NAC Supplementation for Glutathione

[Guest guest]

It seems that many people supplement with NAC, especially because they

believe it improves their life expectancy. It helps increase Glutathione

especially if homocysteine level are reduced.

 

> Glutathione Precursors: In the Alzheimer's study conducted by Welsh

> GP, Andrew McCaddon, adding the glutathione precursor,

> N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) to a protocol that

> lowered homocysteine levels by simple supplementation with B12 and

> folate, resulted in prompt, striking, and sustained clinical

> improvement in nearly all the patients.

 

However there seems to be a problem with supplementation when it is not

needed, as is shown by the following:

 

 

 

N-acetylcysteine

http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/fulltext/acetyl3-2.html

 

> NAC appears to support the synthesis of GSH primarily under conditions

> when the demand for GSH is increased, such as during excessive

> oxidative stress, or during certain disease processes. However, the

> chronic oral supplementation of NAC as a nutrient to enhance life

> extension (because of its role in repleting GSH and acting as an

> antioxidant) by otherwise healthy individuals might need to be

> reconsidered. Since NAC appears to be most effective at enhancing GSH

> only in conditions when it is low, and if it can act, as some evidence

> indicates, as a pro-oxidant in healthy individuals, with doses as low

> as 1.2 grams per day, chronic daily supplementation of a therapeutic

> dose by healthy individuals not subject to excessive oxidative stress

> should be considered ill advised.

>

> In conditions characterized by excessive oxidative stress, such as

> chronic exposure to cigarette smoke and heart disease, and in clinical

> situations where GSH levels are decreased, NAC appears to be a highly

> effective component of a nutritional supplementation protocol. It is

> currently the " gold-standard " treatment approach for management of

> acetaminophen poisoning and should be investigated for its antidotal

> properties in other types of poisoning. NAC supplementation should

> also be considered as a possible addition to protocols designed to

> enhance elimination of heavy metals.

>

I have the following choices:

 

Continuously supplement with 1 gram per day until I feel under immune

stress from say the flu.

 

When the flu season takes over automatically increase the NAC and also

increase anti oxidants such as Vit C and BHT to balance out it's pro

oxidant effect.

 

Only supplement upon the first indication of an illness such as colds

and flu.

 

Supplement with other precursors to Glutathione such as whey powder but

I do not eat diary foods.

 

Eat more foods that increase glutathione but let say I was faced with

the flu I doubt if those sources are enough. For the record here are

some foods that promote Glutathione:

 

> Foods that increase glutathione levels in the body include cruciferous

> vegetables /(Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale,

> bok choy, cress, mustard, horseradish, turnips, rutabagas, kohlrabi)/,

> avocados, ripe seeds of green beans, red beets, the herb rosemary,

> grape seed extract, bilberry extract, curcumin found in turmeric, whey

> protein powder, and Pycnogenol from pine bark. A food that is

> particularly high in glutathione precursers is whey made from milk.

 

 

What do others think is the best approach to keep Glutathione at its

optimum level, ignoring the whey powder?

 

Robin