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Any Reasons NOT to Take Glutathione?

Messages
86
Hi,

If one is low in glutathione, I wonder if there is any reason NOT to take glutathione and rather, take its precursors instead? Here’s the background. My daughter has taken the Methylation Pathways Panel (Health Diagnostics), and her results showed that she has low active, glutathione, in similar levels to the folks in Rich Van K’s study. I realize that he recommended certain supplements (excluding glutathione), and that after a few months, people’s glutathione levels slowly increased.

However, my daughter’s practitioner recommended that she take glutathione directly because she also tested positive for a mold mycotoxin. In particular, she recommended an acetyl glutathione product for its excellent bioavailability.

I know there are articles on the web that recommend people take glutathione’s precursors rather than glutathione itself. I can see a couple of reasons for this: 1) glutathione itself may not be well absorbed, 2) a glutathione supplement will turn off the body’s own production of this antioxidant.

Regarding Reason #1: I’ve read that simple glutathione is not well absorbed (it doesn’t survive the digestive tract), but both liposomal and acetyl glutathione are well absorbed. So, if that’s the case, I can understand her doctor’s recommendation to give her the acetyl glutathione.

Regarding Reason #2: I saw a posting in which a user questioned if Ben Lynch’s liposomal glutathione product would stop endogenous production of glutathione, and the answer was no. But, I’m not sure if this hold true for ALL types glutathione supplements. Also, I’m not sure if this is true only at certain, low doses of glutathione, or only if glutathione is administered only for short periods of time. If this is the case, then I should really be concerned about the dosage and duration.

As far as giving glutathione directly, perhaps her doctor is trying to bypass her body’s inability to make glutathione (for whatever reason, but presumably methylation related) – i.e. to ensure she has enough “stuff” to detox properly. So, even if her body has all the precursors in the world, I can understand if she may not have the appropriate enzymes and other cofactors to produce it. If that is the case, then the reason to supplement with glutathione makes sense.

Does anyone have any scientific evidence that either supports or refutes the suppositions I’ve listed above. Her doctor’s for giving the glutathione directly was to help with the mold detox, but I just wanted to be aware of any potential issues in turning off the body’s own production of it, just in case this DOES occur.

Thanks,
Scotty81
 

Martial

Senior Member
Messages
1,409
Location
Ventura, CA
The idea behind most methylation protocols is too boost the bodies own natural production of glutathione. I have heard of some people benefiting from additional glutathione or glutathione pre cursors like NAC, for others they claim it makes them feel worse.

In the case of mold toxicity I would check out Dr. Shoemaker's CIRS protocol. It doesn't include glutathione as far as my knowledge either. That site has a lot of great information and is just worth taking a look around it regardless.

Survivingmold.com

p.s. I use an anti toxin herbal extract for Lyme that is also supposed to also help with mold mycotoxins. She may benefit from using it if she doesn't like other options as well. Link is here,

http://www.jernigannutraceuticals.com/Neuro-Antitox II long new.html
 

JPV

ɹǝqɯǝɯ ɹoıuǝs
Messages
858
I feel substantially worse taking it. As far as I'm concerned, the factors that determine if it will or won't cause a negative reaction are far too complex to determine with any certainty. I guess the only way to know, as far as your individual metabolism is concerned, is to try it.
 
Messages
233
Most oral glutathione has a very low absorption rate. Significant issues occurred with IV glutathione for some. I have heard good things about S-acetyl-glutathione, which is in Glutathione Gold and Xymogen brands.

Some people have been able to increase glutathione via undenatured whey or similar, but Dr. Rich Van Konynenburg cautioned against its use due to potential mercury issues. That is, if your body might have higher amounts of mercury (e.g. from "silver" fillings and/or poor detox) then cysteine or NAC can move mercury into the brain and cause additional problems. There was a recommendation for a smaller dose on the webpage.

Personally, a methylation protocol is what I'd recommend. As you saw, the protocol plus individualized treatment brought the mean glutathione of 21 people from low to normal in 9 months, per here. If you try this, be sure to keep her potassium up, as that can lower while on protocol.



Was she short on anything else in her diagnostic test? The reason I ask is because I understand it's common for chronically ill persons, including ME/CFS patients, to have low glutathione. Does she have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)?
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
@Scotty81 - I tried both IV Glutathione and Liposomal Glutathione and both made me crash.... Some might say, You detoxed too fast, but if that's true I would believe that I would have felt better after I recovered from the crash... Isn't that the point of a "detox"? But not true... Same w Nystatin, btw.

NAC is good - not a miracle, but I like it. I also use whey (supposedly another way to raise Glutathione) but have never noticed a difference..
 

CFS_Kristin

Senior Member
Messages
120
@Scotty81 - I tried both IV Glutathione and Liposomal Glutathione and both made me crash.... Some might say, You detoxed too fast, but if that's true I would believe that I would have felt better after I recovered from the crash... Isn't that the point of a "detox"? But not true... Same w Nystatin, btw.

NAC is good - not a miracle, but I like it. I also use whey (supposedly another way to raise Glutathione) but have never noticed a difference..

Did you feel better before you crashed? I took it for the first time orally and immediately felt better within 20 minutes....and for the rest of the day. However, I crashed super hard the next day (and week).

Have you tried it again at a lower dosage?
 

CFS_Kristin

Senior Member
Messages
120
@Scotty81 - I tried both IV Glutathione and Liposomal Glutathione and both made me crash.... Some might say, You detoxed too fast, but if that's true I would believe that I would have felt better after I recovered from the crash... Isn't that the point of a "detox"? But not true... Same w Nystatin, btw.

NAC is good - not a miracle, but I like it. I also use whey (supposedly another way to raise Glutathione) but have never noticed a difference..

Did you feel better before you crashed? I took it for the first time orally and immediately felt better within 20 minutes....and for the rest of the day. However, I crashed super hard the next day (and week).

Have you tried it again at a lower dosage?
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
Did you feel better before you crashed? I took it for the first time orally and immediately felt better within 20 minutes....and for the rest of the day. However, I crashed super hard the next day (and week).

Have you tried it again at a lower dosage?

I didn't take a big dosage, and I didn't feel better first... I'm really not into glutathione at all

I did take high dose zinc and felt completely healthy and normal for a period of time (a couple of weeks a few years ago).. so I do get these glimmers of hope... Zinc is related to many things, but one of them is SOC, so I believe that may be the endogenous antioxidant that is most helpful for me (vs glutathione)