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From Cell to Super Cell - with Glutathione
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Added: 01/31/2004
Type: Summary
Viewed: 762 time(s)
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From Cell to Super Cell - with Glutathione
Imagine you're a cell.
Inside your body runs the machinery that creates life
itself. But as that machinery keeps running, day after day,
you begin to get worn out - the friction and the processes
that cause damage (here the "free-radicals" - highly
destructive little entities generated by biochemical
processes, as well as pollutants, UV radiation and other
sources) start to create havoc and you begin to lose the
battle to disease, old age and ultimately death.
In fact your battle would be over much sooner were it not
for the numerous mechanisms that you and other mammalian
cells evolved over millions of years, as protection from
the injury that can result from your normal functional
processes. The foremost among these internal protective
systems is the "Glutathione antioxidant system."
Glutathione, a small molecule composed of three amino
acids - glycine, glutamate and cysteine - acts as your
cellular Super-Mop, soaking up "free-radicals" (with the
help of the sulfur-containing portion of the cysteine
molecule), protecting your cellular membranes and internal
organs from the cascading destruction they can cause.
Besides being the major antioxidant that you produce as
protection from "free-radicals," glutathione is also a very
important detoxifying agent, enabling you to get rid of
undesirable toxins and pollutants. If you were a liver,
kidney or lung cell, you would contain high levels of
glutathione, as you'd be exposed to the greatest levels of
toxins.
Glutathione also helps you dispose of many cancer-
producing chemicals, heavy metals, drug metabolites etc.
that invade the pristine recesses of your cellular world.
And Mother Nature (the first recycler) also designed you to
use glutathione to recycle other well-known antioxidants
such as vitamin C and vitamin E, keeping them in their
active state.
If you were a cell delegated to the immune system
department, you would require glutathione for many of the
intricate steps needed to carry out your essential immune
response functions - such as multiplying to make many
clones of yourself, to mount a full-bodied immune response,
or "neutralizing" undesirable elements of the cellular
community, like cancerous or virally infected cells.
But your finicky cell membrane does not allow whole
glutathione molecules to cross over directly into your
cellular spaces. And every time a molecule of glutathione
neutralizes a destructive free-radical or toxin, it fatally
binds with the undesirable element and is washed out with
them in the bile or the urine.
So how do you replenish your stores and get your daily fix
of glutathione? Simple. You manufacture it in your cellular
factory, from its raw materials - glycine, glutamate and
cysteine.
If your human eats a diet high in fresh fruits and
vegetables and freshly prepared meats, you should get be
getting enough glutamate and glycine. But cystine comes
mostly from eggs, milk and cheese. And when eggs, milk and
cheese are cooked or processed, the composition of Cystine
is changed to Cysteine (small difference in spelling, but
BIG difference in action). While still a valuable protein,
it can no longer feed your glutathione levels.
If you can get a sufficient supply of cysteine (which
determines the rate at which you can make glutathione),
your arsenal is well- stocked. If not, you and your human
are at a strategic disadvantage in the battle of "Cell v/s
Free-radical Destroyers."
As a normal, healthy cell, increasing your glutathione
levels could help you and your human maintain that
strategic advantage in the battle against free-radicals. If
you're not really in your prime, boosting your levels could
tip the scales in your favor, and help you fight the
cellular damage that causes disease and aging.
_____________________________________________
Priya Shah is the Editor of "Health eBiz," an
ezine for Health & Wellness Entrepreneurs.
Subscribe here: http://www.health-ebiz.com
Get a Free Report on Glutathione and Health
at http://www.1whey2health.com
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