Healthy? No need to take glutathione
DEAR DOCTOR: I’ve been seeing advertisements for glutathione, saying the supplement enhances the body’s cells. They also say the claims haven’t been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. What can you tell me about it?
DEAR READER: Glutathione is an antioxidant produced in the body that helps repair cells damaged by pollution, stress and other harmful influences. It is undeniably important.
Mice unable to form glutathione will die before birth. Mice that have been genetically altered to not produce glutathione in the liver will die after one month. The deficiency in the production of glutathione leads to the breakdown of red blood cells, enlargement of the spleen, gallstone and, after many years, can lead to mental deterioration.
Because you’re presumably healthy, you’re unlikely to have any deficiency in the production of glutathione. If you’re interested in improving your body’s ability to recover from exercise by enhancing your muscles’ ability to heal, that’s a different question. People who exercise vigorously create oxidative free radicals, which can lead to muscle fatigue and decrease muscle performance — suggesting
that an antioxidant may be helpful.
However, people who exercise regularly naturally produce more antioxidants in the muscles to prevent damage, possibly in response to the regular formation of oxidative free radicals. Regardless, the body takes care of itself without the need of a supplement.
As of yet, there is no good study of the use of glutathione in healthy people. Some nutritionists recommend increasing the intake of the amino acids cysteine and glutamate, which make glutathione, but this hasn’t been studied either.
In short, the supplement has shown benefit among cystic fibrosis and AIDS patients who have decreased glutathione in the intestine, and it may show benefit in inflammatory conditions of the intestine, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, but this needs to be studied as well.
At this point, I would not recommend taking glutathione.
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