When you are healthy…inflammation is actually the immune system’s first response to infection or irritation. It’s a good thing! However, uncontrolled, chronic or systemic inflammation is a distinct kind of BAD inflammation, the dark side of what should be a healing process. It occurs when the tissue is continuously injured by infection, stress, irritation, etc…thereafter, chronic inflammation ensues. This is how what should be a healthy defense system turns into a ruthless, life-threatening destroyer.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventation (CDC), Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States.  A TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild,” i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to “severe,” i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury.

Types of Severe Tramautic Brain Injury (TBI)

Closed – an injury to the brain caused by movement of the brain within the skull. Causes may include falls, motor vehicle crash, or being struck by or with an object.

Penetrating – an injury to the brain caused by a foreign object entering the skull. Causes may include firearm injuries or being struck with a sharp object.

Meeting the Challenge of Severe TBI with Glutathion Therapies

While there is no one size fits all solution, there are interventions that can be effective to help limit the impact of this injury. These measures include early management and treatment of severe TBI. One treatment that is very helpful for those suffering from a TBI, is glutathione therapies. Not all glutathione supplementation is the same.

Potential Affects of Severe TBI

A non-fatal severe TBI may result in an extended period of unconsciousness (coma) or amnesia after the injury. For individuals hospitalized after a TBI, almost half (43%) have a related disability one year after the injury. A TBI may lead to a wide range of short- or long-term issues affecting:

• Cognitive Function (e.g., attention and  memory)
• Motor Function (e.g., extremity weakness, impaired coordination and balance)
• Sensation (e.g., hearing, vision, impaired perception and touch)
• Emotion (e.g., depression, anxiety, aggression, impulse control, personality changes)

Approximately 5.3 million Americans are living with a TBI-related disability and the consequences of severe TBI can affect all aspects of an individual’s life.10 This can include relationships with family and friends, as well as their ability to work or be employed, do household tasks, drive, and/or participate in other activities of daily living.

Epidemiology of Stroke
Stroke, a reduction in blood flow to the brain, is caused by blockage in a cerebral artery by a clot or embolus (ischemic stroke) or rupture of the blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). Both forms of stroke result in damage or death of neurons in the affected brain
region, leading to loss of brain function. Stroke is a major problem in North America, and indeed the world, given the mortality and morbidity associated with cerebrovascular disease. There are over 40,000 new or recurrent strokes in Canada annually [8] and 700,000 in the US [9]. Estimates of worldwide stroke prevalence (number of individuals with the disease) range from 1.7 to 20 per 1000 individuals [10]. Thus, stroke accounts for 9.6% of all deaths in the world [9-11], making it the fourth leading cause of death internationally [12], and the third highest cause of death in the US [9]. Increasing age is a major risk factor for stroke. The prevalence of silent cerebral infarction (a brain lesion that is assumed to be a result of cerebral ischemia, found incidentally in otherwise healthy individuals) is 11% for the age group 55-64, and increases to 43% of individuals older than 85 [9]. Older patients have less chance of surviving a stroke: 37% of patients 45-64 will die after a hemorrhagic stroke, whereas that number rises to 44% of patients over 65 years of age [9]. Half of all ischemic stroke patients who survive will have moderate to severe impairments, making a major impact of stroke the disabilities arising from brain damage. Stroke is a major cause of disabilities [8, 9, 12]; the severely disabled require long-term care, which has high costs ($2.7 billion a year to the Canadian economy [8]; $62.7 billion in the American economy [9]).

Inflammation
Most of us have some idea what inflammation is. If a wound gets hot, turns red, hurts, and swells, we recognize that inflammation is at work. In this instance, inflammation is a beneficial process, serving to immobilize the area of injury as the rest of the immune system mobilizes to heal.

Regardless of the source of assault on our bodies, inflammation is the first-alert mechanism that calls into action the cells responsible for surveillance and protection, heralding them to go to work and limit the damage. These cells attack and destroy the invaders, then clean up the damaged cells, repairing and clearing as they go, until a healthy state is restored. As such, inflammation is your body’s first line of defense against injury or infection.

Silent Inflammation

Unlike the above example, researchers now recognize another kind of inflammation: silent inflammation, or SI. This type of internal inflammation has an insidious nature and is the culprit behind the many chronic diseases that are primarily caused by poor lifestyle habits and environmental pollutants. The chronic and continuous low-level demand that silent inflammation places on the body’s defense systems results in an immune-system breakdown. In SI there is no regulated progression of a healthy inflammatory response, no planned sequence from the first alarm to the formation of the last new cell. Many of these reactions become intermingled and hamper one another.

The body tissues themselves may lose their ability to recognize cells that are “self ” from those that are not, and the body may mistakenly identify its own cells as foreign invaders. This internal programming error then continues to trigger and retrigger immune responses, setting the stage for autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and scleroderma. The result is chaos, and what is even more disturbing is that this process may be happening year after year without our even being aware of it.

We now know that inflammation plays a central role in the chronic illness that remains our number-one killer: coronary artery disease. In fact, elevated markers of silent inflammation, such as homocysteine, CRP, and Lp(a), have been found to be more predictive of heart disease than such traditional risk factors as elevated cholesterol levels (50 percent of those hospitalized for heart disease have normal cholesterol levels).

A landmark study showed that people with high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), one of the cardinal markers of inflammation, were over four times more likely to have heart attacks than those with low CRP levels. Researchers then began to link C-reactive protein, along with other markers of inflammation, to a wide range of chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and even cancer. Chronic silent inflammation is now accepted as a warning that something is drastically out of balance in a person’s overall health.

Although chronic inflammation can cause a variety of disorders, many of us (and unfortunately this includes many physicians) do not know the warning signs of this kind of inflammation or the best ways to treat it. This knowledge is critical because, if a person has one inflammatory condition, the odds that he or she will develop another condition increase dramatically. Researchers have discovered, for example, that a woman with rheumatoid arthritis has a 100 percent increased risk of experiencing a myocardial infarction. And other recent research has demonstrated that higher CRP levels are also associated with age-related macular degeneration, so the same individual can have more than one condition caused by SI. For all these reasons, slowing down this chronic inflammation syndrome is vital to successful age management, so it is crucial that everyone becomes aware of it, understands its causes, and takes measures to stop it.

Becoming aware of your body’s own inflammation can also be accomplished by measuring oxidative stress levels. The Oxidata Test is the world’s first and only non-invasive urine test that measures the amount of free radicals or oxidants in the body within five minutes.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Everyone has, by now, heard of free radicals and the importance of antioxidants in the diet. This test enables the user to measure the amount of oxidative stress the body is enduring and the results of antioxidant intervention. Many, if not all diseases, afflict the body through oxidative damage. The free radical theory of aging says that it is the primary cause of aging itself.

Free radicals are simply unpaired electrons. Electrons like to be electrically neutral. When they are not they quickly look for something to latch on to thereby creating a new molecule. This is how many chemical reactions take place. Without these oxidation-reduction reactions, not only would life not take place, but many of the other important functions of the body wouldn’t either. For example, white blood cells often kill their bacterial or viral enemies with free radicals.

Free radicals are like fire. Properly confined they are beneficial to the body and, fortunately, the body has means to confine them. These are called antioxidants, and they look for excess free radical activity and neutralize it. It is only when free radicals become unconfined and excessive and start attacking normal, healthy tissue that disease takes place. This happens when antioxidant activity is inadequate, hence the importance of maintaining proper antioxidant activity in the body.

This test measures the amount of a free radical called malondialdehyde (MDA) in the urine. It is a measure of the overall antioxidant capacity of the body. This test is 40 to 50 times more reliable than a MDA blood test. Accuracy is within the range of 90%.

The test is conducted by comparing the color change in a urine sample with a chart. Rather than guessing if an antioxidant program is working or whether it is working too well, this test provides a scientific measurement of results. The test is best taken as a before and after snapshot of the effectiveness of antioxidant intervention through supplementation or dietary and exercise changes.

GlutaSource offers the most effective, reduced glutathione in easy delivery methods.  Glutathione from GlutaSource assists in preventing ROS damage by “scavenging” free radicals. To place an order please visit our products page or call us at 941.330.8553. 

ABSTRACT

There is significant evidence that the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Friedreich’s ataxia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, may involve the generation of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial dysfunction. Here, we review the evidence for a disturbance of glutathione homeostasis that may either lead to or result from oxidative stress in neurodegenerative disorders. Glutathione is an important intracellular antioxidant that protects against a variety of different antioxidant species. An important role for glutathione was proposed for the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, because a decrease in total glutathione concentrations in the substantia nigra has been observed in preclinical stages, at a time at which other biochemical changes are not yet detectable. Because glutathione does not cross the blood±brain barrier other treatment options to increase brain concentrations of glutathione including glutathione analogs, mimetics or precursors are discussed.

Gluta Brain Function

Eye Exercises can be an amazing option for brain function and to rehabilitate from various brain injuries.

Here at GlutaSource we believe a solid program for brain recovery includes both Glutathione as well as therapeutics such as the one listed on this post. Please consult your health care provider before starting any brain based therapy.

Better Brain & Balance in 30 day’s is a multi-sensory program for improving brain function. It is an enjoyable activity, or “exercise,” which can be customized for all ages and skill levels for implementation in clinic, school or home.

GlutaStat for Chronic Upper Respiratory Infections

A product called GlutaStat which is Nebulized Glutathione along with a few key ingredients. Glutathione has been shown to up regulate the bodies immune system as well as fight fungus, bacterial and viral infections.

What is oxidative stress?

Your body constantly reacts with oxygen as you breathe and your cells produce energy. As a consequence of this activity, highly reactive molecules are produced known as free radicals. Free radicals interact with other molecules within cells. This can cause oxidative damage to proteins, membranes and genes. You have probably seen some rusty metal for example, like a tin can. This is called “oxidation”, or the process of oxygen reacting with metal. Oxidative stress is similar, the meal you had just a few hours ago is probably oxidizing in your digestive system and cells right now. Wouldn’t it be great if we could slow this “rusting” down inside our bodies? Well we can – with “anti” oxidants, such as glutathione.

It is essential to maintain a steady level of antioxidants from a healthy diet and proper supplementation, if we didn’t, we would literally “rust to death” in next to no time. In your body, the antioxidant process is similar to stopping an apple from browning. Once you cut an apple, it begins to brown, but if you dip it in orange juice, which contains vitamin C, it stays white.

Oxidative damage has been implicated in the cause of many diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s and has an impact on the body’s aging process. External factors such as pollution, sunlight and smoking also trigger the production of free radicals.

Oxidative stress describes the state of the body in which the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including free radicals, overwhelms the body’s antioxidant defenses (glutathione).Our body tries to maintain a constant balance between free radicals and antioxidants. 

Free radicals arising from metabolism, disease, exercise, and environmental factors like smoking, pollution, UV rays are being neutralized by the antioxidants (mainly glutathione) in our cells.

A free radical searches out other free radicals and starts a chain reaction that occurs at a frightening speed. In a recent publication by Caroline Bay who worked for the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science of the Royal Society in the UK, the author states that some free radicals react at a rate of more than 6 x 1021 billion molecules per second. Our bodies can, therefore, be exposed to billions and billions of damaging free radicals on a daily basis. No wonder that people who live for many decades start to develop degenerative diseases and other negative effects of aging. The presence of too many ROS/free radicals leads to oxidative damage to the molecules in our cells including lipids, proteins and DNA, and this in turn can destroy cell function. In this situation our body is under – “Oxidative Stress”. Oxidative stress leads to loss in cell function and eventually to cell death, and contributes to loss in organ function. This process leads to the development of most chronic diseases and exacerbates existing conditions. Clinical research has shown that glutathione can reduce oxidative stress in the body.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)

Reactive oxygen species are small molecules that include oxygen ions, oxygen free radicals, and peroxides, both inorganic and organic. These molecules are highly reactive due to the presence of unpaired electrons. ROS form as a natural byproduct of the normal metabolism of oxygen and have important roles in cell signaling. However, during times of disease, exercise, or environmental stress (e.g. smoking, UV or heat exposure) ROS levels can increase dramatically, which can result in significant damage to cell structures. This accumulates into the situation known as oxidative stress (see above). Cells are normally able to defend themselves against ROS damage through antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione.

GlutaSource offers the most effective, reduced glutathione in easy delivery methods.  Glutathione from GlutaSource assists in preventing ROS damage by “scavenging” free radicals. To place an order please visit our products page or call us at 941.330.8553. 

Yours in health,

John Lieurance, ND, DC

Lifestyle Choices

Avoiding excessive intake of pro-oxidants such as smoke, excessive alcohol, exposure to noxious chemicals or ultraviolet light, are a good start in the quest to minimize oxidative stress.  The world in which we live, however, doesn’t always cooperate with us.

Most fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, and should be a part of your daily diet. And whenever possible avoid processed or preserved foods, and charred meats, which all can have negative oxidative effects on your body.

But Life Gets Busy…

It’s no secret getting proper nutrition can be challenging in the best of circumstances. And who among us wants to worry if he or she is pushing too hard during exercise or play. Add to that, the increased nutritional demands on athletes and active people.  It is easy to find yourself behind in your body’s nutritional needs.

The Best Defense

Nothing is better for health than a diet of whole, fresh foods rich in antioxidants, adequate hydration, and plenty of sleep.  Unfortunately, the reality is that the harder we work and play, the more we try to pack into our lives, the more our diet and sleep typically suffer.

Proper Supplementation with Glutathione…

Proper supplementation can help you bridge the gap between a “perfect diet” and your diet, and help keep you at your optimal health and strength.

The role of vitamin C and vitamin E is mainly for protection against oxidative stress on the cellular membrane. The concentration of both vitamin C and Vitamin E decreases by age, due to the decline of an internal anti-oxidant called glutathione, which decreases by age. Glutathione activates the inactive (oxidized) vitamin C, which in- turn activates the inactive (oxidized) vitamin E. The role of vitamin E is to protect the cellular membranes from free radical damage.

While glutathione is found in food, but its concentration does not significantly increase, neither through conventional food nor through oral supplementation. This is why GlutaSource has developed two clinically effective routes of deliver: nebulization or suppository method. Each provides the body with stable, reduced glutathione that at the cellular level is highly absorbed and bio-available.

In 1996, an anti-oxidant researcher at University of Berkeley, California, Dr. Packer, a professor of molecular and cell biology discovered that R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, an anti-oxidant and an endogenous co-enzyme in the metabolism of glucose, significantly increases the internal production of glutathione, which re-energizes vitamin C and E. Increasing your levels of glutathione via proper supplementation can be your best defense against oxidative stress.

If you have any quastions regarding proper supplementation with glutathione or need to place an order, feel free to call us at (941) 330-8553

Glutathione is one of the body’s most power detoxifying agents, especially useful in chemical and metal sensitivities/toxicities. Recent clinical findings suggest that many individuals need it, although they do not test deficient in cysteine, glycine, or glutamic acid (its components).  In my experience, numerous patients, despite having the components, cannot synthesize it in adequate amounts. Perhaps a fogged-out patient is also fogged out internally and is having a rough time synthesizing glutathione until you have eliminated other factors. Glutathione is a tri-peptide with free thiol (-SH) groups, making it a very powerful antioxidant, anticarcinogen, and binder of xenobiotics (toxic chemicals) and toxic metals (especially mercury, gold, cadmium, and copper).  Selenium works synergistically with GSH, as does vitamin E and zinc. When there is an increased need for antioxidant activity, it is theorized that most cells will require GSH from the plasma (which gets it from the liver) as opposed to making it. When the liver’s synthesis capability is diminished (as it easily can be from chronic chemical and metal exposure), the body’s GSH requirement must be obtained by diet and supplementation. Dietary, raw fruits and vegetables (especially spinach and parsley) can raise plasma GSH levels, although it is wise to also supplement.

Supplementation with glutathione can be tricky business. Oral forms of glutathione are broken down in the gut and are not absorbed, making them worthless. The most efficacious routes of administration are nebulization, inhalant, suppository, and injectable (e.g., IM and IV routes) forms. For home usage, we have found nebulization and suppository forms to be the easiest routes of delivery. Both methods provide even, stable levels of reduced glutathione for the entire body.  Precursors are substances that upregulate the body’s ability to produce its own glutathione.  Supplementing with precursors in addition to reduced glutathione can be advantageous when taken in the proper amounts. One example of those is N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). Interesting, is that animal studies have shown supplementation with glycine and glutamic acid had no effect on plasma and tissue GSH. Removal of chemicals, toxins, and heavy metals during excretion via the urine and bile is essential. This is promoted with increased hydration and a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

If your body is harboring heavy metals, it is prudent to increase supplementation with high potency glutathione products. If you are interested in obtaining the highest potency, reduced form of glutathione, log on to GlutaSource.com or call and speak to one of the representatives at 941.330.8553.

The Many Benefits of Glutathione

It is the major endogenous antioxidant produced by the cells, participating directly in the neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds, as well as maintaining exogenous antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, in their reduced (active) forms.

• Regulation of the nitric oxide cycle, which is critical for life but can be problematic if unregulated.
• Through direct conjugation, it detoxifies many xenobiotics (foreign compounds) and carcinogens, both organic and inorganic. This includes heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic.
• It is essential for the immune system to exert its full potential, e.g., modulating antigen presentation to lymphocytes, thereby influencing cytokine production and type of response (cellular or humoral) that develops, enhancing proliferation of lymphocytes, thereby increasing magnitude of response, enhancing killing activity of cytotoxic T cells and NK cells, and regulating apoptosis, thereby maintaining control of the immune response.
• It plays a fundamental role in numerous metabolic and biochemical reactions such as DNA synthesis and repair, protein synthesis, prostaglandin synthesis, amino acid transport, and enzyme activation. Thus, every system in the body can be affected by the state of the glutathione system, especially the immune system, the nervous system, the gastrointestinal system and the lungs.
• 

An important ongoing debate in the field of psychiatry is whether inflammation in the body is a consequence of or contributor to major depression.

Inflammation in the body is common to many diseases, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and diabetes. Depression has also been linked to an inflammation marker in blood called C-reactive protein (CRP).

Dr. William Copeland at Duke University Medical Center and his colleagues tested the direction of association between depression and CRP in a large sample of adolescent and young adult volunteers. By following the children into young adulthood, they were able to assess the changes over time in both their CRP levels and any depressive symptoms or episodes.

They found that elevated levels of CRP did not predict later depression, but the number of cumulative depressive episodes was associated with increased levels of CRP.

“Our results support a pathway from childhood depression to increased levels of CRP, even after accounting for other health-related behaviors that are known to influence inflammation. We found no support for the pathway from CRP to increased risk for depression,” said Copeland.

These findings suggest that, by this measure, depression is more likely to contribute to inflammation in the body as opposed to arise as a consequence of inflammation in the body. The highest levels of CRP were found in those who had endured the wear and tear of multiple depressive episodes. This suggests the possibility that long-term emotional distress, beginning in childhood, may lay the foundation for inflammatory processes that lead, in middle age, to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

“Depression is a recurring disorder for many people. Thus the finding that repeated episodes of depression contribute to inflammation in the body highlights an important role for untreated depression as a contributor to a range of serious medical problems,” commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. “These data add to growing evidence of the medical importance of effectively treating depression.”

A promising treatment for both depression and inflammation is glutathione. Glutathione is a very straightforward molecule that is produced naturally all the time in your body. It is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids — cysteine, glycine and glutamine. The secret of its power is the sulfur (SH) chemical groups it contains.

Glutathione is so important because it is responsible for keeping so many of the keys to wellness. It is critical for immune function and controlling inflammation. It is the master detoxifier and the body’s main antioxidant, protecting our cells and making our energy metabolism run well. And the good news is that you can do many things to increase this natural and critical molecule in your body.

One essential mechanism for raising glutathione in the body is viasupplementation. GlutaSource.info provides a variety of delivery methods that effectively increase glutathione levels in the body.