Written by Patrick B. Massey, MD, PH.D. Supplementing with glutathione may help to reduce the strain on not just the liver but our entire body.
Although the liver does an excellent job of detoxifying and reducing inflammation, with an ever-increasing stressful lifestyle and especially during the holiday season, it may need some additional help. Adding glutathione can help to reduce the strain on not just the liver and our entire body.
Glutathione is used extensively by our bodies. It is made up of three amino acids: glycine, cysteine and glutamate. It is important for many biochemical reactions including restoring active vitamins E and C, but its primary function is to help to detoxify and reduce inflammation.
Accumulating medical research suggests that glutathione is important in the prevention and treatment of several pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular disease, immune system dysfunction and especially liver disease. There is also some evidence that robust levels of glutathione may slow the aging process as well.
Unfortunately when glutathione is taken as a pill or capsule it is degraded faster than it can be absorbed. The intestines contain a large amount of a specific enzyme gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. This enzyme rapidly breaks down glutathione, greatly limiting the benefit of taking glutathione as a dietary supplement.
The most effective method for taking glutathione is intravenously. This is a rapid and safe process; however, this is restricted by the number of physicians who do this particular procedure. Recent medical research has shown that glutathione in the form of a sublingual (under the tongue) tablet is also effective.
In 2015 a research study comparing the effectiveness of oral to sublingual glutathione was published the medical journal Redox Biology. In this study 20 men and women with positive measures for mild metabolic stress participated in the study comparing blood levels of glutathione after taking either oral glutathione, sublingual glutathione or a precursor of glutathione, N-acetyl cysteine.
In this study all participants took each of the three products with a supplement-free period of time in between. When the participants were taking the sublingual form of glutathione, they had the greatest reduction in their markers for metabolic stress as well as the highest levels of glutathione. The study indicated that glutathione taken in the sublingual form could be effective at reducing metabolic stress, especially in the liver.
Although this was a small study, the results are important. In the United States, the older we are, the greater the chance that we are taking a lot of drugs. After the age of 50, the average American refills 13 prescriptions per year and by the time we hit the retirement age of 65, that number jumps to 20 or more prescription refills per year. That’s a lot of medications that our livers have to detoxify.
During the holidays, our consumption of liver-stressing foods as well as alcohol often increases, putting additional strain on the liver. In addition, up to 30 percent of Americans may already have a liver condition termed “fatty liver”, a risk factor for cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Taking some glutathione, at least occasionally, is prudent and possibly preventive of serious illness down the road.
Patrick B. Massey, MD, PH.D., is medical director for complementary and alternative medicine at Alexian Brothers Hospital Network and president of ALT-MED Medical and Physical Therapy, 1544 Nerge Road, Elk Grove Village. His website is www.alt-med.org.
Posted December 7, 2015.
