A common-sense approach to glutathione

What if you were taking an over-thecounter med like an antacid or an analgesic, and it was stripping you of an important antioxidant called glutathione? Would you want to know?

Glutathione is made in the body, and it’s found in many supplements nationwide. It is a powerful antioxidant that reduces oxidative stress. It may even help with skin conditions such as psoriasis and alcohol-related liver injuries, as well as non-alcoholic fatty liver. Special forms like the “acetylated” forms of glutathione penetrate the brain and may help with neurological diseases.

Recently, a friend who has my book “Drug Muggers” asked me to explain how medications deplete glutathione. He wasn’t able to find studies on PubMed, a free archive of biomedical and life sciences journals, to correlate with all the medications I listed in the chapter for glutathione. He’s correct. There is not a direct study to substantiate every single drug, I listed because I’m thinking two steps ahead.

Today, I’ll share with you my common-sense reasoning behind the list of drugs included in my book “Drug Muggers,” so you can use the information and apply it to yourself or a loved one.

In the human body, you have many complex metabolic pathways, and one of them is the transulfuration pathway, which makes cysteine. You need vitamin B6 for the transulfuration pathway to produce cysteine. Anything that depletes or blocks B6 slows down the production of cysteine, which is required to make glutathione.

The methylation cycle makes biologically active B9 (folate), and you make B12 in your gut.

Think of each metabolic pathway as a spinning cycle, having different gears, and each gear needs to be well-oiled with nutrients or else the spinning stops temporarily! That would be bad for your health.

Here is a list of medication categories that impact levels of glutathione, and my reasoning behind them:

Acid blockers/antacids

These medications severely impact the human gut microbiota. They suppress absorption or block production of the entire Bcomplex family, especially B12, which is required as a precursor nutrient in the pathway that ultimately makes glutathione.

Analgesics (pain relievers)

The medications listed in my book all contain acetaminophen, which can deplete glutathione stores. This is well known in the medical community. I hope your physician has told you that. If not, please pose the question, because glutathione is directly depleted by acetaminophen, also known as the brand name Tylenol, or as paracetamol in other countries.

Antibiotics

These life-saving medications are sometimes taken for more than 14 days. If that’s the case, you can expect a total disruption of your gut flora, which suppresses B12. That then means the transulfuration “gear” is cramped, and now you can’t make glutathione.

Nicotine

Smokers may not realize that glutathione production is suppressed and supplementation may be helpful to avoid profound oxidative injury to the lungs and liver.

If you’re uncertain about glutathione or want to see if it is right for you, please ask your practitioner before self-supplementing.