exposure due to the eroding
ozone layer.
Annual Review of Biochemistry 521: 711-760. 10983
AIDS
Low glutathione levels correspond to poor survival in AIDS
patients. Much documentation demonstrates the role of enhanced
glutathione levels in AIDS.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 94:
1967-72, 1997 Heart Disease, Stroke and Cholesterol
Raised glutathione levels fight the oxidation of circulating
fats in the bloodstream, including cholesterol, retarding the
process of plaque formation in the arteries – the underlying
cause of most heart disease and strokes.
Nutrition Review 54: 1-30. 1996 Diabetes
Diabetics are more prone to infection and circulatory problems
leading to heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.
Glutathione protects against the complications of diabetics.
Clinical Science 91:575-582, 1996 Lung Disease
Doctors have used glutathione-promoting drugs to treat many lung
diseases including asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Newer potential therapeutic roles can be found for cigarette
smoke damage, pulmonary fibrosis and other illnesses.
American Journal of Medical Science 307:119 -127, 1994
Digestive Diseases
Glutathione protects the body from the inflammation of
gastritis, stomach ulcers, pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel
disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Gut 42: 485-492, 1998 Hepatitis
The liver is the major storehouse for glutathione. Glutathione
is impaired in alcoholic hepatitis as well as in viral hepatitis
including hepatitis A, B, and C. Raised glutathione levels
restore liver function.
American Journal of Gastroenterology 91: 2569-2573, 1996
Kidney Disease
People with kidney failure or dialysis suffer from higher
levels of oxidation stress and decreased glutathione levels.
Raised glutathione levels help prevent anemia.
Nephron 61: 404-408, 1992 Pregnancy, lactation and
Childbirth
Glutathione’s role in fetal and placental development is
crucial. It also acts in the placenta to detoxify pollutants
before they can reach the developing child. Many complications
of pregnancy have been linked to poor glutathione levels.
Early Human Development 31: 167-174.1994
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