Glutathione: Overview, Benefits, Side Effects and Natural Sources

Do you ever feel tired or uncoordinated? Are you anemic? You might not realize it, but you may not produce enough natural glutathione in your body.

Glutathione benefits are aplenty and glutathione deficiency can be caused by a number of issues. In fact, if you have a serious illness, you probably have a deficiency.

Glutathione is your body’s master antioxidant that protects against cell damage. It has also been known to fight against inflammation. With more available research, glutathione deficiency is thought to be a major factor in many of today’s most prevalent health concerns.

Luckily, there are many ways to get more glutathione in your daily diet. We are here to help you figure out how. Today, we tell you all about what it is, how it can benefit you, its potential side effects and where to find it in natural sources.

Overview

Let’s talk a little bit more about what glutathione is, specifically.

It is a powerful antioxidant, first of all. It is made of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamate and glycine. Together, they work to eliminate free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that hurt the cells in your body.

It also generates naturally-occurring glutathione in the body and assists your immune system. It does this through triggering chemical reactions that identify invaders. These include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Glutathione has also been shown to reduce inflammation in several conditions.

It rids you of natural chemicals, drugs and pollutants.

A deficiency can happen for any number of reasons: aging, general illness, chronic illness, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and more.

But the benefits seem to go on and on.

Some people take it to detoxify, to produce more antioxidants and even for fertility issues and weak immune systems.

You can use it orally via glutathione pills or a spray, via glutathione injections, via an inhalant or through various foods.

What is Glutathione Used For?

We mentioned it above, but glutathione is used for a lot of different reasons. Let’s dive a little deeper.

The most popular reason to take glutathione is for its antioxidant power. This is a great benefit for almost everyone.

As a detoxifying agent, it addresses harmful elements in our body. You can unintentionally expose yourself to these elements due to pollution and other environmental issues.

Glutathione can also help you if you have high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, autism, liver disease or cancer.

Some even believe that glutathione might combat the adverse effects of cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.

It can really help to take a glutathione supplement of some kind. This is because there aren’t a whole lot of foods that have high levels of it.

What are the Risks of Taking Glutathione?

Glutathione sounds great. But you might wonder: what are the risks?

If you eat the handful of foods that boost glutathione levels, you’re not at risk. When you take any kind of supplement, though, there could be some side effects.

First, you could have decreased zinc levels if you take it for a significant period of time. Also, if you have asthma, glutathione inhalants might not be a good idea. It can cause asthma attacks and wheezing.

There isn’t enough research about glutathione and pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Other short-term glutathione side effects could include abdominal pain, allergic reactions like a rash and bloating.

However, there could be a risk with anything you take as a supplement. Even some foods cause sensitivity in certain groups of people. At the end of the day, it is up to you and your healthcare professional if glutathione supplements are for you.

You know your body better than anyone. So it’s best to know all of your options. We are happy to give them to you.

What are the Benefits of Glutathione?

Now it’s time to talk about the benefits of glutathione. Believe us when we say: there are so many potential benefits it’s hard to count.

There are six in particular that we are going to tell you about. Once you see all of the ways it can help you achieve your health goals, glutathione will speak for itself.

You might decide to take it for respiratory disease symptoms, to increase mobility or to boost your liver health. Regardless, we take you through the top six ways it can help you, regardless of your situation.

Reduces Cell Damage From Fatty Liver Disease

The liver is responsible for crucial chemical reactions within your body. It produces bile, which rids your liver of toxins.

So it can be scary when it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to.

Alcoholism and fatty liver disease caused by other factors disrupt your normal liver functions. Glutathione can help you restore liver cells. These cells die when your liver is deficient in glutathione.

This super-antioxidant rebuilds protein, bilirubin and enzymes that you lose from fatty liver disease. It can also reduce malondialdehyde, a compound that reflects liver damage.

You don’t have to believe us: scientific research shows you the facts. Several studies prove that a glutathione IV or oral supplement could reduce damage caused by fatty liver disease. It reverses the damage when you have the proper glutathione dosage.

Combats Insulin Resistance in Older Individuals

When you age, you face a lot of natural aging processes. This could include joint pain, overall malaise, respiratory problems, weight gain or insulin resistance.

If you are an older and wiser person, we have some good news: glutathione could improve insulin resistance.

When you get older, you don’t produce as much glutathione as you once naturally did. Studies show that this leads to higher fat storage. In turn, that could lead to more insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas. When your insulin levels go down, your risk of diabetes goes up.

Baylor’s College of Medicine conducted a study. They increased glutathione intake in older patients with these problems. In just two weeks, they saw results in real-time. This group of people experienced better insulin levels and more burned fat.

Increases Mobility in People With Peripheral Artery Disease

Peripheral Artery Disease, or PAD, is a disease related to your circulatory system.

It happens when you have narrow arteries that restrict blood flow to your limbs. Those peripheral arteries are also blocked by plaque. The lack of proper blood flow causes pain in your limbs. This can lead to trouble walking, too, since PAD mostly affects your legs.

Mayo Clinic saw that there was room for improvement with this artery disease. So they did thorough research and conducted an extensive study.

The study showed that glutathione allowed for more circulation in the limbs. Some participants received a placebo of saline solution. Others received a glutathione infusion. Both groups had their treatments twice a day over a five-day span.

After that five-day period, the researchers studied the participants who got the glutathione to see if their mobility improved. As it turns out, those patients had better circulation. They were then able to walk for longer stretches without pain.

Reduces Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

If you or one of your loved ones have ever been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, you know just how awful and painful it is.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease. That basically means it deteriorates your central nervous system.

It happens slowly and it changes from patient to patient. However, one constant is that it has a lot of symptoms. All of those symptoms are dire.

They can include tremors, balance issues, depression and dementia.

There are a lot of routes to treatment for Parkinson’s, although there is no cure. But did you know that glutathione can treat its symptoms, too?

When you have Parkinson’s disease, you have less glutathione in your brain. This also means that the less glutathione your brain produces, the more severe your Parkinson’s can become.

A glutathione injection or IV could be your best bet when you have Parkinson’s. Patients report better motor skills and less tremors after they take glutathione.

Helps Fight Against Autoimmune Diseases

Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and the antioxidants that counter them.

Various autoimmune diseases increase oxidative stress because of chronic inflammation.

Some of these autoimmune diseases include lupus, diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and HIV/AIDS, to name a few.

Research shows that glutathione can relieve oxidative stress. It gets rid of free radicals. Free radicals are present with autoimmune diseases like the ones we listed above. They attack the mitochondria in certain cells. Glutathione is known to protect those mitochondria.

May Reduce Respiratory Disease Symptoms

Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), emphysema, cystic fibrosis and even lung cancer are all examples of respiratory diseases. But there are many, many more.

It might surprise you, but a common byproduct of glutathione is also used to treat these respiratory diseases. It’s called N-acetylcysteine.

N-acetylcysteine is an inhalant. It works to break up mucus and decrease inflammation.

It is used orally for flu-like symptoms, coughs, dry eye and as a medication to combat Tylenol poisoning.

What Are the Natural Sources of Glutathione?

Like we said before, there aren’t a lot of natural sources of glutathione. Most foods don’t let you absorb it very well, either.

However, there are some glutathione foods that have high levels of amino acid. These foods also have a lot of sulfur. Sulfur is a mineral that your body needs to synthesize glutathione.

The foods that we lay out below are all examples of food that can help you increase your intake of glutathione.

There are options for meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike.

Unprocessed Meat

Unprocessed meat includes red meat like pork, beef and lamb.

Processed meat, on the other hand, is meat that has been preserved. Meat can be preserved by several processes like curing, smoking, salting and treating it with chemicals like nitrates.

There are pretty high levels of glutathione in unprocessed meats. But it is a fine balance and there are a decent number of stipulations.

First, the unprocessed meat has to be lean. Also, fats like butter do not have any glutathione. So if you like to cook your meat in butter, you might want to rethink.

Also, it might not be a great idea to get all of your glutathione from unprocessed meat. If you eat too much of it, you can “overdose.” This leads to the opposite effect of what you want because it can actually diminish glutathione levels.

You can also get sick when you eat too much of it. Your body needs a balanced diet to function like it’s supposed to. Make sure you only eat a reasonable amount of meat every day and counter it with fresh produce.

You might eat a plant-based diet or aren’t able to get the right amount of glutathione from unprocessed meat. If this is the case, you might benefit from glutathione supplements.

Garlic

We mentioned earlier that sulfur is crucial for glutathione synthesis. Did you know that garlic and garlic extracts have sulfur and glutathione in them?

If you like to add some kick to your food and need to boost your glutathione intake, this might be great news for you.

Garlic has even proven to help with heart disease, immune health and inflammation because it is such a great glutathione source.

It has even more benefits: studies throughout the centuries show that it can serve as an antimicrobial food.

Broccoli

When you were a child, did you refuse to eat broccoli every time your parents served it at dinner unless it was covered in cheese?

We hope that’s changed because broccoli is a great natural source of glutathione. Not to mention, it’s delicious.

Medical News Today references a 2013 study. If you eat a single 250-gram serving of broccoli every day, your glutathione levels can rise.

Part of the study even shows that when you eat that portion of broccoli daily, you can relieve oxidative stress even if you are a tobacco smoker.

Maybe your dislike of broccoli didn’t go away after you grew up, though. You still have options. There are some great glutathione supplements out there for you to try.

Our favorite is Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) by Dirobi. Keep reading to find out more.

Asparagus

Asparagus is another excellent source of glutathione. When you eat asparagus on a regular basis, you reap all of the benefits of glutathione, as well.

It also has a lot of Vitamin K and Vitamin B9, so you get the benefits of both water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.

Asparagus has anti-inflammatory properties and gives you a lot of great antioxidants as a glutathione-boosting food source.

It can even get rid of carcinogens in your body. Carcinogens are cancer-causing compounds that glutathione works hard to destroy. Not only can it fight against cancer if you already have a diagnosis, but it can also prevent it before it even happens.

It can prevent a lot of different kinds of cancer. This includes lung, breast colon and bone cancers.

If you consume it often, make sure you do not cook it at a high temperature or for too long. This could eliminate its ability to boost your glutathione levels.

The great news is that asparagus is also low in calories and sodium and doesn’t have any fat content. This suggests that glutathione could even aid in weight loss or weight management.

Since you can’t cook it for a long time, this often leads to crunchy or tough asparagus. If you don’t like that texture with your vegetables, you still have options. Like we said before, we consider Mimi’s Miracle glutathione spray to be the best glutathione supplement on the market.

A huge contributing factor to that is that a lot of other glutathione supplements don’t work as well when you take them orally. But this one works as nano glutathione. That means it goes right to the bloodstream. You don’t have to worry that it’s cooked for too long or won’t give you the right amount of glutathione. Dirobi does all of that work for you.

Avocados

The most helpful National Cancer Institute study on the link between avocados and glutathione is a bit older but still could hold true.

Apparently, if you eat 30 grams of avocado, it gives you a whopping 8.4 milligrams of glutathione.

This means that avocados have close to triple the amount of glutathione you can find in spinach. We get more into spinach below.

Healthy Living also refers to a more recent study on glutathione. They say that low glutathione means a high risk of oral cancer. Raw avocados, through glutathione, could provide you with a shield against cancer.

Here’s a helpful tip: avocado has been called “nature’s butter.” So why not replace your butter, which doesn’t have any glutathione, with avocados?

You can substitute it for butter in your sandwiches or add it to your salads for a yummy and healthy fat.

Spinach

Spinach has a natural and high level of glutathione.

But remember that you shouldn’t cook, process or store any glutathione foods for any significant period of time. This could reduce or get rid of its benefits.

Some of the Vitamins and Supplements That May Boost Natural Production of Glutathione in Your Body

So what if you don’t like the texture of spinach? What if you only like your asparagus cooked all the way through? What if you’re allergic to avocados or don’t eat meat?

There are many reasons that you might not want to or be able to get your glutathione from natural sources.

This is why there are vitamins and supplements that can increase your glutathione.

But there is one more question you might have. We told you that some oral supplements might not give you the best levels of glutathione. We have a solution for that, too. Keep reading until the bottom of this list where we tell you all about the Mimi’s Miracle glutathione spray that we love so much.

Curcumin

Have you ever heard of the herb turmeric? If not, you’ve probably already seen it. Turmeric is a bright color. It is a mix of orange and yellow. It’s a popular seasoning with Indian food.

Other cultures noticed its great medicinal properties long ago. In America, we only caught on to its benefits recently.

Why does it have so many potential benefits? This is due to curcumin, which is turmeric’s main ingredient.

There are a ton of studies and literature out there on curcumin extract. These studies say that the extract can boost glutathione levels and the processes that make glutathione in general.

N-acetylcysteine

We talked about N-acetylcysteine up above. But now we can tell you even more about it.

You orally inhale this medicine. It is useful for chronic diseases, but also for conditions like pneumonia and bronchitis. It is the supplement version of cysteine. You might remember this as one of the three amino acids that make up glutathione.

N-acetylcysteine replenishes glutathione throughout your body. In fact, it can even help those who experience infertility issues and problems with brain health, like cognition and motor skills.

There are even studies that say it can promote a longer lifespan. Because it helps with brain function, it can aid in psychiatric treatment.

Selenium

Selenium is a mineral. You need it to produce glutathione.

You can get selenium in your diet from poultry, beef, fish, animal organs, brown rice, some nuts and dairy like cottage cheese.

Since selenium is an important part of glutathione, you can boost glutathione in your body when you consume more selenium.

It is recommended that you intake 55 micrograms of selenium per day.

Healthline cites a three-month-long study with 45 adults who have chronic kidney disease. The researchers gave the patients 200 micrograms of selenium supplements every day for three months. The results were conclusive. Every patient’s glutathione levels increased.

Do not exceed 400 daily micrograms of selenium as an adult.

Silymarin

You might not know what silymarin is. But have you ever heard of milk thistle?

If you have, then you know what silymarin is, too. If you don’t know what milk thistle is, either, that’s okay. We’re here to answer all of your wellbeing-related questions.

Milk thistle is an herbal supplement. It has three elements. All three of those together make silymarin.

It is known as an effective antioxidant. This is probably because research shows that it both boosts glutathione levels and prevents glutathione loss.

Silymarin could also prevent cell damage.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. That means it absorbs water, so you have to replenish it daily in your diet.

It can be found in a lot of foods, like oranges, strawberries and different vegetables.

However, it is also popular as a supplement.

Either way, it can attack free radicals and increase glutathione. It might even convert glutathione in your body back to its original, pure state.

Vitamin C supplements in particular can elevate your white blood cells’ glutathione. This is proven in a 13-week study. When adults in the trial took between 500 and 1 thousand micrograms of Vitamin C a day, their glutathione levels shot up by 18 percent.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is also a vital way to elevate glutathione. It is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it dissolves in fat or oil in your body. It doesn’t need to be replenished as often as water-soluble vitamins. This is because you can’t absorb and break down as quickly as you can water.

As far as glutathione levels, though, Vitamin E protects your body’s cells against oxidative stress.

Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) by Dirobi

Now, it’s time for our all-time favorite glutathione product from Dirobi.

Dirobi is a health and wellbeing brand founded and owned by Dave Sherwin. Sherwin is devoted to you as an individual person. He knows that your journey to health is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

This is why he offers personal coaching services and a free consultation to get started.

It’s hard to find that level of care with other supplement brands. Other companies operate as a franchise and ship all of their products out of a massive warehouse. Employees, there might not know everything about what they sell.

Dirobi is very selective with what they offer. This means they know exactly what’s in their products and research their effects.

They offer less than 30 products on their site to ensure quality.

That’s why we know Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) is a high-quality and effective product.

This antioxidant-rich glutathione spray has endless potential benefits. People like you who use it can’t agree more.

It is made to be the best glutathione spray for sale, with double the glutathione concentration as other supplements.

Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) also has Vitamin C and other minerals. It absorbs rapidly into your bloodstream even though you take it orally.

Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) targets a wide range of people with a wide range of illnesses or ailments. This includes those with cancer, heart disease, chronic fatigue, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and more.

Customers rave in the reviews section. They even say the spray gives them more energy, helps with asthma symptoms and increases their stamina when they go for walks. Check out Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) to see what it can do for you.