Aging, Cysteine, and Glutathione ging,

When it comes to health there are many aspect that an individual can look at in their own life and say, I need to concentrate on my diet, or I should concentrate on exercise. Some people I diet, I exercise. go as far as adding supplements to their daily diet, and routine to reverse or prevent the quick onset of disease and aging. I think people need m more education about their immune system and I think the new focus on cysteine and glutathione will change how the healthcare system works. A recent press release by CBS highlighted the need for a universal or all all-purpose drug able to combat whatever germ or toxic chemical released by hostile forces. In general, the idea would be to bolster the defenses we already possess, in particular the immune system, to fight against infections and cancer. CBS made brief mention of two substances, cysteine and glutathione, that deserve much greater attention. (Kongshavn. n.d.) When you look at everything on the plant, life, death, and the aging in between, all breaks down to the health of every individual cell in every living thing, the quicker cells die, the quicker the host body dies. Every cell is very fragile. Every cell has a purpose. Every cell has the potential to Every die or become cancerous, or not. Trees, plants, slugs and humans, alike depend on a proper combination of water and nutrients to maintain strong cellular function, and defense.

Then why is it that some cells become weak and breakdown and die, and why doesnt the body naturally fix itself? Research on diet and the immune system have been conducted to reveal that there is in fact a defense mechanism in every cell and it is called intra-cellular Glutathione (GSH), a small protein, which is the quantitatively most important antioxidant in cells and tissue. Antioxidants are nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slowdown the oxidative damage done to our body. When our cells use oxygen, they produce free radicals that can cause damage to the cell. Antioxidants act as "free radical scavengers" like vitamin C for instance, and prevent, and repair damage done by these free radicals. In todays lifestyle with daily exposure to toxins, and improper nutritional habits, the question is often asked, if this is true, do we have enough glutathione in the body to defend each cell properly? The answer is no. Without proper levels of Glutathione within a cell, apoptosis (cell death) occurs. Intracellular glutathione depletion is an indicative cause of apoptosis. The term "first cause of death" describes a process that is believed to limit the maximum life span of animals and humans. People are depleting the bodies minimal amount of glutathione on a regular basis by smoking or breathing in toxins at work or home, even fumes from cars on the highway deplete glutathione. We deplete glutathione by being in the sun and exposure to UV rays. Even drinking alcohol and coffee cause depletion of glutathione in the body. If you were to take Tylenol or acetaminophen you are destroying glutathione in the liver and causing more harm than good, by depleting the most important antioxidant, and detoxifier in the liver. Taking any drugs or even exercising vigorously will deplete glutathione. Glutathione Depleting Agents. Smoking. Alcohol. Caffeine.

Acetaminophen. Drugs. Vigorous exercise. x-, ?- and UV radiation. Xenobiotics. (Kwyer, November, 2000). Many research studies have been conducted in regards to the functions and importance of glutathione in the body, and the role it plays in almost every disease known to man. There have been thousands of studies regarding glutathione and causes of aging, thousands have been written that are based on nutrition and exercise, and tens of thousands that are chronic disease related. There are over 90,000 citations in toll about glutathione at PubMed. Glutathione or GSH is the major antioxidant produced by the cell, protecting the cell from free radicals. GSH is a very important detoxifying agent, making it possible for the body to get rid of toxins and pollutants, plus it plays a crucial role in maintaining a balance between the processes of oxidation and anti-oxidation. GSH is required in many of the detailed steps required to carry out an immune reaction or response. For example, it is needed for lymphocytes to increase to develop a strong immune response, and for killer lymphocytes to be able to kill bad cells such as cancer cells or cells infected with a virus. Lymphocytes are (T cells or B cells) the B cells make antibodies that attack bacteria and toxins while the T cells attack cells when they have been taken over by viruses or have become cancerous. Glutathione is becoming the newest household word in disease prevention, and longevity. The wonders of glutathione are almost endless but there is one limiting factor in maintaining glutathione levels in the body, and being able to live the healthy life style we all deserve, and that is cysteine, it is a non-essential amino acid, which means that it is biosynthesized in humans, for example, biosynthesis of proteins, amino acids or fatty acids).

The availability of glutathione is minimal in the Western diet; so it needs to be biosynthesized from the amino acids, cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid. The cysteine is limited in the foods we eat; therefore, glutathione is limited for overall cellular protection. In several clinical trials, cysteine supplementation improved skeletal muscle functions, decreased the body fat/lean body mass ratio, decreased plasma levels of the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF-), improved immune functions, and increased plasma albumin levels. As all these parameters degenerate with age, these findings suggest: (i) that loss of youth, health and quality of life may be partly explained by a deficit in cysteine and (ii) that the dietary consumption of cysteine is generally suboptimal and everybody is likely to have a cysteine deficiency sooner or later. (Drge, December, 2005). From the research that has been conducted, and the obvious implications for health benefits in aging, and disease, that have been observed, there are signs of a trend directed in finding a guaranteed natural process to maintain cysteine levels to produce the glutathione required for maximum cellular protection and function, in turn slowing down the rate of programmed cell death, and aging. References: Drge, W. (2005, December) Oxidative stress and ageing: is ageing a cysteine deficiency syndrome? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1569588 Exner, R. Wessner, B. Manhart, N. Roth, E. (2000, July) Therapeutic potential of glutathione. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11008322 Kongshavn, P. Glutathione the undiscovered natural drug.

http://bit.ly/undiscovered-natural-drug Kwyer, T. (November, 2000) The Role of Glutathione in Cell Defense, with References to Clinical Deficiencies and Treatment http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/00/slides/3652s1_05/index.htm Randy Grover