“Glutathione is not a word that trips off the tongue, but it’s very much worth remembering. It’s a substance that combats the problems related to oxidative stress. Let’s learn more about it. First, let’s describe oxidative stress in a little more detail. This happens when substances called “free radicals” and “oxidants” start to grow in number in our bodies. We need some of these radicals because they can act as “signaling” molecules that trigger important processes (like the heart pumping more blood during stressful moments).
But if you have too many free radicals, this results in an unhealthy imbalance leading to cell damage. “Free radicals” might be understood as roaming individual atoms of oxygen that are desperately looking to pair up with other atoms (because atoms like to exist in pairs). This means that they’re pretty indiscriminate about where they pair up (sort of like a person who is “on the rebound”), which results in a variety of bad outcomes when this “outsider” settles down with some random cell in the body. That settling causes damage to individual cells, eventually causing cell membranes to break and altering what a cell normally allows to enter and exit its boundaries.
One way to understand glutathione’s benefits is that it helps to repair or counteract the breakage and unraveling of cells that free radicals and oxidants tend to cause. For instance, glutathione repairs the “caps” (known as telomeres) that are found at the end of chromosomes. If that cap is broken, DNA can unravel! And there are many other ways it keeps cells healthy – from fighting nerve damage caused by Lyme disease to repairing cell damage that happens during chemotherapy. Its broad usefulness in the repairing of damage caused by free radicals explains why it’s also referred to as the “master” antioxidant.”
Source: Spartan Up Podcast
