Glutathione: Read More About This "Super" Antioxidant

There is an amazing antioxidant that is naturally made in the body itself called glutathione. This substance is considered a "super" antioxidant and is found literally everywhere inside your body. In addition to its role as an antioxidant, it patrols your body hunting down dangerous waste products and chemicals and rinsing your system of them before they can do harm.

The human body is a nonstop processing machine. For every good function that it sets in motion, dangerous byproducts are also created which are called free radicals. And to counter these free radicals, the body produces glutathione which does its job perfectly by seeking them out and helping these free radicals leave your system.

How do I know if I am deficient in glutathione and should I supplement with it?

It is very important to keep our bodies in a healthy state with strong defenses against toxins and free radicals. If the body is left unprotected, especially with low glutathione levels, then you are easily left open for diseases. Unfortunately, as we age our levels of glutathione start to decline.

Many men and women over the age of 55 who are suffering from a variety of physical complications could have easily prevented these symptoms by vitamin and mineral supplements, such as glutathione. For example, glutathione can prevent cataracts and other eye conditions because it prevents the eye from being damaged by free radicals. Also, glutathione is important in preventing diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Do not dismiss the possibility of being deficient in glutathione just because you're young. If you do not fall into the older age bracket as described above, you may still be low on glutathione levels as described in the following examples, and may want to seek out glutathione supplementation:

1. People that are going through the healing process of an injury or are sick from a major cold
or flu virus could easily have low glutathione levels. The stress caused by these experiences will kick in your body's response to make an enormous amount of free radicals that need to be metabolized by the body. Therefore, to counter these free radicals, your body has a need for more glutathione than it can naturally produce.

2. If you work in an environment that overloads your system with toxins, then your glutathione
levels may be too low. Such examples would be in any field of work where you are ingesting a lot of pollution, exposed to medals, working with chemicals, or handling waste byproducts. All of these things cause the body to produce higher levels of free radicals and supplementation of glutathione may be advised by your doctor.

3. As with any vitamin or mineral, your glutathione levels may be low if you are suffering from a long-term chronic disease. Asthma is one such example. It is a constant stressor on the system which causes an abundance of free radicals to be made by the body.

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