Glutathione is the body’s most powerful natural antioxidant and is found in every cell in the body. Glutathione is a tripeptide (composed of three amino acids, Glutamic Acid, Cysteine, and Glycine) that bolsters the immune system and helps neutralize damaging free radicals. Antioxidants can even help your body repair free radical damage caused by such things as stress, radiation, infections, drugs, medications, malnutrition, and aging. Animal and laboratory studies have demonstrated that glutathione has the potential to fight almost any disease, particularly those associated with aging, since free radical damage is the cause of many of the diseases of old age.
Some of the best studies done on glutathione have been conducted in cancer treatments. One study involved women with ovarian cancer who were being treated with chemotherapy. Some of the women were also treated with intravenous glutathione. Those given the glutathione not only had fewer side effects from the chemotherapy but also had better overall survival rates. Our Glutathione stores decrease as we age and with exposure to drugs, environmental toxins, cigarette smoke, and poor diets. When a deficiency in Glutathione develops, oral supplements do not offer an answer because the absorption in the gut is extremely poor. Injection or Intravenous administration is really the gold standard to really maximize the antioxidant effects of Glutathione.