What are the benefits glutathione will provide for you and your health? Well, to start off with, you may or may not have heard about glutathione before. Click
here
for a more in-depth discussion of glutathione.
You may be wondering why you need to know about this and why you need to know about it for optimal health. Likely you have heard of
antioxidants
,right? You can’t watch the evening news any more without hearing that this skin cream or that fruit juice is high in antioxidants.
I just saw a commercial for 7-Up that is being advertised as "7-Up Antioxidant" because it has some Vitamin E in it. Did I hear that right - Vitamin E in 7-Up?
So antioxidants are now mainstream. Why do we need them?
Very simply, you have
oxidative stress
going on in your body all the time, and antioxidants fight oxidative stress. The balance between your oxidative stress and antioxidants in your body may be one of the key indicators of your overall health today.
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If antioxidants were so important, wouldn’t you think your body would make it’s own? Well, in fact, it does, and the most powerful antioxidant you have in each of your cells is called “glutathione” (Gloo-ta-thigh-own). It is absolutely essential for good health. So glutathione benefits and strengthens your antioxidant system.
What happens when your body doesn't make its own glutathione? Without it, your liver would fail from accumulation of
toxins,
your cells would die from oxidative stress, and your
immune system
would leave you vulnerable to bacteria, viruses, and disease. And there are now over 96,000 references to it on
PubMed,
the online resource for medical studies from around the world.
In short, if you didn't have glutathione, you wouldn’t live for long. But don’t worry! Help is on the way. Actually, we have lots of glutathione typically when we are younger, but due to toxins and deficiencies in our air, water, food, water, and
environment
in general, as we
begin aging,
our levels typically begin falling in our 40's.
And chances are, if we are younger than that, and suffer from a chronic ailment, we are already deficient in glutathione. So what can be done to get the benefits glutathione gives you?
First, let's define glutathione.
Benefits Glutathione Gives You- What Is It?
What exactly is glutathione? Technically speaking, glutathione is a tripeptide, or protein, made up of three amino acids.
Even more specific, it is glutathione sulfhydryl, and it may be abbreviated as GSH.
The essential amino acids needed to produce glutathione in your cells are glutamate, or glutamic acid, glycine, and cysteine. Of these, it is hardest to find available cysteine in our diet.
As a result, cysteine is considered the rate-limiting factor for glutathione production in our cells. It is the missing puzzle piece that you need to find if you are going to raise your levels to experience the benefits glutathione provides.
The benefits glutathione gives you are too many to list here. Glutathione has hundreds of functions in the body. But for most people, if we are able to remember the 5 main benefits, we will be familiar with about 90% of what GSH does:
For a more thorough explanation of these functions, please click
here
(this link opens in a new window) and read the section entitled "Glutathione has multiple functions:". You will find it in the 6th paragraph.
For now, we will learn how the benefits glutathione gives you are first and foremost as your body’s own master Antioxidant. What exactly does that mean?
Well, all antioxidants can be classified into two major categories - exogenous and endogenous. Simply put, that means that some are external to our bodies, meaning our body does not make them (exogenous), and others are made by our bodies (endogenous).
Glutathione is the main antioxidant your body makes. So it is endogenous.
When it comes to antioxidants made by the body, glutathione is The Master because it recycles these other antioxidants.
That means when you take a Vitamin C, and it does its job of neutralizing a free radical, this amazing protein can recharge it by donating a Hydrogen molecule. How exactly does this work?
Well, at any given time, you have millions of free radicals circulating in your body. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Free radicals are oxidized molecules.
For example, the most dangerous and plentiful free radical in your body is an OH molecule. When a water or H-H-O molecule loses a Hydrogen, it is oxidized and becomes O-H. This process happens all day long, whether we realize it or not, and becomes a cascading effect when one cell loses it’s Hydrogen, and steals another one from the cell next to it, causing damage all over your body.
But the benefits glutathione gives you are to save the day. It continually regenerates Hydrogen at the cellular level! So glutathione benefits you by donating H back to OH so it can become water again!
So if your cells are high in glutathione, then they can continue to assist all of the antioxidants you are taking to do their job more efficiently. This is one of the important benefits glutathione gives you. So that is a win - win situation ! Your best bet is to make sure you have plenty of antioxidants in your diet, but you absolutely must have glutathione for them all to work properly.
So what happens when your body doesn't make it's own glutathione? Without it, you will cease to exist. With low levels of it, you may suffer from poor health. But with optimized or high levels in your system, you now hold in your hand the key to great health!
So glutathione is something you need to have plenty of to win this race for life. Glutathione benefits you as the most powerful antioxidant that your body makes.
Remember when cholesterol and vitamins were not well known? At the rate research is being conducted on this amazing protein, it is only a matter of time before it also becomes a household word.
Just last week during February 2011, Dr. Oz did a television show highlighting the benefits glutathione provides. He indicated that the benefits glutathione provides are key to optimal health. And he is quite correct!
The good news is you are hearing about it today, and as you read on, you will discover how this amazing protein can have a significant impact on your overall health today, and for the rest of your life.
In conclusion, the benefits glutathione gives to you are grouped into 5 main categories:
Would you like to hear what medical doctors are saying about the benefits glutathione gives you? Watch the 9 minute tutorial below that describes what it does, and also learn about a clinically proven glutathione enhancer named Immunocal.
Dr. Jimmy Gutman, who is featured in this video, is the world's most published author on the benefits glutathione provides. His current bestseller is entitled "Glutathione - Your Key To Health."
Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The UltraMind Solution, also produced an excellent video all about the benefits glutathione will give you for your health, and also will tell you how you can raise your glutathione. Click on the arrow below to view:
Click on the icon below if you would like to see the articles I have written online on this subject. Just enter my name, "Laura McCallum" in to the search box to see them:
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