Glutathione for Improved Well being and Age-Associated Degeneration

Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant made up of three amino acids — cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid. In older adults, limited availability of glycine and cysteine ​​may lead to reduced glutathione synthesis, and glutathione deficiency is therefore prevalent in this population.¹

Glutathione deficiency in older adults may be a key contributor to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction that contribute to age-related degeneration. In the meantime, a “practical and effective approach” to reducing oxidative stress as we age may simply involve boosting glutathione levels.²

Boosts Glutathione Improves Strength, Brain Power

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine studied supplements that combined glycine and N-acetylcysteine ​​(NAC), two glutathione precursors called GlyNAC when combined. They have previously shown that young mice deficient in glutathione develop mitochondrial dysfunction, and that supplementation with GlyNAC in older mice improves not only glutathione deficiency but also mitochondrial damage, oxidative stress and insulin resistance .³

Their other previous studies in HIV patients⁴ GlyNAC supplementation was also found to improve “deficiencies associated with premature aging” in this population.⁵ This includes improvements in oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, genotoxicity, strength and cognition.⁶

A subsequent pilot trial in older adults found similar results, with GlyNAC supplementation for 24 weeks correcting glutathione deficiency and improving several health markers, including:⁷

Although the benefits declined after 12 weeks of cessation of GlyNAC supplementation, the researchers concluded that “GlyNAC supplementation in older adults may be a simple and feasible way to promote health that warrants further study.”⁸ In the scientific community, there are nine hallmarks of aging that cause most age-related diseases. These include:⁹

Interestingly, GlyNAC supplementation improved four of these nine deficiencies—mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, and genomic damage.¹⁰

power of three

The study authors believe that GlyNAC works in a “power of 3” that work together to bring about beneficial changes, as follows:¹¹

1. Corrects glutathione deficiency, thereby correcting oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction.
2. Glycine, an important methyl donor. “Methyl groups are abundant in DNA and are important components of a variety of cellular responses,” they note. “Glycine is also important for normal brain function. Therefore, provision of glycine improved multiple deficits in this trial.”
3. NAC, acts as a cysteine ​​donor. “Cysteine ​​is critical in energy metabolism by providing the sulfhydryl (SH) group required for energy production…Cysteine ​​and its donated SH group also play a role in a variety of additional cellular reactions and functions play a key role in.”

“We call it the ‘Power of 3,'” explains study author and endocrinologist Dr. Rajagopal Sekhar, associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, “because we believe it requires the combined benefits of glycine, NAC, and glutathione to achieve this A far-reaching and widespread improvement.” He thinks it may also have the potential to protect brain and muscle health during aging:¹²

“I am particularly encouraged by the improvements in cognition and muscle strength. There are currently no effective solutions for Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), serious conditions that affect memory in older adults and lead to dementia .

We are exploring whether GlyNAC can help treat these conditions by conducting two pilot randomized clinical trials to test whether GlyNAC supplementation can improve deficits associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease and MCI, and possibly improve cognitive function. “

Link between glutathione and COVID-19

Due to the significant oxidative stress it causes, glutathione deficiency may be at the root of serious diseases, including COVID-19. Dr. Alexey Polonikov from Kursk State Medical University further explained:¹³

“Based on an exhaustive literature analysis and my own observations, I propose a hypothesis that glutathione deficiency is the most plausible explanation for severe manifestations and death in patients with COVID-19 infection.

The major risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection and relative glutathione deficiency found in moderately to severely ill COVID-19 infected patients lead me to two very important conclusions:

Many comorbid risk factors that predict severe COVID-19 disease are also associated with glutathione deficiency. In an evaluation of COVID-19 patients at six Atlanta hospitals, researchers identified independent factors that increase the risk of hospitalization. These include smoking, having type 2 diabetes, being male, black, older and obese.¹⁴ Polonikov found evidence that glutathione deficiency may be associated with these comorbidities.

In his thesis, he found that endogenous glutathione gradually decreases with aging. This, he argues, makes “older people more susceptible to oxidative damage from different environmental factors than younger people.”¹⁵ He noted that endogenous glutathione deficiency also exists in people with other comorbidities.

These reduced levels with chronic disease may start to shift toward oxidative stress and exacerbate lung inflammation, eventually leading to “acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multi-organ failure and death,” he proposes.

Role of NAC in COVID-19 Treatment and Prevention

NAC, a form of the amino acid cysteine, also plays a crucial role in COVID-19. NAC has a long history of use as a drug for acetaminophen poisoning. It neutralizes the toxic effects of the drug by replenishing glutathione, thereby preventing liver damage. But the idea that NAC can also help fight viral infections isn’t new.Research in the past¹⁶ It has been found to reduce viral replication of certain viruses, including influenza virus.

In a study published in October 2020 in the journal Clinical Immunology, researchers focused on a specific group of patients, those with glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, as G6PD depletes Glutathione, which has been shown to promote coronavirus infection in humans.¹⁷

Importantly, NAC can also prevent other problems associated with COVID-19, including a hypercoagulable state that can lead to stroke and/or blood clots¹⁸ Impairs the ability of the lungs to exchange oxygen. Considering that many cases of COVID-19 involve blood clots in addition to excessive oxidative stress, and NAC effectively addresses both issues, I think NAC should be included in the standard of care for COVID-19. As stated in the FASEB Journal:¹⁹

“Based on a broad range of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms…orally administered NAC may reduce the risk of COVID-19, as previously demonstrated for influenza and influenza-like illness.

Additionally, high-dose intravenous NAC is expected to play an adjunctive role in treating severe cases of COVID-19 and controlling its fatal complications…including pulmonary and cardiovascular adverse events. “

NAC prevents stroke and is neuroprotective

NAC is known to help increase glutathione and reduce acetaldehyde toxicity²⁰ This can lead to many hangover symptoms. However, it may also prevent strokes in people with hereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy (HCCAA), a rare genetic disorder.^{twenty one}

The average life expectancy of HCCAA patients is only 30 years, and most die within five years of their first stroke,^{twenty two} Therefore, reducing their incidence may prove crucial to improving survival.

The finding is all the more important because it was made by researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), a well-known anti-supplement clinic. NAC appears to work by preventing the formation of the amyloid-producing protein that promotes stroke-related amyloid deposits.^{twenty three} NAC is also sometimes used to break down mucus in the lungs.^{twenty four}

NAC is also showing increasing promise as a neuroprotective agent. Scientists are investigating NAC as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, which is associated with a deficiency of glutathione in the substantia nigra, the area where dopamine neurons are located.²⁵

However, due to glutathione malabsorption, in many cases it is easier to increase glutathione levels by switching to NAC. It may also have potential implications for Alzheimer’s because, according to the CHOP researchers, the process of protein deposition that occurs in HCCAA is similar to that that occurs in Alzheimer’s, although it is The protein is deposited more rapidly in HCCAA than in Merger’s disease, which is why dementia occurs later in people living with the latter.

“If the underlying mechanisms of protein deposition and pathogenesis are similar enough, similar or identical treatments may be effective,” they said.²⁶ Another area where NAC has shown particular promise is in the treatment of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder,²⁷ depressed²⁸ and substance use disorders.²⁹

How to Boost Glutathione Levels

Food, supplements and exercise are available to help optimize your glutathione levels. In addition to NAC and GlyNAC, supplementation with cysteine ​​and glycine has also been found to improve glutathione deficiency.³⁰

Foods that have a positive effect on glutathione production include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, green tea, curcumin, rosemary, and milk thistle.³¹ Cysteine-rich whey protein may also be beneficial,³² and getting quality sleep.^33,34

Different types of exercise can also affect your levels. In one study, researchers recruited 80 healthy but sedentary volunteers to measure the types of exercise likely to have the greatest effect.³⁵ They found that aerobic training combined with circuit weight training showed the greatest benefit.

You can also use molecular hydrogen to naturally increase glutathione levels as it causes your ARE (Antioxidant Response Element) to go directly to your DNA and have it transcribed to produce not only glutathione and many other important antioxidants genes such as catalase and superoxide dismutase. But it only makes your body produce them, if and only if your body has excess oxidative stress, which is what you want.

Finally, an often overlooked strategy is to increase melatonin levels by exposing the skin to near-infrared light. This is because one of the side effects of melatonin is that it causes your body to produce glutathione. The best way to get this near-infrared exposure is through sun exposure, but this can be a challenge in winter, so a near-infrared sauna will work, as will photobiomodulation near infrared panels.