Yes, You Need More Glutathione, Here's How To Boost Your Levels

If there’s one antioxidant that’s having a moment right now, it’s glutathione. It's making the rounds on social and in the news, and there's good reason why.

Often called the body’s “master antioxidant,” glutathione works around the clock to help neutralize free radicals, support healthy liver detoxification, and keep your cells resilient in the face of daily stressors.*

While our bodies naturally make it, everything from aging and chronic stress to poor sleep and nutrient gaps can deplete our stores. The good news? You can nurture your own supply through targeted nutrition, smart lifestyle habits, and evidence-backed supplements.

Glutathione1 is a small protein made from three amino acids—glutamine, glycine, and cysteine. Thanks to its sulfur-containing structure, it acts a bit like a magnet, grabbing onto free radicals and toxins so your body can clear them out.*

This cleanup crew is key for keeping oxidative stress in check. In simple terms, glutathione helps maintain a healthy balance between harmful molecules (reactive oxygen species, or ROS) and the antioxidants that neutralize them.* 

According to Lise Alschuler, N.D., FABNO, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Arizona, glutathione is the most prevalent and important cellular antioxidant. "Glutathione supports the redox potential within a cell, facilitating the cell's ability to quench oxidative stress and reset its antioxidative capacities,"* she explains. 

In addition to glutathione's direct antioxidant properties, it also recycles vitamins C and E, which are powerful antioxidants in their own right.* No matter which toxins are thrown its way, glutathione has a knack for orchestrating its team of antioxidant players to ensure unwanted molecules are taken care of and oxidative balance is ultimately restored.* 

Considering glutathione is found in every cell in the body, it's no secret that its free-radical-fighting capabilities are utilized universally.* However, the highest concentrations of glutathione are found in the liver and kidneys2, suggesting the antioxidant is a key player in helping these organs' elimination process and removal of toxins from the body.*

Natural detoxification processes and pathways buffer us from daily biological and environmental stressors, and glutathione's role in the detoxification of various compounds (including mercury and certain persistent organic pollutants, notes Alschuler) is evident.* 

Glutathione isn’t endless—your body constantly uses and recycles it, and certain lifestyle and environmental factors can deplete your supply3 faster than you can replenish it.

Chronic stress, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol, smoking, exposure to pollutants or heavy metals, certain medications, and even intense, unbalanced exercise can all increase oxidative stress and tax your glutathione reserves.

While glutathione is found in some foods, dietary sources are poorly absorbed by the body and do very little to improve glutathione status. That said, there are a number of nutrients you can eat to help support glutathione's production, retention, and regeneration. 

"Glutathione requires nutritional building blocks, specifically three amino acids: cysteine, glycine, and glutamine. Therefore, ensuring healthy quality protein intake is essential," explains functional-medicine-trained clinician Deanna Minich, Ph.D., CNS, FACN, IFMCP. 

A groundbreaking 2015 clinical study from the European Journal of Nutrition7 demonstrated that a specific form of oral glutathione supplement called Setria® can increase both blood levels and body compartment stores of glutathione when taken daily.* 

"This clinical trial proves that key forms of glutathione are not only bioavailable but efficacious in positively impacting glutathione status in the body. These are hugely important findings, "* says Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN.

"The methods of testing and specific knowledge of glutathione have increased over the years, making some of the older studies showing that glutathione was not absorbed controversial and almost obsolete," explains Danielle Citrolo, PharmD, VP of scientific & regulatory affairs at Kyowa Hakko USA (the innovator and manufacturer of Setria®). 

Citrolo goes on to say that glutathione is a very unstable molecule that is rapidly removed from the blood and tissues, so it must be replenished daily. With Setria® glutathione, oral glutathione stores are improved thanks to proper absorption in the intestinal lining.* 

"Older studies did not take into account the fact that multiple dosing may be required, as well as particular handling of the samples taken to test the glutathione levels," Citrolo explains. 

In addition to providing 250 milligrams of Setria® glutathione, liver detox+ also provides other key ingredients that support the body's natural production of the compound and liver health in general (N-acetyl-L-cysteine or NAC, milk thistle, vitamin C, and selenium.)

For example, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, aka NAC8 can help promote glutathione production.* According to Alschuler, this targeted ingredients are especially helpful in increasing overall glutathione levels because cysteine is the rate-limiting amino acid (i.e., the slowest nutritional building block) in glutathione synthesis.*

When it comes to herbal bioactives, milk thistle contains a powerful free-radical scavenger phytonutrient compound called silymarin9 that has been shown to modulate glutathione-metabolizing enzymes10 and promote healthy redox balance.* Additionally, milk thistle supports the detoxification process by bolstering healthy liver function and protecting liver cells from toxins.*