 Glutathione (pronounced "gloota-thigh-own") is the body's essential health AID -
Antioxidant, Immune booster and Detoxifier. This small protein, produced naturally
in the body, maintains these three crucial protective functions. In fact, your
life depends on glutathione. Without it, your cells would disintegrate from unrestrained
oxidation, your body would have little resistance to bacteria, viruses and
cancer, and your liver would shrivel up from the eventual accumulation of toxins.
Glutathione is not yet a household word. Even doctors who have heard the term
may have only a vague idea of it. However, everyone will soon b~ talking about this
critical substance. There was a time when only scientists had heard of cholesterol
and vitamins, but today everyone knows about them. Now it's 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 gradually 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
depletion are shown in figure I. Glutathione levels also diminish as we age and many
diseases normally associated with aging have been linked to glutathione deficiency.
WHY GLUTATHIONE IS ESSENTIAL TO HEALTH?
Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-I-D - Antioxidant, Immune booster, and Detoxifier - three critical processes driven by glutathione.
THE MASTER ANTIOXIDANT (AID)
Over the past thirty years researchers have explored the value of antioxidants in good
health, as well as the treatment and prevention of diseases involving oxidative attack
by free radicals. This has produced a whole new branch of medicine - Free Radical
Biology. Free radicals have been implicated in all sorts of illness, including heart
disease, cancer, diabetes and aging itself
Well-known and widely used antioxidants 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 its own natural antioxidants. The most important of these is glutathione. Because all other antioxidants depend upon the presence of glutathione to function properly, scientists call it "the master antioxidant."
FOOD FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM (AID)
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 defense of the immune system. Glutathione plays a central role in the functions of these immune cells. Dr. Gustavo Bounous, a leading glutathione expert says, "The limiting factor in the proper activity of our lymphocytes (white blood cells) is the availability of glutathione." In other
words, healthy growth and activity of immune cells depend upon glutathione's availability. Put simply, glutathione is 'food' for the immune system.
NATURAL DETOXIFICATION (AID)
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 nourishmentit needs it works tirelessly to eliminate toxins and protect itself, but increasing levels of environmental pollution 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 overdose.
For more information Get Our “Glutathione Essential Health AID” Booklet now.
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CANCER
GSH eliminates many carcinogens and also maintains Immune function. IMMUNOCAL has Method of Use Patents for preventing and treating cancer. It can reduce side effects from some cancer therapies.
CANCER LETTERS 57:91-94, 1991
AIDS
IMMUNOCAL HAS A Method of use Patent for HIV/AIDS treatment. Low Glutathione levels correlate with poor survival in AIDS victims.
Scientific studies demonstrate the benefits of enhancing GSH in AIDS patients.
PROC. NATIONAL ACAD. SCIENCE USA 94:1967-72 1997
IMMUNE SYTEM
Clinical studies have proven that immune depressed individuals have lower
GSH concentrations. Healthy people also experience a drop in GSH levels when fighting disease. Lymphocytes, cells vital for your immune response, depend on GSH for their proper function and replication. IMMUNOLOGY 61:503-508, 1987
AGING PROCESS By the age of 40 there is a precipitous drop in GSH levels. Lower glutathione levels are evident in many diseases associated with aging including cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, arteriosclerosis,
etc. JOURNAL OF CUN/CAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 47:1021-26, 1994
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 for most heart disease
and stroke. NUTRITION REVIEWS 54: 1-30, 1996
DIABETES
Diabetics are more prone to infections and circulatory problems leading to
heart disease, kidney failure and blindness Glutathione protects against
the complication of diabetes. 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. Fewer potential
therapeutic roles can be found for cigarette smoke damage, pulmonary fibrosis and other illnesses. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
307:119-127, 1994
PULMONARY DISORDERS
Chronic Bronchitis, Cystic Fibrosis, and Asthma have been clinically shown
to impact and lower glutathione levels. Repleting glutathione shows clinical benefits. AMERICAN J. MED. SCI. 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 oxidative 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 with poor glutathione levels. EARLY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 37: 167-174, 1994
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN GLUTATHIONE AND CANCER?
Glutathione helps us fight cancer in at least three ways: Firstly and most importantly, it can prevent cancers from developing in the first place.
Secondly, glutathione tends to combat cancers already established in the body. Lastly, it can alleviate many of the consequences of cancer,
including severe weight loss, and the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Glutathione Its Role In Cancer & Anticancer Therapy by Dr. Jimmy Gutman
MD, FACEP
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