Glutathione Might Be The Best Anti-Aging Compound Around. Here's How To Eat It Daily

Glutathione is naturally produced by the liver and works in that organ to combat toxins and turn them into bile, which is essential for fat digestion in the body. Glutathione also plays a key role in red and white blood cell formation (red blood cells are essential for carrying oxygen to tissues in the body, while white blood cells are part of the body’s immune system, so they fight off diseases in the body). The medical community continues to study the effects of glutathione on numerous diseases and has found5 that this antioxidant has effectively been used to strengthen cells after chemotherapy.

Thankfully, you won’t need to go on a specialized diet or order exotic foods to get your fill. Those amino acids that glutathione is made of (cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine) can be found in the fruits, vegetables, and grains you probably eat frequently. Foods with large amounts of these glutathione building blocks include asparagus, cereal grains like wheat and barley, peppers, onions, broccoli, apples, oranges, bananas, and more. In addition to foods with glutathione building blocks, you can also increase the glutathione levels in your body by consuming foods that are high in selenium and alpha-lipoic acid. Both selenium and alpha-lipoic acid help the body produce glutathione, so they’re important to consume. Tuna, beef, cheese, and eggs are high in selenium, but if you follow a vegan diet you can get your fill of alpha-lipoic acid in foods like Brussels sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, and peas.

In addition, I also recommend incorporating almonds into your diet to take advantage of the benefits of glutathione. Many of the nutrients within almonds (like magnesium and vitamin E) are actually cofactors to glutathione. These cofactors are "helper molecules" that glutathione needs in order to carry out all the important functions in your body. Recipes like my almond and rice snack bars and riced broccoli salad are great examples of foods that incorporate those glutathione building blocks and cofactors like almonds.

So go on—enjoy that Brussels sprouts and almonds recipe you’ve been meaning to meal prep and know that you’re getting your fill of this important antioxidant. No supplements or special diets required.