What is Glutathione?

What is Glutathione?

Glutathione (commonly referred to as GSH) is known by experts as the body’s “master antioxidant” that is capable of preventing damage to important cellular components.

According to this scientific editorial report, Glutathione has many important functions, including:

• Making DNA, the building blocks of proteins and cells
• Supporting immune function
• Breaking down some free radicals
• Helping certain enzymes function
• Regenerating vitamins C and E
• Transporting mercury out of the brain
• Helping the liver and gallbladder deal with fats
• Assisting regular cell death (a process known as apoptosis)
• Forming sperm cells

Why is Glutathione Important?

Glutathione is an important and potent antioxidant for the human body. By combating free radicals (molecules that can damage your body’s cells), Glutathione helps fight off high levels of oxidative stress. Oftentimes, too-high levels of oxidative stress and Glutathione depletion can lead to multiple diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s), pulmonary disease (asthma, COPD), immune disease (HIV, autoimmune disease), cardiovascular diseases (hypertensions), liver disease, cystic fibrosis, and aging. (1)

There are many factors that can contribute to a decline in Glutathione levels, such as chronic disease, poor diet, infection, or constant stress. Even if you live a picture-perfect lifestyle, Glutathione levels still also naturally decline with age. As such, regardless of the lifestyle and/or biological causes for Glutathione decline in each person, a decrease in levels can cause an increased susceptibility to many age-related conditions and diseases.

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to replenish your Glutathione levels to help your body continue to detoxify and fight off high levels of oxidative stress—especially as you age.

What’s the Link Between Glutathione and Aging?

As we age, our natural ability to make and replenish Glutathione diminishes. As such, this can cause an increased susceptibility to many age-related conditions and diseases—which includes the aging process itself, metabolic deficiencies, as well as chronic age-related diseases, such as cataracts, hearing impairment, and glaucoma, to name a few.

Fortunately, due to several clinical studies and clinical evidence, there are options to optimize and replenish Glutathione levels as we age.

How Can I Replenish GSH Levels?

Historically, it has been possible to increase Glutathione levels through oral supplements or intravenous (IV) supplementation, however, these methods have generally been less effective and more expensive than other, newer options available today.

Newer and more cost-effective methods to replenish Glutathione levels include:

• GSH Patches: GSH Patches are a new technology that utilizes a special iontophoresis patch to administer pure GSH directly into the bloodstream via skin absorption. Wearing one patch with GSH solution once per week for four hours is shown to increase GSH levels by up to 50%.
  
  To learn more about Glutathione (GSH) Patches, click here.

• GSH Nasal Spray: GSH Nasal Spray is a new and effective way to boost your brain GSH levels for improved mental clarity and cognitive performance. Most patients feel benefits within one hour of administering a single spray of pure GSH into each nostril.
  
  To learn more about Glutathione (GSH) Nasal Spray, click here.

• GSH Injections: GSH Subcutaneous Injections are another effective way to supplement your GSH levels. Injections allow GSH to enter your bloodstream almost immediately, which often results in benefits in as little as one hour.
  
  To learn more about Glutathione (GSH) Subcutaneous Injections, click here.

While it still requires more research, certain foods high in amino acids that contain sulfur may also help boost your GSH levels, such as unprocessed meats, garlic, broccoli, asparagus, avocados, and spinach. Supplements, such as Curcumin, Selenium, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E may also help to boost your body’s production of Glutathione—but none are more effective than replenishing your levels with pure GSH.

How Does Glutathione Work?

Glutathione works through a continuous recycling cycle rather than being used up in a single reaction like many other antioxidants. It contains a special part called a thiol group, which can bind to free radicals, heavy metals, and other harmful molecules and donate an electron that helps neutralize them before they damage cells. This shifts glutathione from its active, reduced form (GSH) into a used form (GSSG), and an enzyme called glutathione reductase then helps convert it back so the same molecules can be used again.

Research suggests that in a well-functioning cell, over 90% of glutathione typically stays in this active, reduced state, which is considered a helpful marker of cellular resilience against oxidative stress. Beyond this antioxidant cycle, glutathione is also thought to help coordinate parts of the immune system by supporting the activity of immune cells such as macrophages, natural killer cells, and T cells.

Glutathione and Skin Health

Skin is one of the more visible places the effects of aging and oxidative stress can show up, often appearing as thinner, less elastic, or more wrinkled skin over time. Because glutathione helps the body manage oxidative stress, supporting healthy glutathione levels may also help support skin health. In one double-blind study, people who took glutathione orally reported fewer wrinkles and improved skin flexibility compared with those who took a placebo.

Some research also suggests glutathione, in certain forms, may help support a more even skin tone by influencing pigment-related pathways in the skin, which is part of why it’s sometimes discussed as a skin-brightening antioxidant. As with any supplement, individual results can vary, so it’s worth talking with a doctor before starting a new glutathione routine.

How Do Glutathione Patches Work?

Glutathione patches, such as the IontoPatch™, are worn directly on the skin and use a very small electrical charge to help move glutathione through the skin and into the bloodstream, a method known as transdermal delivery. Transdermal patches have been used for decades and are considered a well-established, generally safe way to deliver medication, with the FDA having approved several transdermal patches for other uses.

In a small case study conducted by AgelessRx, two participants who wore an IontoPatch™ for at least four hours a day over six days both saw a meaningful increase in glutathione levels. Because the patch is thought to deliver glutathione directly into the bloodstream rather than through digestion, it’s generally considered a more bioavailable way to supplement compared with oral options.

The Bottom Line?

Joseph Pizzorno, ND, and Editor in Chief of Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, said it best:

“Clearly, adequate availability of Glutathione is critical for maintaining health, protecting the body from toxins, and promoting longevity.”

—