Atlanta Drug Treatment Help: Glutathione Helps in Energy, Aging

Who wouldn’t like to get their hands on a naturally occurring substance that acts as an antioxidant, an immune system booster, and a detoxifier? Something that can help your body repair damage caused by stress, pollution, radiation, infection, drugs, poor diet, aging, injury, trauma, and burns?

Antioxidants — the most well known of which are vitamins C and E — are important for good health because they neutralize free radicals, which can build up in cells and cause damage. Because glutathione exists within the cells, it is in a prime position to neutralize free radicals. It also has potentially widespread health benefits because it can be found in all types of cells, including the cells of the immune system, whose job is to fight disease.

Glutathione occurs naturally in many foods, and people who eat well probably have enough in their diets, says Dean Jones, PhD, professor of biochemistry and director of nutritional health sciences at Emory University in Atlanta. Those with diets high in fresh fruits and vegetables and freshly prepared meats are most likely just fine. On the other hand, those with poor diets may get too little.

What Does Glutathione Do?

The strong antioxidant effect of glutathione helps keep cells running smoothly. Bounous and another glutathione expert, Jeremy Appleton, ND, say it also helps the liver remove chemicals that are foreign to the body, such as drugs and pollutants.

Appleton is chairman of the department of nutrition at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Ore., and senior science editor for Healthnotes, a database on complementary and alternative medicine available at newspaper stands and health food stores.

Evidence for the important role that glutathione plays in health comes from studies in people who are severely ill.

“If you look in a hospital situation at people who have cancer, AIDS, or other very serious disease, almost invariably they are depleted in glutathione,” says Appleton. “The reasons for this are not completely understood, but we do know that glutathione is extremely important for maintaining intracellular health.”

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Increasing intracellular levels of glutathione is critical with drug withdrawal and it is vitally important that any supplement not cause a drug/supplement interaction.

How to Make Glutathione Naturally Within the Body

There are several ways a body can manufacture glutathione. It is true it takes 3 amino acids for the body to manufacture glutathione but our bodies can take food, turn the foods into the substance to manufacture the 3 needed amino acids needed to manufacture glutathione. This is also the natural method for a body to create glutathione.

As an example, asparagus and watermelon will make glutathione.

With all of the breaking news regarding glutathione as an antioxidant as well as part of the reason for the development of autism, many supplements are suddenly jumping on the glutathione bandwagon.

More to the story… 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 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 70,000 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 (white blood 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. Therein lies the challenge.

Unfortunately, raising our body’s glutathione levels is extremely difficult for two reasons. Eating enough glutathione-rich foods only works in an idealized world where stress, deadlines and fast food are not factors. Orally supplementing glutathione is a good idea, but just not practical. The fragile tripeptide structure of glutathione makes surviving the digestive tract a near impossibility.

The Solution: MaxGXL (R)

After years of research and development, Dr. Keller created MaxGXL, a product containing the necessary components of glutathione that when absorbed into the body; stimulate the body’s own production of glutathione in every cell of the body.

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