According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s 2017 survey, 170 million US adults take dietary supplements.

A vast majority of this group uses vitamins as their predominate supplement. Others, though, use products like the best glutathione supplement to improve their health.

Does this sound like you? If so, you’ve probably heard of glutathione. This much-hyped supplement is touted for its miracle-like benefits.

From anti-aging effects to naturally detox your body, this supplement can do a lot. Ready to learn all about glutathione? Let’s get started with a quick look into what, exactly, glutathione is and how you can increase its abundance in your body.

What is Glutathione?

Glutathione is an antioxidant naturally found in humans and all other animals. This little molecule exists in every single cell of your body. This is because glutathione boosts absorption and re-uptake of other antioxidants in your body.

This includes:

  • Vitamins C and E

  • Alpha-lipoic acid

  • CoQ10

Also, glutathione may help eliminate free radicals in your body. Free radicals are unstable atoms. And, among other deleterious effects, free radicals cause damage and even death to cells.

Benefits of Glutathione

At its core, glutathione is essential for helping cells function optimally. For example, the liver needs glutathione to help it excrete toxins and other harmful chemicals from the body. Here are some other conditions glutathione may be known to help:

  • High blood pressure

  • Parkinson’s

  • Alzheimer’s

  • Cataracts

  • Male infertility

But that’s not all. Glutathione is also an anti-aging agent, an energy booster, and a detoxifier. Finally, glutathione’s role in the cells of the immune system means this supplement could defend against a variety of diseases and disorders.

Glutathione Side Effects

Want to know the best thing about glutathione supplementation? This naturally derived compound has absolutely no side effects. However, individuals with milk protein allergies and who’ve undergone organ transplants may want to steer clear.

Research on Glutathione

While research into glutathione supplementation has been surprisingly lacking, cancer researchers are leading the way. For example, a 1991 study on women with ovarian cancer undergoing chemotherapy showed the positive effects of glutathione supplementation.

Further studies of cervical cancer have revealed similarly promising results. This was especially true regarding response to chemotherapy. The study mentioned above found that glutathione supplementation improved both the side effects and survival rates in individuals undergoing chemo treatment.

Despite all of this, researchers are still looking to confirm glutathione’s role in cancer. And until this research is completed and validated through replication, we don’t recommend taking glutathione for cancer with a physician’s recommendation.

Who Needs Glutathione?

The elderly and other aging populations may enjoy glutathione supplementation. This is because we associate free radicals with advanced aging. As we mentioned above, glutathione is an excellent defense against these nasty little pollutants.

Most people get glutathione from a healthy diet. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables will more than likely get their recommended serving. Yet some individuals who experience dietary restrictions or are food insecure may have problems getting their daily serving of this antioxidant.

So, what happens when you don’t get enough glutathione from your diet? We’re exploring that question next.

What Happens When Our Bodies Lack Glutathione?

In studies of people with severe health conditions like cancer and HIV AIDS, a glutathione deficiency is almost always involved. For example, we know the following conditions to be associated with lower levels of glutathione:

  • Macular degeneration

  • Diabetes

  • Hepatitis

  • COPD

  • Liver disease

  • Sickle cell anemia

  • Stroke

  • Heart disease

  • Male infertility

3 Ways to Incorporate More Glutathione in Your Wellness Regimen

So, you’re experiencing the effects of aging. Or your energy feels completely depleted about halfway through the day. You want to improve your body’s immune response or boost the absorption and breakdown of free radicals in your body.

What you need is to boost your body’s glutathione production. Here are three ways to do it yourself.

1. Eat a Diet Rich in Glutathione

One of the best ways to get more glutathione into your diet is with whey protein. Add a scoop to your morning oatmeal or your post-workout smoothie and you’ll start feeling the benefits of more glutathione production in no time.

Other foods rich in glutathione include:

  • Foods that contain allium (i.e., garlic, onions, etc.)

  • Cruciferous vegetables (i.e., broccoli, kale, etc.)

  • Foods that contain alpha-lipoic acid (i.e., beef, spinach, peas, and potatoes)

  • Foods that contain selenium (i.e., oysters, mushrooms, whole grains, and dairy products)

A healthy diet isn’t the only way to supercharge your glutathione system. You can also do something as simple as making a few simple lifestyle changes.

2. Promote Glutathione Survival with Lifestyle Changes

With simple changes to your lifestyle and eating habits, you can boost the production of glutathione in your cells. This means eating a diet low in processed and high-sugar foods, drinking the recommended amount of water, getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, reducing stress, and getting daily exercise.

3. Use Glutathione Supplements

There is some controversy surrounding the efficacy of glutathione supplementation. But sometimes, it’s just too hard to get your daily serving of glutathione from your diet.

When this happens, taking a glutathione powder or using a glutathione patch is your best option. To assure maximum efficacy, choose a supplement with high serving sizes of glutathione.

The best glutathione supplement is one that also includes L-cysteine-producing N-Acetylcysteine. That’s because these ingredients further improve the synthesis of glutathione in your cells.

Where to Find the Best Glutathione Supplement for Your Health

Are you looking for the best glutathione supplement to incorporate into your busy lifestyle?

Browse PatchMD’s products today and discover how it feels to be healthy and rich in glutathione.

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