You need antioxidants. Antioxidants are elements that can reverse or prevent cell damage. Cell damage happens when environmental factors and stress produce free radicals.
So how do you get the right amount of antioxidants?
A glutathione supplement is one of your best bets. You can take glutathione pills, glutathione injections and other forms of glutathione.
If you don’t know much about glutathione, you’ve been seriously missing out. But don’t worry yet. We have all of the information you need on why it matters so much, our favorite glutathione supplement, its natural sources and all of its many health benefits.
What is Glutathione?
Glutathione is one of the most celebrated supplements in the world of healthy living. It can boost brain, heart, liver and metabolism functions, but it doesn’t stop there. Even healthcare professionals can’t get enough.
Glutathione, or GSH, is the most potent antioxidant in your body. It fights against oxidative stress and eliminates free radicals.
So why are free radicals so harmful? They damage your body and lend a hand in health problems like cancer, heart and eye disease and inflammation.
Glutathione is a tripeptide. That means it is composed of three different amino acids:
- Glutamic acid
- Cysteine
- Glycine
Glutamic acid makes glutamine.
When all three work together, the resultant glutathione has a powerhouse effect on your body. It detoxifies harmful drugs and heavy metals. It also works as a barrier to disease, illness and all of the side effects that come with them.
Glutathione not only combats all of these scary health issues and promotes a better lifestyle. It also might reverse the aging process and lengthen your life in general.
Reduced glutathione leads to deficiencies. A lot of research suggests that Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease patients have glutathione deficiencies.
So your body already has glutathione. But you need to boost it for all of its benefits. How do you do that? Read on for more.
What is a Good Source of Glutathione?
What is a Good Source of Glutathione?There are some glutathione foods that boost your levels. These foods have sulfur in them, which you need to synthesize glutathione.
You will find the highest levels in meat proteins like beef, fish and poultry. If you stick to a plant-based diet, though, this isn’t an option.
You can also get glutathione from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and some other leafy greens. Garlic and other allium vegetables such as shallots and onions are some other choices.
However, the best source of glutathione is in a glutathione supplement. This is especially beneficial to vegetarians, vegans and those who don’t like all of those sulfur-rich vegetables.
A glutathione IV, glutathione injection or GSH supplement suggest boosted levels, too. There are other supplements like selenium, alpha-lipoic acid and cysteine that could do the same.
But our favorite glutathione supplement is Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) from Dirobi. More on that later.
What are the Benefits of Glutathione?
Now you know the basics. But glutathione has so many health benefits, we specifically outline some more of them below.
Here are 12 glutathione benefits. After you read through these, you’ll see how much glutathione matters. You’ll also understand why a glutathione supplement could be a great choice for your individual health journey.
Antioxidant Activity
Earlier, we talked about why you need healthy antioxidant activity.
Antioxidants relieve your body’s oxidative stress. Oxidative stress happens when you have too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants to fight them.
Oxidative stress could cause tissue damage if you have diabetes. It also contributes to brain damage, cancer, inflammation and more.
This is where glutathione comes in. As an antioxidant, it reduces oxidative stress levels and rejuvenates other antioxidants. These include Vitamins C and E. This means that it boosts antioxidant defenses as a whole, since you need more than one element to do so.
This antioxidant activity prevents and reduces symptoms of chronic illnesses.
Might Prevent Cancer Progression
Studies show that glutathione addresses both the pathogenic and preventative aspects of cancer.
It destroys and detoxifies carcinogens, which are cancer-causing toxins.
Oxidative stress, like we talked about above, can also lead to cancer. Glutathione destroys oxidative stress.
WebMD cites a study on women with ovarian cancer who went through chemotherapy treatment. A group of them took glutathione IVs. This group of women experienced less chemotherapy side effects and higher survival rates.
Reduces Cell Damage in Liver Disease
Oxidative stress and free radicals also cause liver disease.
You can inherit liver disease or develop it over time due to weight management issues, alcoholism or viruses.
Its symptoms include:
- Jaundice
- Extreme fatigue
- Nausea and gastrointestinal upset
- Swollen joints
- Abdominal pain
Liver disease can also scar your tissue, which is also called cirrhosis. It can then lead to liver failure. If you treat it early or use preventative measures, though, you could reverse cell damage from liver disease and stop its progression.
Glutathione detoxes the liver. A glutathione supplement might be the right choice if you are at risk for liver disease.
Improves Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin sensitivity is common in AIDS and diabetic patients. It is also seen in other autoimmune disorders.
For example, as you age with AIDS, your body produces less natural glutathione. This results in an even weaker immune system and decreased insulin sensitivity.
When you have higher insulin sensitivity, you also have lower blood sugar levels. This is a problem with diabetics since they have unhealthily high blood sugar. Luckily, a glutathione supplement could improve insulin sensitivity.
High blood sugar is related to low glutathione levels. When you increase glutathione, though, you can prevent these issues and even reduce them.
Reduces Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
Your brain steadily produces reactive oxygen species. Your brain thus has to detox them, and you need glutathione to do that.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease. It slowly progresses, reduces dopamine and deteriorates motor function.
Its symptoms include:
- Tremors
- Slow movements
- Stiff limbs
- A hard time swallowing
- Falls
- Depression
- Dementia
- Insomnia
Oxidative stress cripples dopamine. Parkinson’s patients also have reduced glutathione levels.
When you take a glutathione supplement, you combat that oxidative stress. A lot of research also shows that glutathione prevents Parkinson’s and treats the symptoms if you already have the diagnosis.
Treats Autism Spectrum Disorders
Selfhacked.com says that autistic people have 20 to 40 percent lower glutathione levels than non-autistic people.
It is harder for people with autism to produce and retain glutathione.
Autism spectrum disorders, or ASD, is sometimes characterized by:
- Problems with social interaction and communication
- Aversion to physical touch
- Cognitive delay
- Aggression towards themselves or others
- Coordination issues
- Light sensitivity
- And more
Scientists and medical professionals are currently researching oral and transdermal glutathione supplements and their benefits for those with autism.
Lowers Inflammation
A lot of chronic diseases cause inflammation in your body. But glutathione lowers constant inflammation.
Glutathione deficiency could be the culprit. But when you take glutathione, it blocks inflammatory pathways and increases its levels within your body.
Inflammation is a side effect of many respiratory diseases. Some of these include:
- COPD
- Asthma
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome
- Sarcoidosis
Multiple studies show that if you take glutathione, you can lower inflammation and live a healthier and more comfortable life.
Anti-Aging Properties
The aging process is multi-faceted. As you age, you experience cognitive issues like memory loss. You also might develop fragile and brittle bones or frequent falls.
But you also see the physical effects of aging, like liver spots on your skin.
Glutathione addresses both. A glutathione supplement could have skin-lightening properties, so it can reverse the skin damage that comes as you get older.
There are many studies that show your glutathione levels wane as you age. For women, this drop starts during menopause and continues.
For all genders, lower glutathione means more oxidative stress. This depletes bone density and causes osteoporosis.
Strengthens the Gut Lining
Gut health is crucial to a healthy lifestyle.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease can cause chronic illnesses like Crohn’s disease, among others.
These gut diseases cannot properly synthesize glutathione. The enzymes that you need to make glutathione don’t work properly. Also, remember that cysteine is one of the amino acids that make up glutathione. IBD patients have less cysteine than people without IBD.
In general, a glutathione supplement could revitalize your gut lining. That leads to a strong and healthy gut.
Might Limit Diabetes Progression
We mentioned how important glutathione is for insulin sensitivity. It can prevent diabetes in the future.
But did you know that a daily glutathione supplement might limit diabetes progression if you already have a diabetes diagnosis? This is especially true for type 2 diabetes.
The disease causes damaged tissues and cells because of oxidative stress. This is because diabetics have very reduced levels of glutathione.
The American Diabetes Association did a study on 12 type 2 diabetic patients. They gave them a glutathione supplement. The results are clear: they were able to synthesize and retain healthy glutathione levels. They also had much lower levels of oxidative stress.
Helps Overcome Addictive Behaviors
Addiction comes in many forms. You could be addicted to cocaine, alcohol, amphetamines, nicotine and unhealthy eating behavior.
When you abuse substances, your brain creates more toxic reactive oxygen species. That causes brain damage and a lot of other serious health issues.
But increased glutathione could decrease addictive behaviors and help you on your road to recovery.
A glutathione supplement could detox these toxins from your body. However, it can also reverse addictive thoughts and help you overcome addiction for good.
Long-term addiction can lead to damage of your liver, lungs, heart and brain, to name a few. With glutathione, you reduce oxidative stress in all of those organs and might learn to stay away from harmful substances.
May Improve the Symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is currently incurable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t treat its symptoms and live a better-quality life.
It is a genetic disorder that affects your respiratory and digestive systems.
Symptoms include:
- Mucus
- Coughing
- Respiratory system inflammation
- Weight gain
- Difficulty breathing
Cystic fibrosis patients have decreased glutathione and increased oxidative stress. But a glutathione supplement could decrease the amount and severity of its symptoms.
Common Ways to Increase Glutathione Levels
We said before that there are ways to increase your glutathione levels. You can do so with glutathione foods or glutathione supplements. Let’s take a look.
Eat More Glutathione-Boosting Foods
Eat More Glutathione-Boosting FoodsMeat and dairy products are the main sources of glutathione in food. This is not an option for vegetarians and vegans, though.
Some vegetables boost glutathione levels. Here are some examples:
- Garlic
- Onion
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Spinach
- Carrots
Unfortunately, your body doesn’t absorb glutathione from your diet very well. Glutathione levels from food sources also decrease when you cook them or store them for any period of time.
These foods might decrease oxidative stress, but they don’t have all of the other glutathione benefits.
Glutathione Supplement Intake
Even though food might not be very effective, glutathione supplement intake might be.
Some more good news is that there are not a lot of reported glutathione side effects.
Let’s go over some of the most popular glutathione supplements. Keep reading, because the last one is our favorite.
- Glutamax – Glutamax is a glutathione supplement. Gibco sells it as an alternative to L-glutamine. They say that it reduces toxicity in your body and promotes healthy cell growth. It comes in a liquid form.
- GlutaDose – GlutaDose is a liquid glutathione supplement that you drink. It says that it reduces stress, toxins and daily pollution.
- Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) – Now it’s time for our reigning glutathione supplement champ! Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) is an oral supplement spray by Dirobi. Other supplements are less effective because they have poor bioavailability, so we don’t absorb the benefits as well. But Dirobi’s spray uses nanotechnology to go right through your mouth’s membranes and into the bloodstream.
Dirobi has more great supplements to offer, too. They are all specific to your needs. Dirobi knows that your health is a journey, not just a one-and-done step.
Founder and owner Dave Sherwin offers a free supplement consultation and one-on-one coaching.
You can buy Mimi’s Miracle Glutathione (Spray) individually. You can also buy it in a bundle with other highly-rated daily supplements.
