When you think of antioxidants, you may think of vitamin C, A, and E. But while these antioxidants are important for your health, there are two antioxidants that you may not know of. These two are glutathione and N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) and they are becoming increasingly popular in the wellness industry, for good reason. Although these two antioxidants both play important roles in your body, they are slightly different. In this article, we will look at NAC vs glutathione: what they do, the benefits they can have on your health, and the differences between them.
Glutathione is an antioxidant in your body that helps to both repair and protect against cellular damage. There are many different antioxidants. However, many healthcare professionals consider glutathione to be the master antioxidant as it enhances the benefits of the other antioxidants and is in every cell in your body.
Your body naturally produces glutathione. However, the levels of glutathione can reduce due to age, high blood sugar levels, excessive alcohol use, excessive exercise, exposure to toxins, and illness. Your natural production of glutathione reduces by 30% in your forties, and by the age of 65, the production is 50% less.
Three molecules make up this antioxidant, namely cysteine, glycine, and glutamate. These molecules are glutathione precursors as they are needed in the body to produce glutathione. The higher the quantity of these precursors, the more glutathione your body can make.
Foods are also natural sources of glutathione; some food sources of glutathione are:
Whilst these sources are rich in glutathione, your body poorly absorbs this form of glutathione, and depending on cooking and storage methods, additional glutathione can be lost.
N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) is a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, one of the building blocks of glutathione. It is the only building block that contains sulfur, and without this building block, glutathione cannot be made.
When you consume NAC in the form of food or supplements, your gut absorbs the NAC, transports it to your liver, and the liver converts it to cysteine. The cysteine is then converted to glutathione. This glutathione leaves the liver and is transported to your cells.
Food sources are one way to get NAC naturally, and some food sources rich in NAC are:
Food sources rich in sulfur are also good options if you are looking to boost your NAC levels. The sulfur in food sources makes NAC; the more sulfur you have the more NAC your body produces. Some food sources rich in sulfur are:
NAC has many benefits apart from being a precursor to glutathione. One of the well-known benefits is its ability to break up mucus. Mucus is a natural substance in your body, but due to illness the mucus can increase and can aggravate symptoms. The key to breaking up mucus is to break the sulfur bonds within the mucus. Inhaled NAC can do this, decreasing the mucus and helping to alleviate symptoms.
NAC also plays a role in mental health and is used to relieve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and depression. This is done by replenishing the amount of glutathione in the brain.
Homocysteine is an amino acid and is used by folate, vitamin B6, and B12. However, if levels of homocysteine are high, it increases the risk for strokes, heart attacks, and dementia.
NAC can help to reduce these levels of homocysteine. In a study, as the levels of homocysteine improved, the participant's blood pressure, a marker of heart health, also decreased.
Glutathione plays a crucial role in your body as one of the most potent antioxidants. During cellular processes within your body, your body creates free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can cause damage to your cells.
The production of free radicals also increases during illness, which can result in complications. This can increase the severity of illness and contribute to additional conditions arising.
Glutathione helps to reduce the free radicals in your body, reducing the risk of cellular damage. If levels of glutathione are low, the levels of free radicals increase. Therefore, it is important to maintain your glutathione levels. This is one of the reasons why glutathione is a popular supplement.
Your immune cells rely on glutathione to function properly. Killer T cells are immune cells that help to neutralize infections. When a group of individuals was given a glutathione supplement the number of killer cells increased compared to the group given the placebo. Other studies have found that the number of white blood cells also increases.
This may be one of the lesser-known benefits of glutathione. There is evidence that your levels of magnesium depend on your levels of glutathione. In studies, individuals with a low level of glutathione also had a low level of magnesium. When glutathione was given to these individuals, not only did the glutathione level increase but the magnesium levels did as well.
Glutathione also has a relationship with antioxidants such as vitamin C and E and helps to regenerate these antioxidants. This relationship is synergistic as glutathione helps to restore vitamin C, and vitamin C helps to maintain glutathione.
Glutathione can bind to toxic metals such as mercury. Once bound, the glutathione carries it to the urine and it is then excreted. This benefit is very useful for current times with the increase of pollution which could result in toxic metal contamination.
Both supplemental forms of NAC and glutathione are available in tablet, spray, liquid, powdered form, or through an IV. Both supplements can have some side effects. The side effects are individualized and depend on the individual taking them.
Side effects of NAC are generally mild and commonly include:
In some cases more serious side effects such as persistent headaches, low blood pressure and asthma attacks can occur, but these side effects are rare.
Another important note for NAC supplements is that this year the FDA determined that NAC supplements are excluded from the dietary supplements list. This means that the availability of NAC online and in health stores has been reduced. NAC is still available; however, it requires the approval of a healthcare provider.
Side effects of glutathione are similar to NAC with the common side effects being:
A more serious side effect that can happen is asthma attacks; however, it is a rare side effect.
Glutathione supplements are available from healthcare providers as well as online and in health stores. The quality and safety is not a guarantee, as the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements, but there is a higher availability of them compared to NAC. If you look at availability in the NAC vs glutathione choice, glutathione does come out on top. The best type of glutathione to get is Liposomal Glutathione. If you're going to choose one supplement, it's better to go with glutathione for most direct antioxidant effect.
Adrenal fatigue (AF) is a group of symptoms that individuals may experience after periods of chronic stress. Your adrenal glands enable your body to respond to short-term stressors by releasing stress hormones. If the stress becomes chronic stress, your adrenal glands can become depleted.
To support your adrenal glands, your body has the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) System. Six circuits of related organ systems make up the NEM system, and one circuit is the Detoxification circuit.
The liver, gut, and immune system form this circuit and are responsible for removing waste products, toxins, and other chemicals from your body. In the case of Adrenal Fatigue, imbalances in this circuit can occur. This can result in the circuit being unable to remove these products from your body.
Some symptoms of an imbalance in the Detoxification circuit are an increase in infections, and sensitivities to food, metals, and chemicals. As a result of infection and sensitivity reactions, it can cause your glutathione levels to become low and can cause additional symptoms of low glutathione.
Glutathione has a range of benefits, and since there is a chance of glutathione becoming low during Adrenal Fatigue, it may seem obvious to supplement with glutathione. But before you go out to the store and stock up on some glutathione and NAC, it’s important to consider the cautions with taking these supplements.
During Adrenal Fatigue, your body can become very sensitive to products which include supplemental glutathione and NAC. Instead of helping to ease symptoms, the supplements can result in further imbalances and more symptoms.
Because of this, it’s important to chat with your healthcare provider and develop a plan that will help provide you with relief as well as guide you in terms of supplements. Those with adrenal fatigue can also be very sensitive to stronger detoxification supplements like glutathione, so care must be taken to start low and go slow. If you start to have muscle aches, headaches, body tenderness, and extra fatigue after taking glutathione or NAC, make sure to back down on the dosing and see if the symptoms improve.
After this, you may be thinking, which is best if you compare NAC vs glutathione? These two supplements are both important in your body and both have multiple benefits. Whilst NAC does convert to glutathione and could be why NAC has its benefits, both antioxidants play important roles in your body. However, if you are looking to cut to the chase and cut out the processes your body requires to convert the NAC to glutathione, then glutathione wins the NAC vs glutathione choice.
If are currently trying to choose between NAC vs glutathione, you can chat with the Dr. Lam team for guidance with a free initial consultation at +1 (626) 571-1234 or click here.
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If we look at NAC vs glutathione for relieving symptoms of Covid, both play important roles in relieving symptoms and could play a potential role in preventing Covid. Multiple studies are underway focusing on the prevention of Covid with the use of NAC and glutathione.
