GLUTATHIONE
Did you know glutathione is the most powerful, prevalent antioxidant in your body?
Increasing your glutathione level will naturally increase your energy, detoxify your body and strengthen your immune system.
Simply put, glutathione (GSH) is the body's master antioxidant. It is a small protein produced naturally in our cells when certain required elements are present. It functions both as an antioxidant and an antitoxin and is a major defense system against illness and aging. Our glutathione level actually indicates our state of health and can predict longevity. Although there are more than 60,000 published papers on the beneficial effects of glutathione replacement, it is still largely ignored by mainstream medicine. In the near future the importance of glutathione will be widely recognized because it has the ability to boost the immune system and fight off the damage of free radicals on the cells.
Modern research has shown that individuals who have low levels of glutathione are susceptible to chronic illness. Decreased levels of glutathione can be brought about by continual stress upon the immune system. As we now know, a lowered immune system can bring about illness and disease. This is a ferocious cycle. While you need glutathione for a productive immune system, a weakened immune system hampers the production of glutathione.
Glutathione has been shown to slow down the aging process, detoxify and improve liver function, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the chances of developing cancer. Glutathione also works to help improve mental functions, increase energy, improve concentration, permit increased exercise, and improve heart and lung function - just to name a few.
Glutathione is produced in the human liver and plays a key role in intermediary metabolism, immune response and health, though many of its mechanisms and much of its behavior await further medical understanding. It is also known as gamma-Glutamylcysteineglycine and GHS. It is a small protein composed of three amino acids, cysteine, glutamic acid and glycine. Glutathione is found in two forms, a monomer that is a single molecule of the protein, and a dimmer that is two of the single molecules joined together. The monomer is sometimes called reduced glutathione, while the dimmer is also called oxidized glutathione. The monomer is the active form of glutathione. Oxidized glutathione is broken down to the single molecule by an enzyme called glutathione reductase.
Glutathione, in purified extracted form, is a white powder that is soluble in water and in alcohol. It is found naturally in many fruits, vegetables, and meats. However, absorption rates of glutathione from food sources in the human gastrointestinal tract are low.
General use
Glutathione was first isolated in yeast in 1929. Its metabolism in the body was described in 1984, and its role in cancer treatment dates from 1984.
Glutathione is a major antioxidant highly active in human lungs and many other organ systems and tissues. It has many reported uses. It has a critical role in protecting cells from oxidative stress and maintaining the immune system. Higher blood levels of glutathione have been associated with better health in elderly people, but the exact association between glutathione and the aging process has not been determined.
Among the uses that have been reported for glutathione are:
· Treatment of poisoning, particularly heavy metal poisons
· Treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
· increasing the effectiveness and reducing the toxicity of cis-platinum, a chemo drug used to treat breast cancer
· treating Parkinson's disease
· lowering blood pressure in patients with diabetes
· Increasing male sperm counts in humans and animals
· Treatment of liver cancer
· Treatment of sickle cell anemia
Claims made about glutathione have included that it will increase energy, improve concentration, slow aging, and protect the skin.
The importance of glutathione is generally recognized, although its specific functions and appropriate clinical use remain under study. Similarly, because ingested glutathione has little or no effect on intracellular glutathione levels, there are questions regarding the optimal method for raising the intracellular levels.
In addition to ongoing studies of the role of glutathione in cancer and cancer therapy, there are currently clinical trials of glutathione in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The U. S. National Cancer Institute has included glutathione in a study to determine whether nutritional factors could inhibit development of some types of cancer.
European researchers, with support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, are examining the potential uses of inhaled glutathione in cystic fibrosis. Some physicians also use inhaled glutathione in treating airway restriction and asthma. Other studies are investigating whether administration of alpha-lipoic acid, a material that can elevate intracellular glutathione, may be beneficial in restoring the immune system in AIDS patients.
Preparations
Although glutathione is marketed as a nutritional supplement, it does not appear that glutathione supplements actually increase the levels of glutathione inside cells. In human studies, oral doses of glutathione had little effect in raising blood levels. Further, glutathione is so widely distributed in common foods that supplements are not normally required. Supplements of vitamin C are more effective at increasing intracellular glutathione than taking oral glutathione supplements. Oral supplements of whey protein and of alpha-lipoic acid appear to help restore intracellular levels of glutathione.
Glutathione is available as capsules of 50, 100, and 250 milligrams. It is also included in many multivitamin and multi-nutrient formulations.
Precautions
At this time, the only established precautions are sensitivity to any of the inactive ingredients in the preparations of glutathione or the products used to stimulate glutathione levels. This is a discussion of glutathione, not C and whey. There is some new literature that suggests supplementing it may be helpful to some cancer patients, but detrimental to others.
Side effects
There are no established side effects to glutathione or to the substances used to elevate glutathione levels.
Training & certification
Glutathione has been classified as an orphan drug for treatment of AIDS. For this purpose, medical licensure is required. Glutathione has been given intravenously for amelioration of the side effects of cisplatin therapy. Specific training is required to order, prepare, start, and monitor intravenous therapy. No specific training is required to use glutathione or the compounds which have been reported to raise glutathione levels for other purposes.
MAXGXL—THE STORY
The Breakthrough
In 1994, Dr. Robert H. Keller founded The BIODORON Institute of Advanced Medicine, a state-of-the-art medical clinic specializing in cutting edge treatment for immune system disorders and anti-aging.
After reviewing subject lab results for years, Dr. Keller noticed a trend. He kept seeing significantly low levels of uric acid in subjects with immune disorders. He decided to explore this finding, and his initial research concluded that uric acid is the last antioxidant at the body's disposal when all the normal antioxidants have been exhausted.
As Dr. Keller has always been a strong advocate of nutrition, he went back in the literature, seeking the answer to one question: If uric acid is the body's last defense, then what is the first? His investigation led him to a substance called glutathione.
Glutathione (GSH): The Master Antioxidant
Dr. Keller discovered that the most prevalent, powerful and multifunctional antioxidant in the human body, employed by every organ, is reduced glutathione.
Glutathione (GSH) is a small protein produced naturally in our cells if the requisite precursors are present. It functions both as an antioxidant and an antitoxin and is a major defense system against illness and aging. Our glutathione level actually indicates our state of health and can predict longevity. It has been suggested that in the future, GSH levels will be closely monitored. There are over 60,000 medical articles currently published on GSH, yet most health professionals have only a vague idea of its significance. In the near future, the importance of glutathione will be widely recognized.
The Test
After learning of the importance of GSH, Dr. Keller needed to test the hypothesis that the levels of GSH in subjects with immune disorders were, in fact, severely diminished. To get a current and accurate gauge of a subject's GSH level, Dr. Keller knew the test must measure GSH inside of lymphocytes (activated cells); however, no such lab test existed.
Using a state-of-the-art medical laboratory, Dr. Keller and his team of scientists developed a proprietary lab test to measure levels of GSH inside the lymphocytes.
The tests confirmed the hypothesis. People who are stressed, aging, lacking sleep, or with any prolonged illness utilize glutathione at an accelerated rate resulting in decreased bodily stores, weakened defenses, and increased risk of illnesses including accelerated aging.
The Challenge
It was clear that the GSH levels needed to be replenished in these subjects. But how? Glutathione is produced naturally from three amino acids: glycine, glutamine, and cysteine. These essential precursors of GSH must be able to make it from the mouth to the gut, then through the cells walls and subsequently the mitochondrial membrane. There lies the challenge.
Unfortunately, we can't raise our body's GSH level with ordinary foods or pure L-glutathione. Even though glutathione is present in many fruits, vegetables and meats, this protein is instantly broken down during digestion into its three amino acids. Cysteine, or N-acetylcysteine (NAC), is the most important of these precursors and is the main limiting factor necessary for the body to manufacture GSH. Alone in the gut after digestion, cysteine is treated as a free radical and rapidly oxidized. Consequently, only a very small percentage reaches our bloodstream and cells.
Furthermore, GSH is always in great demand and is rapidly consumed, so any GSH that is made will be used up quickly making it even more difficult to increase this level.
The Solution: MaxGXL.
After years of research and development, Dr. Keller and the Max International scientific team developed MaxGXL, a product that contains the necessary components of glutathione that when absorbed into the body, stimulate the body's own production of glutathione to be used by every cell.