Some of the most essential components of a thriving metropolis are the public works. Public transportation, sewage, water, gas, and other utilities are essential to the function of everyday life as we know it. One of the most necessary is the trash removal service. Without it, the streets would begin to pile up with garbage, streets would eventually be blocked, traffic would be rerouted, and people wouldn’t be able to get to work on time, if at all. If nobody can make it to work, how can society function? There is a sort of trash removal service that functions within our bodies as well. As with society, when its function slows, metabolic waste begins to pile up. The body begins to have a hard time dealing with infections, inflammation, and normal breakdown and repair processes. This trash removal is accomplished in our bodies by a peptide called glutathione: your body’s trash removal service.
What is Glutathione?
Glutathione belongs to a family of peptides and proteins called antioxidants. Antioxidants function to remove all sorts of metabolic waste in the body that can be due to normal processes, fighting off infection, or even cleaning up inflammation. Glutathione just so happens to be the body’s strongest antioxidant, so it’s pretty important. Three amino acids cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine make up glutathione. If the body can’t synthesize any of these precursor amino acids properly, then there will be consequential loss of antioxidant power by glutathione.
Support or Supplement?
There are a variety of different situations where any of the three amino acids that make up glutathione may run low, inhibiting the body’s ability to make it. Some explanations could be a lack of dietary intake of vitamins and minerals that are cofactors in the reactions to make the precursors, methylation issues, or inflammation/infections. The easiest way to ensure that your body will always have enough glutathione is to supplement, but that isn’t exactly solving underlying issues, is it? In times of infection or severe inflammation, this might be a good thing to support the antioxidant system by supplementing and get rid of the metabolic waste that is building up in your body. But, what if that inflammation is due to the inability to produce glutathione in the first place? That’s where the question of the chicken or the egg comes in.
The answer to the question of whether to supplement with glutathione or treat the cause of the deficiency often lies in clinical reasoning by your practitioner. Sometimes, there are infections that are driving the low glutathione that we must deal with first. Other times, these infections and their resulting inflammation are too severe to be dealt with without having enough glutathione. That’s where the dilemma begins.
How and When to Support?
In times of sickness or heightened levels of stress, it isn’t a bad idea to supplement with glutathione directly. Glutathione is only going to do good things to help the body clear out waste. Infections specifically, drain glycine pretty heavily. Glycine is much cheaper and will work to help the body produce glutathione, so it isn’t a bad option. B vitamins such as B6 (P5P in its more active form), and methylated folic acid are both essential in the reactions to produce glutathione, so ensuring that you’re getting ample dietary amounts is a great idea. Beef liver, salmon, and tuna have good amounts of both of these vitamins. Another great tip is to recognize when support is necessary. If you have an infection, have high inflammation, or are feeling stressed, you should consider supporting glutathione.
Want to learn more?
If you have comments, concerns, or would like to learn more, book a free 20 minute consult with me here. I’d be happy to discuss your symptoms and if it sounds like further examination and treatment are necessary. As always, thank you for reading and if you enjoyed, click here to view more of our health articles.
