GSH and You
The importance of GSH cannot be stressed strongly enough. The cells of the human body have evolved mechanisms to prevent and treat nearly every attack made on the immune system - provided the necessary components are provided. GSH is the most powerful naturally occurring antioxidant in all human cells. It has multiple roles. GSH protects your vision, boosts your immune system, helps turn carbohydrates into energy, and prevents the buildup of oxidized fats. Many clinical studies have shown that GSH may address some of the major health issues of today: diabetes, heart disease, strokes, asthma, hepatitis, AIDS, and the diseases of aging such as Alzheimer’s and arthritis. Low GSH levels were also associated with neuro-degenerative diseases such as MS (multiple sclerosis), ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and others.
What is GSH?
GSH, a small molecule found in almost every cell, is a compound classified as a tripeptide made of three amino acids: L-cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine. Each and every cell in the body takes these raw ingredients to manufacture GSH. The GSH in each cell has numerous functions. The three most important jobs are antioxidation, immunity boosting and detoxification. GSH is also found in every part of the body, especially the lungs, intestinal tract, and liver. The body produces and stores the largest amounts of GSH in the liver, where it is used to detoxify harmful compounds so that they can be removed from the body through the bile. The liver also supplies GSH directly to red and white blood cells in the bloodstream; it helps keep red blood and white blood cells healthy to maximize the disease-fighting power of the immune system. GSH also appears to have an anti-aging affect on the body. GSH levels decline with age, and a lack of it has been shown to leave the body more vulnerable to damage by free radicals, thus speeding up oxidation (wearing down) of the body.
GSH Deficiency
A GSH deficiency can have a devastating effect on the nervous system, causing such symptoms as lack of balance and coordination, mental disorders, and tremors. Any illness (even a bad cold), chronic disorders such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, injury, or heavy exposure to pollutants can cause a GSH deficiency. This is because your body uses more GSH when it is supporting white blood cells and ridding the body of toxins.
Similar to the liver, white blood cells in their immune response also aid in detoxification of the body-and as GSH levels decrease, so does the body's ability to eliminate dangerous toxins. This leads to the death of white blood cells-thereby weakening the body's immune system.
Other antioxidants in the body depend on GSH as well. GSH recycles vitamins C and E after they have been oxidized-therefore playing a decisive role in their normal function.
Multiple roles of GSH
- GSH is the major antioxidant produced by the cell, protecting it from 'free radicals' ('oxygen radicals'). These highly reactive substances, if left unchecked, will damage or destroy key cell components (e.g. membranes, DNA). Oxyradicals are generated in the many thousand mitochondria located inside each cell, where nutrients like glucose are burnt using oxygen to make energy. (Mitochondria can be thought of as the batteries that provide the power for the cells to operate). Oxyradicals also come from pollutants, from UV radiation and other sources. In addition, GSH recycles other well-known antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E, keeping them in their active state. Being a major free radical scavenger enzyme, GSH protects individual cells, tissues of arteries, heart, lungs, liver, brain, immune cells, kidneys, lens and the skin from oxidative damages.
- GSH is an important central detoxifier of the body, enabling it to get rid of undesirable toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides, solvents and other pollutants. It forms a soluble compound with the toxin that can then be excreted through the urine or the gut. The liver and kidneys contain high levels of GSH as they have the greatest exposure to toxins. The lungs are also rich in GSH partly for the same reason. Many cancer-producing chemicals, heavy metals, drug metabolites etc. are disposed of in this way.
- GSH plays a crucial role in maintaining a normal balance between oxidation and anti-oxidation. This, in turn, regulates many of the cell's vital functions, such as the synthesis and repair of DNA, the synthesis of proteins and the activation and regulation of enzymes.
- GSH is required in many of the intricate steps needed to carry out an immune response. For example, it is needed for the lymphocytes to multiply in order to develop a strong immune response, and for 'killer' lymphocytes to be able to kill undesirable cells such as cancer cells or virally infected cells.
- GSH, apart from being essential for carbohydrates metabolism that prevent deposition of fats, exists in the breaking down of oxidised fats.
- GSH has been found to assist in cancer prevention in particular liver cancer, maintaining strength of Red Blood Count (RBC) and protect the White Blood Cell Count (WBC).
THE CELL
All cells have the same basic structure, but there are some components that appear in some cells and are absent from others. Each cell is at least somewhat self-contained and self-maintaining: it can take in nutrients, convert these nutrients into energy, carry out specialized functions, and reproduce as necessary. Each cell stores its own set of instructions for carrying out each of these activities.
General diagram of an animal cell
General diagram of a plant cell
