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“The most effective medicine is the natural healing power,
\n\n\n\nwhich lies within each and every one of us.”
\n\n\n\nHippocrates
\nGlutathione is currently one of the most discussed dietary supplements and is now regarded as a kind of superfood. Not without reason, because glutathione in its reduced form is one of the most important intracellular antioxidants produced by the body.
It has numerous important functions for our health – from supporting the body’s own detoxification and preventing oxidative stress to maintaining our general health and protecting the immune system. Accordingly, a deficiency in reduced glutathione can become noticeable through a wide range of physical complaints. But what exactly is glutathione, how does a deficiency occur, and how can we prevent it?
\nGlutathione is a central molecule in our body. It is essential for life, as it is involved in numerous biochemical processes in our organism. Glutathione, also known as L-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine, is a tripeptide formed from the three amino acids glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. Our body can produce glutathione itself – provided all the necessary building blocks are available. For biosynthesis, i.e. for building glutathione, our body requires not only the three amino acids mentioned but also other cofactors such as vitamins B2 and B3, zinc, selenium, and alpha-lipoic acid.
The mode of action of glutathione has been known since the early 1920s. Glutathione is a component of almost every cell and all organs, especially the liver, kidneys, pancreas, spleen, and the lenses of the eyes, which are exposed to strong oxidation through sunlight.
\nGlutathione is found in several forms in our body. Its active form is glutathione sulfhydryl (GSH), which is also referred to as reduced glutathione. This is also the form usually found in dietary supplements. In its reduced form, glutathione is one of the most important intracellular antioxidants produced by the body. Due to its sulfur core, reduced glutathione belongs to the so-called thiols, i.e. sulfur-containing molecules.
Good to know: Glutathione is so valuable to the body that it absorbs it very quickly. A liposomal form of administration is therefore not necessary. Because: high-quality reduced glutathione is optimally absorbed even without this special dosage form.
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Tasks & effects of glutathione
Glutathione is a very powerful antioxidant that performs many important tasks in our body. Among other things, it is involved in the body’s own elimination of harmful substances through biotransformation. These are the metabolic pathways in which fat-bound toxins are dissolved and converted into water-soluble substances that can be excreted. It also acts as a regulator of cell division, helps repair damaged DNA, increases the activity of immune cells, regulates inflammatory reactions, and plays a crucial role in our cellular metabolism as a scavenger of free radicals.
The health benefits and positive effects on our body and well-being are correspondingly significant:
In addition, glutathione also has a very special task: it is needed to reactivate other important antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and alpha-lipoic acid once they have been used up in fighting free radicals. Glutathione therefore plays a central role in our body’s antioxidant system, which is why it is also referred to as the “master antioxidant.”
\nReduced glutathione is also contained in our food. Animal food sources include raw milk, liver, and kidneys, for example. Many plant-based foods such as avocados, watermelons, asparagus, potatoes, oranges, tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, watercress, almonds, cashew nuts, walnuts, and especially allium vegetables such as chives, garlic, and its wild form, wild garlic, can also support our body in increasing its ability to synthesize glutathione itself.
\n\n\n\nHowever, due to our modern eating habits and the increasing contamination of our food, we now absorb only a small amount of glutathione through food each day, which falls far short of covering our needs. In addition, the GSH content of foods decreases quickly through processing, storage, and cooking.
\n\n\n\nVegetarians and vegans in particular should pay attention to their glutathione supply: Since animal products such as raw milk, liver, and kidneys are important sources of glutathione, a purely plant-based diet may provide an insufficient intake of the amino acids needed for glutathione synthesis. Targeted supplementation is particularly useful here.
\n\n\n\n“The most effective medicine is the natural healing power,
\n\n\n\nwhich lies within each and every one of us.”
\n\n\n\nHippocrates
\nIn infants and young children, a vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets, as the bones are not sufficiently mineralized, remain soft, and become deformed.
As with all other nutrients, our modern lifestyle with stress, an unbalanced diet, and increasing environmental pollution also plays a key role in glutathione deficiency – more precisely, a deficiency of GSH within our cells.
This is because GSH is consumed faster than the body produces it or obtains it through food whenever oxidative stress is extremely high in the short term or increases permanently. Such a persistent burden of oxidative stress can lead to premature aging and diseases caused by depletion of the GSH pool. This GSH depletion is associated, for example, with: