With a nickname like “the master antioxidant,” glutathione may soon give OG antioxidants like vitamins C and E a run for their money. Glutathione—also called GSH—is hard at work in every cell of your body. Your body needs increasing levels of glutathione as you age, but your ability to produce the antioxidant diminishes over time. Supplements and injections can help you keep your levels high enough to reap all the glutathione benefits the powerhouse compound has to offer.
Research on glutathione is still in its infancy. Most of what we know about the compound comes from animal studies.
But a few clinical trials and human studies have been done or are in the works, and so far, the results are promising, says Vishwanath Venketaraman, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Western University of Health Sciences who has been researching glutathione for more than 20 years.
Glutathione is already recommended for health conditions including Parkinson’s and heart disease, and experts are excited by its potential to extend lifespan, boost immunity, improve strength and physical performance, and reduce the risk for age-related diseases.
Here’s what you need to know about glutathione benefits and how to make sure you’re getting enough.
What is Glutathione?
To make glutathione, your body strings together three amino acids: glutamate, glycine, and cysteine. The bulk of your body’s GSH is produced by your liver.
Glutathione has a few big jobs in your body. The main one: to fight against free radicals, the unstable molecules that can damage your cells and cause oxidative stress.
Free radicals are found in the environment and are also generated by your body in the mitochondria when oxygen molecules are converted into energy, says Jack Jeng, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Hone Health.
Free radicals are unstable because they are missing one or more of their electrons. To get back into balance, they steal electrons from other molecules in a process called oxidation. “When free radicals outpace antioxidants, the imbalance creates oxidative stress,” says Jeng.
Left unchecked, oxidative stress can contribute to a smorgasbord of health conditions and chronic diseases including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and more. “There’s a link between oxidative stress and just about every malady you can think of,” says Jeng.
