More over, papaya and placenta. Glutathione is all the rage today, whether delivered by soap, lotion pill or injection. Obsessed people now place their hopes on glutathione for fairer skin. Also glutathione with vitamin C is more effective than taking glutathione alone.
But ask them what glutathione is and you probably won’t obtain a clear answer. So before jumping on the “gluta” bandwagon, here’s what you need to know:
What is glutathione?
Every cell in our body has a special protein that defends against illnesses, protects against the effects of aging and provides many other health benefits. This compound is called glutathione, a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in our body, which can build up in cells and cause all forms of diseases.
In a recent interview with the Manila Times, dermatologist Dr. Ramon Briones explains: “The body has a clean-up system against destructive forces (free radicals). These are the antioxidants whose function is to scavenge against the latter. Glutathione is the principal antioxidant and it is produced in the liver.”
Glutathione regulated even the actions of the other antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E. If the levels of glutathione are too low in the body, other antioxidants are unable to do their job.
Benefits of gluta
Glutathione, in repulsing the free radicals, provides substancial health benefits, including these:
1. It enhances the body’s immune response by regulating and regenerating immune cells. Low glutathione levels mean enhanced toxicity and weakened immune system.
2. Found in high concentrations in the liver, glutathione detoxifies our body by binding with foreign substances (e.g., drugs, alcohol, lead, mercury, pesticides) and expelling them through the bile and urine.
3. Glutathione helps in DNA repair. “It regulates many of the cells’ vital functions, such as DNA synthesis and repair,” explains Dr. Evangeline Handog of the Department of Dermatology of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa City.
Whitening power
While glutathione’s health benefits are amazing, what has caught the attention of Filipinos it its purported ability to whiten skin, a fair complexion being highly coveted by most.
Can glutathione really do that? There are “no published controlled clinical trials, no published randomized controlled trials, only numerous anecdotes and testimonials,” the PDS declares in an online position paper on glutathione.
