Due
to modern day conditions, food production and processing methods,
natural nutrients important to our health are removed from the
foods we eat.
The
ingredients required to keep us healthy and defend our body
against environmental trauma, stress, bacteria, viruses, and
aging diseases are longer present in our everyday foods. When
your immune system is not effectively supported with the foods
you eat, it diminishes your ability to resist disease.
Enhancing
your immune system is the key to maintaining good health, resisting
the diseases of aging, and living longer. Without effectively
boosting your immune system you could be losing the battle against
disease and aging.
Glutathione
(or its reduced form, GSH) is a natural protein found in the
body's cells and in many fresh fruits and vegetables. Glutathione
(GSH) is a tripeptide formed from the amino acids cysteine,
glycine, and glutamic acid.
Glutathione
is your body's master
antioxidant and is considered to be the most important antioxidant
molecule and healing agent.
High
levels of glutathione appear to protect against the dangers
of cancer, heart disease, premature
aging, autoimmune diseases, and chronic illnesses.
The
highest concentration of glutathione is found in the liver which
is the principal organ involved in the detoxification and elimination
of toxic materials.
Low
glutathione levels are implicated in immune compromised
individuals, neuro-degenerative and auto-immune diseases such
as Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
disease, atherosclerosis,
hydroxylradical formation, cataracts,
damage from many pharmaceutical drugs, cancer
and poor survival rates for patients with AIDS.
How
Does Glutathione Boost The Immune System?
There
are over a trillion immune system cells in the human body. These
cells are the body's soldiers for defending itself.
The
strength of your cells and their ability to replicate are directly
related to their ability to manufacture glutathione.
As
glutathione levels drop, the person gets sicker. This
is because white blood cells and the liver use GSH to detoxify
poisons inside the body.
White
blood cells are particularly sensitive to changes in glutathione
levels, and even subtle changes may have profound effects on
the immune response.
When
the level decreases, less toxins are able to be eliminated leading
to a build up in the body. This
leads to increased white blood cell death (due to the cell poisoning
itself) and liver impairment.
As
an antioxidant, glutathione
is essential for allowing white blood
cells (or lymphocytes) to express their full
potential, without being
hampered by accumulation of oxyradicals (the harmful by-products
of cellular metabolism) during the development of the immune
response.
Imagine
millions of tired and worn out soldiers as your immune system
cells would be if they were low on glutathione. Not a very strong
defence against enemies, such as viruses and bacteria, that
might attack you.
Now
imagine an army of the strongest, healthiest soldiers you can
get. And imagine
how strong a defence your immune system can put up if these
soldiers never get tired, weak or sick. This
is exactly what happens when your body has optimal levels of
glutathione.
Glutathione
has also been shown to enhance
the movement (locomotion) of white blood cells called neutrophils
to the site of injury or infection and decrease the number of
bacterial colonies present there, resulting in improved survival.
The
cell's ability to make glutathione is in turn determined by
the supply of raw materials (or precursors)
for glutathione, in particular of the sulfur-containing amino
aci, cysteine.
The
best way to increase and maintain
one's GSH levels is to include animal foods in one's diet
as these contain the amino acids needed by the body to synthesize
GSH.
Foods rich
in the sulfur amino acids (e.g., eggs) are especially
good sources.
Cystine
comes mostly from eggs, milk and cheese. But in
the cooking of eggs and processing of milk/cheese, the composition
of cystine is changed to cysteine,
while still a valuable protein it no longer functions as a food
for glutathione.
An
excellent health food supplement that can optimize glutathione
levels is un-denatured (non-heated)
whey protein.
See
also:
Article:
Food Sources
That Boost Glutathione Naturally
Scientific
publications on glutathione, whey protein and the immune response
