Single-Nutrient Antioxidant Protection for Living in a Toxic Modern World

By VRP Staff

Let’s face it: We live in a toxic world. Heavy metals… drugs… radiation… pesticides… all of these dangerous toxins can become trapped in your body, where they wreak havoc on your health over the course of days, months, even years. And chances are good you come into contact with at least one of them every single day—in the air that you breathe, the water that you drink and the food that you eat.

The bad news? Short of living in a plastic bubble there’s no way to avoid completely the daily exposure to this long list of dangerous environmental pollutants. The good news, however, is that your body actually produces one of your strongest sources of antioxidant protection—in the form of a single tripeptide called glutathione.

While vitamins C and E tend to monopolize the antioxidant spotlight, glutathione’s ability to interact with enzymes means that it’s a more reliable natural detoxifier. In fact, you’ll find its most concentrated stores are in your liver—your body’s filter—where it will bind with heavy metals and other toxins, allowing them to be safely excreted.^1-2 In its active (or “reduced”) form, glutathione is also able to donate electrons that neutralize your body’s rogue free radicals—while lower ratios of active glutathione are a key indication of oxidative stress, a condition that paves the way to a long list of degenerative diseases and illnesses.

Coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis and other heart problems, for example, are linked to significant systemic declines in glutathione, even in healthy adults—while asthma is similarly linked to localized deficits.^3-5 Conditions marked by excess oxidative stress, like diabetes, can contribute to glutathione deficiencies—and lower levels of this powerful antioxidant are also connected to Alzheimer’s disease, autism and even increased susceptibility to seasonal flu infection.⁶

With tens of thousands of published studies on its side, there’s no question that a high-quality glutathione supplement can be a literal lifesaver—especially in today’s toxic modern world. And thanks to recent developments, getting daily doses of this key antioxidant in its most reliable and active form is simpler now than ever.

Scientists have discovered a way to protect glutathione inside a tiny lipid bubble called a liposome. A recent study suggests that liposomes can help glutathione to remain more stable and available to your cells.⁷Because liposomes are made out of the same material as your cell membranes, liposomal glutathione ensures more rapid uptake and availability of glutathione for your cells—and that means higher levels of the “reduced” form of this powerful antioxidant will be fighting free radicals and toxins in your body on a daily basis.⁸ You can find this cutting-edge supplement in a product called LipoCeutical™ Glutathione, available now through Vitamin Research Products.

References:

1. Clarkson TW, Vyas JB, Ballatori N. Mechanisms of mercury disposition in the body. Am J Ind Med. 2007;50(10):757-64.

2. Ballatori N, Krance SM, Notenboom S, Shi S, Tieu K, Hammond CL. Glutathione dysregulation and the etiology and progression of human diseases. Biological chemistry. 2009.

3. De Chiara B, Mafrici A, Campolo J, Famoso G, Sedda V, Parolini M, et al. Low plasma glutathione levels after reperfused acute myocardial infarction are associated with late cardiac events. Coron Artery Dis. 2007;18(2):77-82.

4. Ashfaq S, Abramson JL, Jones DP, Rhodes SD, Weintraub WS, Hooper WC, et al. The relationship between plasma levels of oxidized and reduced thiols and early atherosclerosis in healthy adults. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2006;47(5):1005-11.

5. Fitzpatrick AM, Teague WG, Holguin F, Yeh M, Brown LA. Airway glutathione homeostasis is altered in children with severe asthma: evidence for oxidant stress. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2009;123(1):146-52 e8.

6. Darmaun D, Smith SD, Sweeten S, Hartman BK, Welch S, Mauras N. Poorly controlled type 1 diabetes is associated with altered glutathione homeostasis in adolescents: apparent resistance to N-acetylcysteine supplementation. Pediatric diabetes. 2008;9(6):577-82.

7. Zeevalk G, Guilford F, Bernard L. Liposomal glutathione for replenishment and maintenance of intracellular glutathione in mesencephalic cultures. Abstract Neuroscience 2009: Soc. for Neuroscience 2009.

8. Rosenblat M, Volkova N, Coleman R, Aviram M. Anti-oxidant and anti-atherogenic properties of liposomal glutathione: studies in vitro, and in the atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. Atherosclerosis. 2007;195(2):e61-8.