Glycation And Why You Care

What is glycation? In short glycation is a scientific term for what happens when sugars, such as fructose or glucose, combine with proteins or lipid molecules. Additionally, glycation is the process bakers and cooks refer to as browning. You may be shocked to learn that this browning actually happens to us as we age. From an anti-aging perspective this is not a good thing.

With this information it is easy to see that we have two forms of glycation that we need to be concerned about. We have Endogenous glycations, which predominately occur in the bloodstream and exogenous glycations that occur out side the body.

Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs) are formed when sugars are cooked with proteins and fats. What you may not realize is that very often sugars are added to many of our foods specifically to enhance this browning effect. Worse yet once absorbed by your body AGEs are well known pro-inflammatory and disease initiating compounds. AGEs have been implicated in many age-related chronic diseases such as: Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Cancer, Neuropathy and the list goes on.

Did I mention that Glycation and AGEs have a very important partner in the damage of our tissues? That partner in the initiation and acceleration of these diseases, especially oxidative stress and inflammation, are the free radicals that we are learning so much about. To make matters worse glycated proteins are estimated to generate 50 times more free radicals than non-glycated proteins. Again, from an anti-aging standpoint this is something of great importance.

By now I hope that you are starting to get the idea that our bodies were not designed to handle the simple sugars that find their way into our diets. In short, at the cellular and DNA levels, sugars are a disaster waiting to happen. Do you find yourself, struggling against fatigue? More times than not, that fatigue is self induced by virtue of the fact that sugar raises blood glucose levels so fast that the body has to respond by secreting large amounts of insulin. This cycle creates a huge spike in energy quickly followed by extreme fatigue. Think about most of the energy drinks on the market today where caffeine and sugars are the most prominent ingredients. Watch for an upcoming article on energy drinks.

Ok, I’ve dumped a lot on you in a very short amount of time. In a perfect world we could totally eliminate sugars from our diet. While I know that this is not very practical, I will please with you to do everything in your power to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. Keep in mind that by some estimates the average American consumes roughly 24 teaspoons of sugar daily. Those 24 teaspoons per day equates to more than 100 pounds of sugar in a year.

So first and foremost reduce the simple sugars in your diet. Secondly, reduce and/or eliminate AGE laden foods by limiting browned or charred foods. A short list of some of those foods include: well done meats, poultry, eggs, barbecued or grilled meats, poultry and fish. One of the worst is deep fried foods. As I stated this is a VERY short list.

Lastly, for some good news. Scientists have discovered that alpha lipoic acid can arrest the glycation process. Additionally, it has been discovered that N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) slows the glycation process. As an added benefit scientists discovered that lipoic acid aids in the restoring of glutathione and vitamin C. As you may imagine the flavanoids found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains have been found to reduce the glycation of hemoglobin.

In conclusion, while glycation, AGEs and their partner in crime, free radicals, lead to the initiation of many of our age related diseases we have the ability to avoid being plagued by these problems. In fact it is really more than a choice on our part. If you have watched anyone in their later years and thought to yourself that you wanted a different path: you have that option. The downside to that choice is that it is not about making that decision for a single day. What you have to commit yourself to is a lifestyle change. That change includes: the reduction of simple sugars, over cooked foods – especially deep fried foods and then ensure that you are getting adequate amounts of antioxidants, nutrients and flavanoids in your diet. While not always easy to get through our daily diets, with the abundance of high quality supplements, green drinks and other whole food sources, we have the tools we necessary to live a long healthy life.

Source: EasyArticles

Fight Aging With Vitamins And Over The Counter Products

Researchers in search for the fountain of youth keep coming back to one fact: you are what you eat. What you eat has a tremendous impact not only on your health but also on your life span.

Aging that goes on inside your body has far more reaching consequences than a few wrinkles and gray hairs that seem to pop up over night. Sheldon Hendler, MD, Ph.D. says that much of the internal damage that accumulates over a lifetime, and the diseases that go with it, may be linked to mischievous molecules inside us called "free radicals".

Free radicals are created during the normal process of metabolism, cells produce unstable oxygen molecules that damage cells. As we get older the human body produces more and more of these free radicals.

These free radicals are molecules that have unpaired electrons that seem to attach most readily to electrons in fat molecules. A free radicals attack on the cells could kill or severely damage them, leaving them vulnerable to diseases commonly associated with the aging process.

Recent studies suggest that free radicals plays a central role in virtually every age related disease such as arteriosclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer' disease.

The brain is a good place to study the benefits of antioxidants, says Paula Bickford, Ph.D. a researcher at the University of South Florida Center of Excellent for Aging and Brain Repair. The brain has one of the highest percentages of fats of any organ in the human body, and it is in our fats that free radicals inflict much of their damage.

Since over 40 percent of the total calories in the typical American diet is derived from fat it not difficult to see how we might be exposed to extensive damaging free radical activity.

Substances called antioxidants can neutralize free radical by pairing up or binding with the free radical elections thus inhibiting them from damaging cells in the human body.

Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with aging such as Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, Selenium, Beta Carotene, Lycopene, L-Glutathione, Vitamin D, Green Tea, and Antioxidant.

Vitamin C, E and some forms of Vitamin A and the mineral Selenium are known to be antioxidants that help to protect the body from these free radicals.

Vitamin A is stored in the liver and fat cells of the human body and can reach toxic levels. DO NOT take more than the recommended dosage of Vitamin A.

Up to one-third of older people can no longer absorb Vitamin B from their food. Vitamin B is needed to form red blood cells and keep nerves healthy.

The mineral Selenium has been associated with a significant reduction in the incidences of lung, colorectal and prostate cancer. Good sources are fish, asparagus, brazil nuts, meat, poultry and bread.

Beta Carotene helps protect Vitamin C from oxidation, which enables it to perform at optimum efficiency. Symptoms of Beta Carotene deficiency include ache, dry dull hair, dry skin and thickened scaly skin on the palms and soles of the feet.

Lycopene is very powerful in quenching free radicals as is L-gultathione. Ultra Antioxidant allows cells to perform more efficiently with less oxygen, enabling sufficient oxygen to be utilized for the cells and organs that specifically need it.

Vitamin D is manufactured in the skin following direct exposure to sunlight. Many studies show that Vitamin D production decreases in older people and in those who are housebound. Vitamin D is needed by the body to absorb calcium, which makes your bones stronger and helps prevent factures.

Green Tea Contains antioxidants that may protect against heart disease, several types of cancer, and skin damage.

Natural antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables such as, apples, blueberries, broccoli, cherries, cranberries, grapes, spinach, and Spirulina a blue-green algae.

A 2006 article in the Journal of American Medical Association suggested that by periodically restricting our caloric intake to as little as 890 calories a day, or fasting, resulted in a decrease in insulin levels and body temperatures, another two biomarkers of longevity. Restricting calories helps to eliminate the free radicals by burning off more calories than you take in thus reducing the amount of fat stored in the human body.

Skipping a meal here and there from an evolutionary point of view would be beneficial. The human body is used to going days without eating anything but today we have constant access to food and we are taking in calories all day long.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and not to be construed as medical advice.

Source: ZingArticles.com

The Importance Of Colon Health

The colon plays an criticaleffective role in maintenance of overall potassium homeostasis. The intestine possesses a tremendous capacity to absorb water. About 7-10 liters of water entering the gastrointestinal tract during a 24 hour period is absorbed by the small intestine. The colon plays an interesting role in the desiccation of bowel by absorbing an additional 2 liters of fluid. In fact, the colon more water per unit of luminal surface area, if the differences in length and luminal surface area are also considered. Several conditions causing malabsorption of solutes and water in the small intestine can increase the fluid inpouring the colon to overwhelm its absorptive capacity and hence lead to diarrhea.

The gastrointestinal tract normally functions to move ingested food, in an appropriate fashion, from the oropharynx through the stomach, small intestine, colon and into the rectum from which it can be expelled. The primary function of the colon is to absorb water and electrolytes from the chyme delivered and, thus, determine the frequency, consistency, and volume of stools eliminated. The colon mixes luminal contents so that they are optimally exposed to the absorptive mucosal surface; slowly propels feces caudally to allow adequate time for the absorption of water, electrolytes, and metabolic products of bacterial degradation; allows storage of feces; and rapidly and efficiently propels during defecation. Transit time through the colon is significantly slower than through the proximal bowel and is achieved through contractions that are less coordinated.

Toxins filled fecal matter can stuck & remain in the colon for multiple months & some cases even years. This could possibly triggle cell mutation that is commonly associated with oxidative stress. A rational solution is to consider colon cleanse, colon hydrotherapy & colon detox to allow unpleasant micro-organisms and infestation toxins to be able to bypass from the colon that can reduce infection.

Colon cancer and inflammatory bowel ailment are two colonic diseasecommonly associated with oxidative stress. It has also been proposed that oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of acquired megacolon, because it causes aloss of the neuroprotective effect of tissue antioxidants, resulting in altered colonic levels of inhibitory neurotransmitters seen in this disease. It is noteworthy that Necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening condition associated with shock and infection, is another sickness in which oxidative stress appears to be implicated. Numerous studies have been focused on the role of glutathione in colonic sickness induced by oxidative stress. The impetus for these studies was provided by the report that glutathione deficiency, produced in the mouse by buthionine sulfoximine administration, resulted in severe degeneration of epithelial cells of the jejunum and colon.

In general, the role of free radicals in the pathogenesis of cancer remains to be established. Some have shown that certain indices of oxidative stress are increased in colon tissues obtained from cancers of the large bowel. It has been suggested that the observation of free radical generation in feces may provide a missing link in our understanding of the etiology of colon cancer, as the oxidation of procarcinogens either by or secondary peroxyl radicals may result in active carcinogens or mitogenic tumor promotors.

In conclusion, all doctors will agree that prevention is far better than a cure. colon detox is very interesting for maintaining overall good colon health. If you are considering colon cleanse or new to colon cleansing, always consider using only natural products such as herbal supplement as the safest & proper way of removing harmful radicals and toxins that been accumulation in the colon for a long period of time. have shown that certain indices of oxidative stress are increased in colon tissues obtained from cancers of the large bowel. It has been suggested that the observation of free radical generation in feces may provide a missing link in our understanding of the etiology of colon cancer, whereas the oxidation of procarcinogens either by or secondary peroxyl radicals may result in active carcinogens or mitogenic tumor promotors.

When the colon is clean the whole body will function significantly better since it is able to absorb more nutrients quicker without being block by toxins. If you are considering cleanse colon or new to colon detox, always consider using only natural products such as herbal supplement as the safest & proper way of removing harmful radicals and toxins that been accumulation in the colon for a long period of time.

Source: ZingArticles

Could Glutathione Be a Predictor of How Long You Will Live?

All cells in the body need water, oxygen, glucose and glutathione. The levels of glutathione in our cells could be predictive of how long we will live. For exhaustion and chronic fatigue sufferers reading this, the information that follows is vital to you!

What is glutathione? It is a tri-peptide, or a small protein composed of the amino acids cysteine, glycine and glutamate. Glutathione is made in every cell of the body and it must be made by the 3 amino acids, cysteine, glycine and glutamate. Your body is either replicating healthy cells and delaying the aging process or it is replicating unhealthy cells and speeding up the aging process. Every cell makes and recycles glutathione.The largest amount of glutathione in our bodies is found in the liver, lining of the lungs, kidney, heart and brain.

Why is glutathione important?

1. It is a major antioxidant produced by the cell. It is able to neutralize free radicals and recycle other antioxidants such as vitamins C & E. Glutathione actually helps your body more efficiently use the other antioxidants.

2. It is the body’s most effective detoxifier. It binds to undesirable toxins, pollutants, and cancer-causing chemicals, etc. and excretes them through the urine or gut.

3. It improves immune response

4. It helps regulate the cell’s vital functions, such as synthesis and repair of DNA.

5. It contributes to the production of red blood cells.

6. It helps in wound healing.

7. It helps build lean muscle mass.

8. It inhibits harmful viruses and bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.

9. It increases one’s aerobic exercise capacity by up to 13%.

While glutathione is produced naturally in our bodies, glutathione levels decrease with age at the rate of 1% a year after age 20. In addition, levels of glutathione can be reduced by stress, exercise, infection, injury and environmental toxins. People who live to 100 years of age, will have glutathione levels similar to 30-50 year olds.

Reduced glutathione levels can result in lower energy, insomnia, cellular damage, inflammation, accelerated aging, and a weakened resistance to various diseases, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis and many other diseases. People with any defined disease have decreased glutathione levels compared with healthy individuals the same age. Low levels of glutathione are actually a marker for over 200 medical conditions. It could be said that low levels of glutathione equal cellular aging, disease, and death!

Glutathione helps to improve mental function, increases energy, improves concentration, permits increased exercise, and improves heart and lung function.

WHAT FOODS ARE HIGH IN GLUTATHIONE?

Avocado, watermelon, asparagus, walnuts, grapefruit, potato, acorn, squash, strawberries, orange, tomato, cantaloupe, broccoli.

Glutathione must be produced within the cell itself. Oral glutathione in pill form is not absorbed and will be eliminated by the liver before reaching the blood stream. Injectable glutathione is degraded by the time it gets to the cell and much of it cannot pass the cell membrane.

HOW CAN A PERSON INCREASE THEIR GLUTATHIONE LEVEL?

In addition to being able to get glutathione in some foods (as listed above), the best way to increase glutathione is through a glutathione precursor. Since glutathione is produced within the cell itself and cannot be easily absorbed into the cell, a person needs to consume a product that will enable the body to produce its own glutathione within the cells. This product would be considered to be a glutathione precursor.

A good glutathione precursor helps your body neutralize free radicals and build healthy cells. Your body replaces about 1% of your cells everyday. Your skin, body, organs, tissue are all constantly in a state of regeneration. Otherwise, your body cells are constantly dying and being regenerated. Thus, in about 3 months time, your cells and you, as a person, can make positive strides in getting healthier!

TO SUMMARIZE

The levels of glutathione in our cells are predictive of how long we will live. Few other factors are as predictive of our life expectancy as is glutathione. It may be referred to as the “master antioxidant” since it regulates the actions of lesser antioxidants including vitamin C and vitamin E in the body. It is the most important antioxidant to overall health.

By Isnare.com

Your Best Defense System!

In every split of a second, there’s a war… Well, I’m not talking about those guns, goons, terrorism or bombing. Because aside from these world wars caused by man, there’s also an inner-war that needs global concern and understanding. This is war against cancer cells inside your bodies. But like every state and country, your body has also its natural set of enemies.

Every single cell in your body has its own built-in defense system called “glutathione”. The good thing here is that, each cell produces it! Your immune system is highly dependent on your cells producing glutathione to aid in the prevention of all illness and diseases.

Glutathione is the cell’s protection against free radical damages and DNA changes. A cell’s defense system weakens as the level of glutathione lowers. It is then that free radicals damage the cell that’s why they mutate and start to multiply out of control. This leads to a “tumor” or “growth”. When you have low glutathione levels, the mutated cells can turn to cancer because the immune system can no longer do its job. But having a high glutathione level means having a strong immune system that can recognize an “injured” and “mutated” cells, thus, neutralizing them.

It is important to know that a mutated cell that has become a cancer cell nourished itself by feeding on the glutathione of the healthy cells. So as the cancer cells become stronger, the healthy cells become stronger, the healthy cells become weaker. Therefore, when one’s cancer cells are introduced to chemotherapy which is a means of boosting the immune system, it is the normal cells that have been originally drained of glutathione by the cancer cells that take the beating, This is the reason why one feels so sick after he underwent a chemotherapy.

Meanwhile, the once normal cell A that has been weakened by cell B, is also expose to the poison and radiation of chemotherapy. Even if you manage to somehow recover from the first cancer, your immune system is severely damage by the radiation or chemotherapy, that it can’t do its job. The cell A has become so susceptible to free radical damage, that within 1 to 4 years, it will also fail and become a secondary cancer with even more strength than the primary.

Obviously, the key here is to increase the glutathione levels in your body. With this, the immune system will be strengthened and can destroy the mutated cell. But glutathione, which naturally builds up the immune system, has to come from within the cells themselves, and manufactured by the cells.

Here’s another fact: Antioxidant vitamins C and E should not be taken during chemotherapy treatment. It’s true that they are also immune system boosters too. But cancer cells are already stronger than the normal cells so these antioxidants in pill form only adds to their defense system against treatment by chemotherapy.

The discovery of glutathione’s importance in optimizing your immune system led to the discovery and development of Immunocal.

Glutathione is made up of three protein building blocks called amino acids. These are the glutamic acid, cysteine acid and glycine acid. The cysteine amino acid, particularly, contains a sulfur group that is responsible for the chemical properties of the whole glutathione protein.

Glutathione acts as an antioxidant, an immune system booster and detoxifier. That’s why even cells in the healthiest of bodies need to replenish their glutathione levels and supply.

As an antioxidant, glutathione participates directly in the destruction of reactive oxygen compounds called free radicals. These compounds can’t be avoided because they are by-products of a cell’s normal function. But then, exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or other sources promotes their emergence. Antioxidants depend on glutathione to function properly that’s why it is called the “Master Antioxidant”.

As an immune booster, glutathione helps build your immune system’s resistance. Lymphocytes are cells of your immune system. Glutathione is essential for lymphocytes to increase in number, produce antibodies and function efficiently.

Glutathione is also a supplemental detoxifier which helps to counter the effects of toxins we inhale and ingest. Glutathione helps in making the toxic compounds soluble by physically binding soluble by physically binding to them. The body can then eliminate these harmful toxins in the bile and urine.

You can’t ingest glutathione to feed it to your cells. So the fact that glutathione must be manufactured within your cells. The question now is, how can you raise glutathione levels in your body?

You can help this natural process to occur by giving your body the glutathione building blocks it needs. Cysteine amino acid is the limiting factor in your daily intake of building block.

Cysteine will be poorly absorbed by the body and very little of it will actually make the trip from our mouths to our cells if it travels alone as an amino acid through our digestive system. Cysteine molecules can only survive the process if they bind to each other or travel in pairs. As they form a bond between sulfur molecules, “cysteine” amino acids are then called “cysteine.” This sulfur bond is resistant to the digestive process, but they can be easily broken if submitted to heat or mechanical stress.

Now that you are aware of the daily wars happening inside your body and you already knew that you have a natural defense system against diseases and illness, go and help these natural armies to fight against the inner monster called cancer.

By EasyArticles.com

L-Glutathione Can Eliminate Toxins In The Liver

L-glutathione is the reduced form of glutathione, and is a tripeptide synthesized in the animal and plant tissues from glycine, cysteine and glutamate. Commonly known as GSH, it contains thiol groups that are maintained in a reduced state, and is a very powerful antioxidant, considered to be the key antioxidant and protective substance in the body.

Glutathione can reduce any disulfide groups in the cytoplasm within the body of the cell, and ensures that the cytoplasm is a strongly reducing medium protecting against oxidation. It has a synergistic effect with other antioxidants to protect the body against free radicals and oxidizing agents that cause so much damage to the body through what is commonly referred to as ‘oxidative stress’. However, there is more to it than that and it attaches itself to toxic chemicals and drugs in the liver and renders them into a state suitable for elimination from the body.

These toxic materials include poisonous pesticides, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and chromium and many other substances that we come into contact with due to present day pollution of our atmosphere and foodstuffs. Glutathione can also help protect the body from the effects of chemotherapy and evidence is suggesting possible links with the control of some cancers, diabetes, atherosclerosis and many other degenerative conditions caused by free radical attack and the effects of pollutants.

The way that GSH acts in the cells is that the redox state of the glutathione-glutathione disulfide couple is critical to the health of the intercellular and intracellular fluid. GSH in the reduced state of glutathione reacts with an oxidative agent such as hydrogen peroxide to form the oxidized form, glutathione disulfide and water. It hence mops up oxidizers such as peroxides and free radicals within the cytoplasm of the body’s cells, and also in between the cells. The disulfide is then converted back to GSH by the combined action of the enzyme glutathione reductase and NADPH (the reducing agent nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate).

The cycle then repeats so that two molecules of glutathione continue to reduce damaging oxidizing agents without themselves being consumed. In so doing, the NADPH becomes oxidized. A continuous supply of NADPH is needed to allow GSH to undergo these biochemical reactions, and up to 10% of our blood glucose is used by the pentose phosphate pathway by which NADPH is synthesized.

Since this cycle consumes no glutathione, it would appear that a supplement is unnecessary. However, this is not the case since the molecule takes part in other reactions in the body, particularly in the elimination of toxic heavy metals from the body. Mercury is highly reactive with the thiol that GSH is, and so will bind to form a stable Hg-sulfydryl bond in the liver. This mercury-glutathione chelate is unable to bind to other proteins or gain access to the body cells, and is eventually harmlessly secreted. The same is true of many other heavy metals that are reactive with thiol’s.

In this way the body is protected from the harmful effects of these heavy metals. However, it results in the loss of the glutathione, and the pollution of modern day living can take a heavy toll of the GSH content of our bodies. For this reason a glutathione supplement is recommended, especially for city dwellers that may be exposed to more heavy metals than those residing in rural areas.

However, the form in which this supplement is taken is very important, because the human digestive tract contains a significant amount of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase. That is an enzyme which apparently destroys glutathione before it can be absorbed. However, it can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream by dissolving the pill between the teeth and inner cheek. It has also been suggestion that the supplement could be administered by injection.

Others have suggested that rather than administer a supplement, individuals could take other supplements that contain the materials needed to stimulate the formation of GSH. Substances such as vitamin C, selenium (important in GSH biochemistry), methionine, alpha-lipoic acid and glutamine could all help to increase the body’s production of glutathione. A supplement of the constituent parts of cysteine, glycine and glutamic acid should also help. The dosage ranges recommended vary widely from 50mg to 500mg daily, and the effects of supplementation are not yet well know.

Some specific conditions that this wonder antioxidant is useful in treating include liver disease such as hepatitis, cirrhosis and so on. Patients suffering from these diseases show a massive reduction in their GSH content and prior GSH treatment appeared to offer a significant degree of protection in controlled clinical investigations. Patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C have been found to be associated with reduced GSH levels, particularly if also HIV positive.

Similar deficiencies have been noted in some lung conditions such as asthma and other pulmonary conditions. In such cases it has been demonstrated that administration of GSH supplements sufficient to restore normal levels of the substance improved the patients’ conditions by a significant amount. Its effect on atherosclerosis appears to be significant since a decreased level of GSH peroxidase has been recorded in such patients in addition to an increase in lipid peroxides, indicating that oxidation of the arterial wall had been occurring.

Anti-viral therapies that rely on GSH biochemistry for their action have been found to be less effective in those with low GSH levels, and other studies have confirmed that supplementing with GSH improves the response to interferon treatment. These results indicate the activity of oxidizing agents and free radicals in liver conditions, and in fact this has been demonstrated by tests carried out in New York and Philadelphia in the 1990s.

This suggests that the liver is prone to damage by oxidative stress, and that GSH levels may be able to be used as an indication of potential liver disease. What is evident is that a strong case can be made for glutathione supplementation as protection against potential liver, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, especially by those exposed to specific polluting agents such as primary or secondary tobacco smoke, auto and diesel fumes and chemicals and pesticides.

L-glutathione is useful, not only for the elimination of toxins in the liver, but also in protecting this large and vital organ from the oxidative stress that modern living brings. L-Glutathione and its precursors are sold over the counter at your local or internet health food store.

By EasyArticles

Is Lipoic Acid A Powerful Antioxidant?

What has been described as a “universal,” “ideal,” and “metabolic” antioxidant? Lipoic acid or alpha lipoic acid (ALA). It neutralizes free radicals in both the fatty and watery regions of cells. It helps produce the energy for our body’s normal function by converting glucose (blood sugar) into energy. Our bodies produce this fatty acid in small amounts. It occurs naturally in foods like spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, peas, Brewer’s yeast, rice bran and organ meats. ALA is used to treat many serious illnesses.

What makes ALA unique and gives it nutritional value is that it is both water and fat soluble, unlike the more common antioxidants vitamins C and E, and it appears to be able to recycle and extend the metabolic lifespan of antioxidants such as of vitamin C, glutathione, and coenzyme Q10, and it indirectly renews vitamin E. Vitamin C lessens oxidative stress while glutathione helps detoxify the liver. Coenzyme Q10 helps convert food energy into energy inside every cell while vitamin E helps with nerve conduction.

Lipoic acid is used to treat a common complication of diabetes called peripheral neuropathy. It speeds the removal of glucose from the bloodstream, at least partly by enhancing insulin function, and it reduces insulin resistance, the basis of many cases of coronary heart disease and obesity. It significantly and rapidly reduces the frequency and severity of diabetic neuropathy symptoms like burning and sharply cutting pain, prickling sensations and numbness.

Free radical damage is thought to contribute to aging and chronic illness. ALA helps neutralize those harmful chemicals. ALA can cross the blood-brain barrier; a wall of tiny vessels and structural cells, and pass easily into the brain. It is thought to protect brain and nerve tissue by preventing free radical damage and is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Because of those reasons, ALA is also used as a nutritional supplement to treat a myriad of other illnesses and diseases like cataracts, hardening of the arteries, hepatitis, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, high cholesterol levels, and even human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Though very few, a small number of side effects have been reported when using lipoic acid as a nutritional supplement. They include muscle cramps, skin rash, tingling or a “pins and needles” sensation, or headache. Because ALA can improve blood sugar control, diabetics who take medication to lower their blood sugar should be monitored by their health care provider when taking ALA. People on thyroid medications should also be under the supervision of their healthcare provider if they take this supplement as it can alter thyroid hormone levels.

By FreeArticlesForWebSites.com

Using Glutathione Therapy to Help with Health Problems

Today, the number of people with Parkinson’s disease is way too high. This disease brings with it discomfort, frustration, and pain. However, Dr. Perlmutter has discovered a new form of treatment, pioneering what is called Glutathione Therapy.

Dr. Perlmutter who pioneered Glutathione therapy has helped to change many people’s lives. The results have been good and while IV Glutathione therapy is not a miracle worker, eliminating all symptoms, it has shown to slow the progression of the disease.

In clinical trials, results show that up to 90% of participants using Glutathione therapy experience significant improvement. In the case of Parkinson’s, the brain’s dopamine receptors lose their sensitivity but with Glutathione, the receptors are restored to normal function.

These same trials also show that while dopamine changes, serotonin levels within the brain also go back to a normal level, which helps to reduce anxiety and depression.

When it comes to standard Glutathione therapy, most patients are given 1400 milligrams along with saline. For ten minutes, three times weekly, an IV is used to get the medication into the body.

There are also other forms of Glutathione to include supplements and liquid but for Parkinson’s disease, IV Glutathione is the only method that works. In addition, some doctors prefer to add in various types of amino acids and milk thistle to make the treatment even more effective.

The advances seen over the years pertaining to IV Glutathione therapy are incredible. This allows Parkinson’s patients to get off medications such as Levodopa that have harsh side effects. Anyone interested in this treatment option should remain on any prescribed drugs and then talk to their doctor about eliminating them and switching over to Glutathione therapy.

IV Glutathione therapy offers many benefits to include there being no real side effects. Unfortunately, many other medications cause not only side effects, but also increased risk of serious and life-threatening problems to include stroke and heart attack.

To get started on Glutathione therapy, the price ranges between $300 and $400 a month but usually, this FDA-approved drug is covered by insurance.

Once a patient with Parkinson’s disease starts on IV Glutathione therapy provided they respond to the treatment, they would be on it for life but considering that it allows them to regain some normalcy, it is a small sacrifice to make. As an FDA approved product, doctors and patients are getting very excited about the many advances provided by Glutathione therapy. While Parkinson’s disease is the primary target for using IV Glutathione therapy, this treatment has also shown promise for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other illnesses.

As you can see, this is without doubt, an exciting breakthrough. Using Glutathione therapy, people can start to take back some control over their lives. The results have surprised many and continue to make huge improvements in people’s lives. This treatment option is getting more and more attention as being the best solution not only for Parkinson’s but other diseases too.




By FreeArticlesForWebsites

Acetyl-L-Carnitine, The Next Anti-Aging Brain Nutrient

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is an amino acid derivative instrumental in the biochemical synthesis of acetycholine, an important neurotransmitter without which you would be unable to learn or to memorize anything. However, it has another property: it may be able to provide sufficient nutrition to the brain as to allow it to withstand the ravages of time and aging.

Since time immemorial mankind has sought the elixir of life that can be used to give humans everlasting life. While this has yet to be found there is increasing evidence that research is slowly but steadily identifying the factors that cause aging, and identifying means of overcoming them. Acetyl-L-carnatine is one of those amino acid supplements that is essential to life, and that when combined with other supplements can produce a synergistic effect that shows signs of combating at least some of the oxidative changes in the body that cause aging.

Anti-oxidants such as Vitamins C and E have long been used in attempts to fight against the oxidative effects of free radicals on the body; free radicals that once were the by products of our metabolism and easily combated, but which are now being increasingly generated in our environment through pollution, radiation, excessive exposure to sunlight and cigarette smoke. All of these contribute to aging through the disruption and destruction of body cells by these free radicals.

Acetylcholine is well known to biochemical historians, being one of the first neurotransmitters discovered, and its importance in maintaining the proper operation of the brain is indisputable. It is an essential part of the process that allows brain cells to communicate and to create memory. Not only that, but also to recall memories and to tell muscles when they should and should not contract. As people age their brain cells become less efficient, this mainly being due to a decline in the acetyl-L-carnitine that produces actylcholine in the body with the aid of the enzyme choline acetyl transferase.

To express it simply, acetyl-l-carnitine enables neurons to maintain communication when the levels of enzymes and other necessary chemicals are falling throughout the body due to the slowing of the body with age. If we cannot produce it ourselves, then we can either supply it directly though a supplement, or supply its precursor so that the body has the raw materials to produce it.

Most biochemistry is active throughout our lives: we simply need to provide the raw materials for the necessary reactions to take place. We can do that through supplements. It has been established that a supplement of acetyl-L-carnitine slows the natural mental decline that begins to occur in middle age and to improved memory and concentration. It is extremely useful that it is easily soluble in both water and fats, so that it can be carried to any part of the body that requires an antioxidant effect.

Studies have also indicated that supplemental acetyl-L-carnitine can promote improved energy generation through its effect on fatty acids. This support of the metabolism of fatty acids is indicated by its effect on ‘liver spots’, which are a recognized sign of aging. These brown spots can be seen on the skin as people age, but the lipofuscin that causes it also affects the internal organs and the brain, and can also appear on the lens of the eye. Lipofuscin is composed of waste products such as damaged proteins and oxidized fats and other lipids. Its production can be held back by antioxidants, and are reduced by supplemental acetyl-L-carnitine.

This is yet another incidence of how ALC can be used to slow done or even reverse, the effects of aging on the human metabolism and brain functions. Animal studies have indicated that this effect is significantly greater when it is used in conjunction with lipoic acid.

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a powerful antioxidant, occurring naturally in beef, kidney, and green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli. It is also a coenzyme, working with with other metabolic enzymes to produce energy. Moreover, ALA raises the levels of a substance called glutathione which is critical for the proper functioning of the neurons. However, it is their effect on mitichondria that makes a combination of ALA and ALC so interesting in human biology.

Mitochondria are responsible for the generation of power in all cells in the human body through the biosynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) responsible for all metabolic functions and cell generation. Without mitochondria, oxygen cannot be used. ATP is the substance that is responsible for carrying chemical energy in the body. During aging, mitochondria are damaged by oxidation through free radicals. This induced a general decline in energy and cognitive functions.

However it was found in a study with rats that when acetyl-L-carnitine was provided as a supplement, the age-related decline in mitochondrial activity was reversed and oxidation of fatty acids was increased. As a result of this fatty acid oxidation, even more oxidation damage to the mitochondria occurred. When a supplement of alpha lipoic acid was also given, however, the mitochondrial oxidation was reduced, so that the mitochondria produced a higher energy output with less oxidation damage.

In fact the two worked synergistically, the benefit of acetyl-L-Carnitine and alpha lipoic acid used together being more effective than when given separately. It is possibly the discovery of more such synergistic effects that will eventually lead to longer life spans!

After a period of time, the old rats took on the energy of much younger rats, and the aging process appeared to have reversed. Tests are now under way on humans, and while the doses needed are large, initial results of a 2001 study at San Francisco State University have indicated a reduction in the oxidative stress induced by exercise of a test group in comparison with a placebo control group.

This type of stress as in indication of damage caused by energy output, and relates to aging. It appears, therefore, that a supplement consisting of both l-Carnitine and ALA is more effective that either alone in improving the degeneration of energy levels as well the decline in cognitive and memory functions that comes with age. It is not yet, however, the elixir of life!




By FreeArticlesForWebSites

Benefits Of Glutathione Therapy

Although one of the primary benefits of Glutathione has to do with Parkinson’s disease, it has been found that when a person has a Glutathione deficiency, other health issues can arise. Since Glutathione is one of the primary antioxidant enzymes, a protein made naturally in the body to help protect cells, if this is low or non-existence, trouble is imminent.

For maintaining overall good health, liquid Glutathione is needed. In fact, when it comes to the body’s cells being able to fight off damage caused by free radicals, this one protein type is the most important. Comprised of three amino acid types, Glutathione can be found in every single cell. For this protein to work as it should, it has to be generated within the cell.

In addition to being found in the body, Glutathione also comes from a person’s diet. Although not considered an essential nutrient, it is still vital. After all Glutathione can be created from L-cystein, L-glutamate, and glycine amino acids. When at the appropriate levels, the benefits of Glutathione are incredible, keeping a person’s immune system working at normal function.

Another of the many benefits of Glutathione is that it aids in the multiplication of lymphocytes. Experts now conclude that there are actually three main benefits of Glutathione specific to the immune response system. First, it works as an antioxidant, second, a booster for the overall immune system and its response, and finally, a detoxifier. To ensure the body can maintain a high level of function for the immune system, Glutathione plays a critical part.

Other important benefits of Glutathione or having a Glutathione deficiency includes protection the body’s health, improving endurance in people living with AIDS, reducing high levels of oxidized Vitamins C and E, maintaining the cellular structure, protecting red blood cells, and even keeping brain function at a normal level. As more and more studies are being performed on Glutathione deficiency, researchers are amazed at the list of benefits of Glutathione that they find.

What happens in the body is that sometime during your twenties and thirties, the level of Glutathione starts to diminish, usually as much as 10% every ten years. As we get older, we begin to feel tired, achy, etc. With the research that has been done regarding both Glutathione deficiency and the benefits of Glutathione, they have found that Glutathione given intravenously, not orally, can make a significant difference in the way a person feels but also the way in which the body fights off illness and disease.

If you decide to take the liquid Glutathione, we suggest you start with the 100 milligram option, gradually increasing to 500. However, there are even supplements that come in 1800 milligrams but in this case you should talk to your doctor prior to taking that high of a dose. The liquid Glutathione or Glutathione injection coupled with a well-balanced diet, daily exercise, and a stress-free life can have a powerful and positive impact on life.




By FreeArticlesForWebSites