What
comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘Antioxidants’? Don’t wreck your mind
if nothing does. This article will tell you about the importance and benefits of antioxidants.
Anti
oxidants are known to benefit the body in ways more than one. They are also
known to fight cancer. So, yes they
are magnificent, and you definitely need them.
What are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are chemicals in the body that
block the activity of other chemicals known as free radicals. These free
radicals are highly reactive and have the potential to damage the cells; this
also includes damaging that may lead to cancer. Free radicals are usually
formed naturally in the body.
There
are different types of antioxidants, which benefit the body amazingly. This
article will speak of one such antioxidant that can potentially prevent fatal
condition like cancer, heart disease, aging, neurological issues and that’s not
the end of the list. The deep study of this single antioxidant has still kept
doctors, and researchers baffled, so as to address the epidemic of its
deficiency in humans.
We
are talking about the antioxidant called Glutathione (pronounced
“gloota-thigh-own.”)
What is Glutathione?
Glutathione
is a powerful detoxifier and immunity booster. The antioxidant is very crucial
for a healthy life. Apart from the fact that the body does make some of its own
Glutathione, factors like poor food
quality, pollution, toxic environments, stress, infections and radiation are
all depleting out the body’s glutathione.
It
is a simple molecule produced naturally in the body at all times. Glutathione
is a combination of three building blocks of protein or amino acids — like cysteine,
glycine and glutamine.
The
content of sulfur chemical groups in glutathione work to trap all the bad free
radicals and toxins such as mercury and heavy metals in our body and then flush
them out. This part of glutathione is important
in our current world of heavy metal bombardment.
Benefits of Glutathione
The wonder
nutrient brings along with it numerous health benefits, some of which are
listed below
- Increases Energy
- Slows down the process of ageing
- Reduces discomfort in muscles and joints
- Strengthens the Immune System
- Detoxifies liver and cells
- Improves skin quality
- Enhances Athletic performance and recovery
-
Improves mental focus and clarity
- Improves sleep quality
This is not
the entire list of benefits glutathione brings with it. Ask your doctor or
dietician about supplements, foods and complete benefits of glutathione.
Where Can You Get Glutathione?
The body produces
glutathione naturally, but the amount that it does make, is often not enough to
support the body in the strenuous environment it is in. what can be done? You
can increase the intake of certain foods, which either contain glutathione or
have the ability to help the body produce more of it.
Glutathione Rich
Foods
- Garlic – you can use them as an addition to
your diet in the form of tea, an addition to your meal.
- Peas – Not only are they great antioxidants, they
are rich in proteins and nutrients as well.
- Brussels sprouts – No recipe to it, simply have them
half boiled, what are salads for.
- Cabbage – Commonly available vegetable is
rich in many nutrients.
- Cauliflower – Easily available, great with rice.
- Avocados – This wonder food has to be a part
of your meal, if you want to lead a healthy problem free life.
- Onions – Smelly but these tiny ones are very
rich in complex nutrients. They are a rich source of antioxidant agents, and
should be consumed on a regular basis.
- Peaches – have a smoothie, add it to a salad,
or simply have it the way it is.
- Watermelon – Not only oxidizes, also boosts your
libido. It has several ant oxidizing properties.
- Cinnamon – the god of condiments.
- Broccoli – protein, vitamins, minerals, name I
and it’s all in here.
- Cardamom – Add them to your meals
- Turmeric (Curcumin) – very beneficial, both for oral and
external use for its healing properties.
- Tomatoes – Do not put them aside.
- Red peppers – Spicy food is always good for
glutathione and sex drive too.
Diet
Do
you find these foods in your plate, often? If not, it is another big issue that
contributes. The fact that we consume a lot of junk, meat, dairy and processed
food items that are clinically proven to
be the leading causes of heart disease
and other fatal illnesses. But that doest keep us from consuming them, and how!
Healthy Diet is the key to enhance the state and
functioning of the body, and its processes. All you have to do is limit these eating
habits and start consuming a lot of fresh, lively foods that provide large
amounts of nutrients and don’t burden the body to perform a mega job of digesting
them.
Tip: Exercise. You can increase your glutathione production with exercise.
You can get rid of toxins in the
body by breathing and sweating.
Glutathione Provides Protection
Against Chronic Illnesses
The
fact that it recycles antioxidants makes glutathione so important and powerful.
When the body is dealing with free
radicals, it is passing them from one molecule to another. They can even travel
from vitamin C to vitamin E to lipoic acid
and finally to glutathione where they are cooled off. The antioxidants are
recycled at this point and facilitate the body to regenerate another
glutathione molecule to go back at it again.
How does Glutathione work?
Glutathione
works by helping your immune system fight chronic illness. It acts as the
carrier of toxins out of your body. Just like a fly trap, toxins stick to
glutathione with which they are carried to the bile into the stools and finally
make their way out of the body. Glutathione is a potential factor that
contributes in the treatment of AIDS greatly.
It’s
a cycle; the body is going to come in contact with oxidants and toxins
throughout our lifetime. What’s important is that we facilitate our body to
deal with them all. Higher elimination of toxins from the body, the better your
body will be at staying strong, this should be enough for you know why glutathione
is so important.
9
Tips to Increase Gutathione Levels
Dr.
Mark Hyman has given 9 tips to increase
your Glutathione levels. Check them out!
- Consume
sulfur-rich foods.
Foods
that are high in sulfur are catalysts in the production of glutathione. Include
foods like garlic, onions and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale,
collards, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, etc.
- Try
bioactive whey protein.
Bioactive whey protein is great source of cysteine and the amino
acid building blocks which is essential for glutathione synthesis. Ensure that
the whey protein is be bioactive and made from non-denatured proteins
(“denaturing” refers to the breakdown of the normal protein structure).
Tip: Non-pasteurized and non-industrially produced
milk that is free from pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. Immunocal belongs
to the class of prescription bioactive non-denatured whey protein and is even
listed in the Physician’s Desk Reference.
Regular Exercising boosts your glutathione levels by
doing so it
helps boost your immunity, improves detoxification and also enhances your
body’s own antioxidant defense system.
Tip: Start slow. Build
up to 30 minutes a day of vigorous aerobic exercise which can include walking
or jogging. Indulge in various sports, in strength training for 20 minutes 3
times a week to help the body cope up.
Unfortunately,
consuming glutathione in the form of a pill is not an option, as your body wouldn’t
get the benefits as body digests protein.
Tip: Apart from taking any multivitamin buy online or fish oil, Dr. Mark Hyman reports
supporting his glutathione levels with the following supplements, and says that
it is the most important thing he does every day for his personal health.
N-acetyl-cysteine has been used in the treatment of asthma and
lung disease for years now. It is also used help treat people with
life-threatening liver failure coming from Tylenol overdose. “In fact, I first
learned about it in medical school while working in the emergency room. It is even
given to prevent kidney damage from dyes used during x-ray studies” says Dr.
Mark Hyman.
Apart from
glutathione, Alpha lipoic acid
is also importance in our cells and is involved the production of energy, controlling
blood sugar, it also
contributes to brain health and detoxification. Just like
glutathione, Alpha lipoic acid
is made by the body, and just like the latter, Alpha lipoic acid is depleted by the stresses we undergo.
- Methylation
nutrients (folate and vitamins B6 and B12).
Methylation
nutrients are
perhaps the most critical nutrients to retain the production of glutathione. The
two most important biochemical functions in your body are the production and
recycling glutathione, and methylation.
Tip: Consume folate, preferably in the active form
of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate, B6 in active form of P5P and B12 in the active
form of methylcobalamin.
This
important mineral is associated with the key role of the body to recycle and
produce more glutathione.
A family of antioxidants including vitamins C and E , in the form of mixed
tocopherols, work together in recycling glutathione.
It has long been used in the treatment of liver diseases and also
helps boost glutathione levels significantly.
Now that you are aware of the
importance and benefits of glutathione, all you have to do, is keep the
supplements, and glutathione rich foods in mind, and remember to add them to
your every day diet.
For more info on multivitamins, supplements and medicines visit Nestpillmart pharmacy.