The Glutathione Revolution

By Nayan Patel, PharmD

Glutathione, or if you want to get technical about it, glutathione sulfhydryl, GSH for short, is found in every cell in the body. It’s ubiquitous because it’s so important. As one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, glutathione is extremely versatile, taking on many jobs. It is also first on the front lines of our defense against molecular marauders that damage DNA and other cellular matter, helping to prevent disease and accelerated aging. Glutathione is a detoxifier too.

There’s an especially large concentration of the compound hanging around in the liver, where it assists the body in eliminating waste and potentially poisonous substances. And as a player in the immune system, GSH enhances the production and activity of the cells that wipe out bacteria, viruses, and other invaders. 

To my mind, it’s truly a wonder that glutathione is not better known. It’s the body’s workhorse, toiling away, getting little of the glory heaped on other antioxidants, such as beta carotene and vitamins C and E (though, of course, they’re important too). But that, thankfully, is changing. I think that as you learn more about the mechanics of glutathione, you’ll understand not only how under-appreciated it’s been, but how worth your while it is to take steps to heighten your GSH levels.

How the Body Builds Glutathione

Glutathione is new to a lot of people, but researchers have known about it for a long time. It was first discovered in 1921 by Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, a former insurance clerk who segued into science and ultimately became chair of the biochemistry department at Cambridge University.

Hopkins isolated GSH in yeast (the compound exists in plant as well as animal cells), setting the stage for other scientists to uncover the many roles it plays in keeping the body up and running. Hopkins, by the way, was also known for isolating tryptophan, an essential nutrient we derive from food, and he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1929 for his work establishing the important role vitamins play in physiology. 

So, what exactly was it that Hopkins saw under his microscope all those years ago? A very simple protein. Proteins play all kinds of different roles in the body. You probably already know that they are integral to creating muscle and hair and the collagen that gives our skin structure. But some proteins function as antibodies, some catalyze chemical reactions, and some act as messengers. And some, like glutathione, are antioxidants. 

Amino acids, as you may remember from high school biology, are the building blocks of all proteins. To create glutathione, the body must string together three particular amino acids: glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. There is no substitute for any of these ingredients. All proteins have a biological blueprint that must be followed to the letter or they will not be able to do their jobs.

In other words, it’s not like a recipe for spaghetti marinara, where you can leave out the red pepper flakes, or add the salt at the end instead of the beginning of cooking and still have a perfectly fine dish. To build glutathione, you must have all of its components on hand and assemble them in the proper sequence. 

Fortunately, glutathione needs only three amino acids, unlike, say, human growth hormone, which requires a whopping 191. What’s more, the body can make glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine itself. And yet, as we age and the tiny manufacturing plants in our body slow down, and during times when glutathione is in high demand (needed, say, to help purge the remnants of too many gin and tonics after a birthday celebration), we can’t synthesize enough glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine to fill the order. That’s when dietary sources of the three amino acids become particularly important.

Is it a Bird, a Plane…or a Superantioxidant?

A little aside here about semantics. 

I am often asked whether glutathione is an antioxidant or a protein or a tripeptide or an enzyme or a molecule or a compound. The answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Why so many names? Glutathione has many different jobs in the body—the reason it’s so essential!—and structurally it falls into many different categories. Here’s a little primer that will help put things into perspective. 

Antioxidant—A substance that neutralizes free radicals, preventing oxidative damage. Glutathione’s number one job is to lend electrons to charged oxygen molecules so they don’t steal them from other important structures, such as DNA. 

Protein—Large molecules consisting of a chain of amino acids. Protein makes up most of cell matter and is involved in everything from muscle contractions and immunological responses to enzymatic and hormonal actions. Because it’s made up of three amino acids, glutathione is a protein.

Tripeptide—A peptide is a particular type of amino acid chain formed through the elimination of a water molecule. Glutathione is a tripeptide because it’s made up of three amino acids: glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. 

Molecule—A group of atoms formed by chemical bonds.

Compound—A substance made up of two or more materials. In glutathione’s case, it’s a substance made up of glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine.

Despite all the names that glutathione can go by, I primarily refer to it as an antioxidant. That’s because I think about compounds the same way I think about people: it doesn’t matter who you are; it matters what you do. So, while it’s interesting to know what chemical category glutathione falls into (especially if you love chemistry, like me), we’re all more interested in how GSH functions in the body, right? Not forgetting that glutathione is also an essential detoxifier, let’s settle on a name that describes its greatest superpower: neutralizing free radicals to prevent oxidative stress.

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—Excerpted from The Glutathione Revolution: Fight Disease, Slow Aging, and Increase Energy with the Master Antioxidant, by Nayan Patel, Pharm D, copyright © 2020. Available from Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/nayan-patel-pharmd/the-glutathione-revolution/9780306873973/

Nayan Patel, Pharm D, is an internationally recognized expert, consultant, and lecturer on glutathione, and has been a respected pharmacist for 25 years. He received his Pharm D degree from the USC School of Pharmacy, where he now serves as an adjunct faculty member. He has traveled the world educating practitioners and pharmacists on advanced biochemistry and anti-aging science. He lives with his family in Southern California.