Rafterman
Member
I had not heard of Glutathione until the Joe Rogan/Brian Dunning discussion on Joe's podcast a few weeks back. For those not familiar with the molecule, here's the quick wiki definition:
Glutathione (GSH) is an important antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi and some bacteria and archaea, preventing damage to important cellular components caused by reactive oxygen species such as free radicals and peroxides.[2] It is a tripeptide with agamma peptide linkage between the carboxyl group of the glutamateside-chain and the amine group of cysteine (which is attached by normal peptide linkage to a glycine).
Brian took issue with Joe during the podcast because he felt that a former guest of Joe's pushed GSH as an anti-hangover "cure" and positioned it in such a way that it seemed to be a "get out of jail free card" for inebriated folks to keep on drinking. I'm not going to get into that discussion any further as much hilarity ensued after that. Suffice it say, it piqued my interest in GSH and whether or not it was legit or just one in a long list of "miracle woo drugs" that have flooded the market in recent years.
In looking around, GSH does seem to be an important molecule to the human body in a number of ways. Again, from wiki:
And I guess this is where my question comes in - is there legit science behind GSH supplementation for healthy individuals or is this simply another case of "Big Supplement" fleecing our pockets with half-baked claims that aren't backed up by research?
One of the difficulties I've found in looking into this is that a simple Google search bombards you with all kinds of claims about GSH's effectiveness, but it's all stuff that's very sales/marketing focused.
Glutathione (GSH) is an important antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi and some bacteria and archaea, preventing damage to important cellular components caused by reactive oxygen species such as free radicals and peroxides.[2] It is a tripeptide with agamma peptide linkage between the carboxyl group of the glutamateside-chain and the amine group of cysteine (which is attached by normal peptide linkage to a glycine).
Brian took issue with Joe during the podcast because he felt that a former guest of Joe's pushed GSH as an anti-hangover "cure" and positioned it in such a way that it seemed to be a "get out of jail free card" for inebriated folks to keep on drinking. I'm not going to get into that discussion any further as much hilarity ensued after that. Suffice it say, it piqued my interest in GSH and whether or not it was legit or just one in a long list of "miracle woo drugs" that have flooded the market in recent years.
In looking around, GSH does seem to be an important molecule to the human body in a number of ways. Again, from wiki:
- It is the major endogenous antioxidant produced by the cells, participating directly in the neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds, as well as maintaining exogenous antioxidants such as vitamins C and E in their reduced (active) forms.[17]
- Regulation of the nitric oxide cycle, which is critical for life but can be problematic if unregulated[18]
- It is used in metabolic and biochemical reactions such as DNA synthesis and repair, protein synthesis, prostaglandin synthesis, amino acid transport, and enzyme activation. Thus, every system in the body can be affected by the state of the glutathione system, especially the immune system, the nervous system, the gastrointestinal system and the lungs.
And I guess this is where my question comes in - is there legit science behind GSH supplementation for healthy individuals or is this simply another case of "Big Supplement" fleecing our pockets with half-baked claims that aren't backed up by research?
One of the difficulties I've found in looking into this is that a simple Google search bombards you with all kinds of claims about GSH's effectiveness, but it's all stuff that's very sales/marketing focused.