Aging,

ging, Cysteine, and Glutathione

When it comes to health there are many aspect that an individual can look at in their own life
and say, II need to concentrate on my diet,
diet, or II should concentrate on exercise.
exercise. Some people
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-purpose
all
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. Ev
Every
ery cell has the potential to
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