Antioxidants - Fighters against free radical damage
GSE
Glutathione - King of the Antioxidants
How to increase body's glutathione levels
Most oral glutathione supplements have been shown
to be poorly absorbed
Ironically, they may interfere with your
body's own ability to produce glutathione in the long-term;
Consuming foods containing cysteine and/or methionine increases body's
glutathione levels
Cysteine
•
Highest levels in RAW
milk products, RAW eggs, and UNDERCOOKED meat. Less in PASTEURIZED dairy
products.
•
Also found in smaller
quantities in UNCOOKED, fresh
fruits and vegetables. Highest
sources of precursor amino acids are spinach, potatoes, asparagus, avocado, squash, okra, cauliflower, broccoli,
walnuts, garlic, and tomatoes;
•
Cooking destroys some bioacitivity of cysteine -
In food, cysteine is bound into protein
molecules by amide (peptide) bonds. High temperatures during cooking can break
down these bonds and destroy bioactivity of cysteine, but, to a large extent,cysteine does survive cooking.
Giovanelli J (1987) "Sulfur amino acids of plants: an overview." In:
"Sulfur and Sulfur Amino Acids," Methods in Enzymology, vol. 143; eds.
Jakoby W, Griffith O; Academic Press, Orlando, Florida; pp. 419-426.
Clemente A, Sanchez-Vioque R, Vioque J, Bautista J, Millan F (1998)
"Effect of cooking on protein quality of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds."
Food Chemistry, vol. 62, pp. 1-6.
Chau C-F, Cheung P C-K, Wong Y-S (1997) "Effects of cooking on
content of amino acids and antinutrients in three Chinese indigenous legume
seeds." Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, vol. 75, pp.
447-452.
Methionine
Methionine is
found in: meats, poultry, fish, eggs,
dairy, quinoa, buckwheat, sesame seeds, brazil nuts, and to a lesser degree dry
spirulina.
Best Sources/methods for High Glutathione Levels
Consume sulfur-rich foods. E.g.
animal foods and eggs, garlic, onions and the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli,
kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc.).
Sulfur
- Healing Mineral
BEST SUPPLEMENT -
RAW COW'S MILK WHEY POWDER. Provides
cystine (two
bonded cysteine molecules), glycine and glutamate for
glutathione production.
•
Raw milk whey contains 3 highly bioactive
proteins containing large amounts of cystine:
• Lactoferrin and Lactalbumin -immunoglobulins, critical to
creating the right metabolic environment
for high glutathione activity;
• Serum
albumin - rarely in other foods, whey contains
a unique cysteine residue (glutamylcysteine) that naturally occurs in bovine
serum albumin. This fragile immune component of whey is highly bioactive in its
affinity for converting to glutathione.
"Breast is Best"
Human breast milk contains large amounts of lactoferrin, serum
albumin and alpha lactalbumin, as well as other immunoglobulins.
So
it is loaded with bonded cysteine. This is one of the reasons why
mother's milk is such a strong immune system builder for a baby, and
why it is very important for a mother to breastfeed her child.
Baby formula will
NOT supply bonded cysteine for building glutathione .
•
The cysteine in whey is in
the form of cystine, which can enter cells. Each cysteine molecule is
bonded with another cysteine molecule by a disulfide bond or bridge -to make a
paired unit, called
cystine (pronounced /sis-'ta-yn/). Cystine can easily enter cells where
it breaks down back into two cysteine molecules and participates in the formation of glutathione.
These disulfide bonds are very fragile and easily denatured by heat and
mechanical stress - bonds are damaged by
pasteurization of milk and mechanical stress during centrifuging.
CYSTINE MOLECULE
•
For beneficial
cysteine, whey protein should be:
• Cold-pressed from non-pasteurized milk,
containing non-denatured proteins
• Derived from grass-fed cows
• Free of hormones, chemicals and artificial sugar;
Quality
whey protein sold at
www.mercola.com .
Immunocal is a prescription bioactive non-denatured whey protein (expensive)
Ensure sufficiency of selenium
in
diet (~200 mcg/day). Body's "in-house" production /recycling of glutathione requires
this trace mineral. Excellent sources (best from food rather than supplement):
• 2-3 organic brazil nuts (100mcg)
• 4oz cod or
halibut (53 mcg) / 4oz tuna (53 mcg) / 3.2 oz sardines (48 mcg) / 4 oz salmon
(43 mcg)
• 4 oz turkey (36 mcg), 4 oz beef, chicken or
lamb (31-37 mcg)
• 1 cup
barley (36 mcg);
• 5oz Crimini mushrooms (23 mcg)
Ensure B6, B12
and folate
for crucial methylation and transulfuration pathways in production of
glutathione. These B-vitamins support
SAMe,
and other
methyl donors,
which
donate a methyl group (CH3 )
to another
molecule to make it bio-active;
SAMe
is also the precursor for synthesis of cysteine and glutathione in the
transulfuration pathway . Take supplements in their active forms:
Folate (
5-MTHF), B6 (P5P), B12 ( methylcobalamin).
SAMe - And other Methyl Donors
Exercise boosts body's glutathione levels.
30 minutes/day of aerobic exercise, as in a brisk walk
Magnesium
is required for glutathione synthesis.
Magnesium
deficiency often results in low serum glutathione levels.
Mg - Antioxidant
glutathione synthesis
Other
antioxidants
work together to recycle glutathione.
Including
vitamins E (take 400IU mixed tocopherol supplement) and
vitamin C
MELATONIN
increases glutathione
production. This hormone is produced when you get a good night's
sleep in total darkness
MELATONIN
Herb milk thistle. An excellent source of the antioxidant
compound silymarin, which may help
prevent glutathione depletion in your liver. Glutathione is crucial in
the liver for detoxification and can become depleted by alcohol consumption and
general toxic overload.
Polyphenols.
ellagic acid (highest in raw
blackberries and black raspberries, raw chestnuts, pomegranite juice and
walnuts) and quercetin recycle
glutathione
Curcumin. Increases liver cell's (hepatocytes)
production of glutathione.
Alpha Lipoic Acid. Operates as an antioxidant in both its
oxidized and reduced states, and has been shown to enhance glutathione levels.
Nebulizing Glutathione
Glutathione can be introduced into the lungs and
bronchial area via a nebulizer. According to a study in Alternative Medicine
Review in 2000, nebulized glutathione has had remarkable success in emphysema
and other lung disorders such as asthma and bronchitis; it can also be used for
colds and sinus problems.
Nebulizing
Glutathione
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is NOT recommended
This
oral cystine supplement is sometimes taken as a precursor for cysteine and
glutathione, however, clinical studies are controversial:
• Some studies
demonstrate that NAC supplementation
by itself is NOT effective in increasing
cysteine levels within the cell.
http://www.hepcchallenge.org/choices/pdf/Chapter_16_OL.pdf
• NAC-induced increases in
glutathione levels did
occur when NAC administered in
dangerously high dosages.
LEONORE A. HERZENBERG
e3t al, Glutathione deficiency is
associated with impaired survival in HIV disease ( ,March 1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 94, pp. 1967-1972 Link
•
High NAC
supplementation can deplete zinc, copper and some trace minerals
• NAC use has been
associated with some serious side effects