Glutathione, Heavy Metal Overload, Autism
It is time for another talk on glutathione. I discuss glutathione frequently because it is absolutely essential to your wellbeing and not much about it makes it into the popular press.
Everyone Should Have a Working Knowledge of Glutathione
We will discuss glutathione in two different contexts. The first has to do with heavy metal overload and the other is autism.
Glutathione is Directly Related to Disease Resistance and Longevity
But first I need to bring you up to speed on a couple of basics. Glutathione is made of three amino acids. The amount of glutathione in your body is directly related to your disease resistance and longevity. Glutathione is the master antioxidant and activates other antioxidants such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E and coenzyme Q10. It can also attach to toxins and usher them out of the cell.
Thimerosal and Neurotoxicity
One interesting study was published in Neurotoxicology in 2005. The title is Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is associated with glutathione depletion: protection with glutathione precursors. Research was done in association with the University of Arkansas.
It should be noted that thimerosal is about 50% ethyl mercury and has been used for years as a preservative in vaccines. Environmental studies have shown ethyl mercury to be a potent neurotoxin especially to the developing brain.
Glutathione Renders Thimerosal Inert
Mercury is highly attracted to the sulfur groups of the glutathione molecule and the two readily bind together. The body then removes this glutathione-toxin complex. Therefore, glutathione provides a primary defense for removing mercury from the cell.
In this study, nerve cells in cultures were found to have increased resistance to damage from the introduction of thimerosal if they had high glutathione levels and conversely, cells with lower glutathione levels were more prone to thimerosal damage if they had lower glutathione levels.
The study showed that adding NAC or n-acetyl cysteine helped the cell increase its glutathione levels and therefore increased its damage from the introduction of the highly toxic thimerosal with ethyl mercury.
Thimerosal is Still Used in Some Vaccines
Thimerosal has been removed from most infant vaccines as of 2005. Infants who received all the recommended vaccinations prior to 2005 would have received 237 pg (pico grams) or .02 mcg of mercury by 18 months of age just from thimerosal. This doesn't count mercury and other toxic metals from other sources. Thimerosal containing vaccines are still given to pregnant women, the elderly and to children in developing countries. Keep in mind that vaccines still contain aluminum, formaldehyde and gelation (a source of glutamate).
Don't Assume Glutathione Levels are OK
Conclusion? Many MD's will swear on a stack of bibles that there is no risk in giving vaccines to infants. That may be true if the child has adequate glutathione levels. How do you know? Only a couple of labs in the US perform glutathione testing.
You can increase the odds of having a good vaccine outcome with some NAC and vitamin C supplementation.
BetterGenix NAC
Ecological Formulas Vitamin C-1000
Zahler Vitamin C Gummies, product links below!
You can break open the NAC caps and add maybe 100 mg to their juice or formula. Do the same with the vitamin C unless you opt for the gummies. We recommend starting with this routine two days before and for maybe 5 days after depending on any symptoms.
It appears that the body has fairly good ability to withstand a toxic metal assault if it has adequate glutathione levels.
Basic Autism Facts
The second part of the discussion is about autism in particular and how it relates to glutathione. One article in particular is from Neuroendocrinology Letters Oct 2005. This letter references 83 different articles on the topic. Some notable facts are:
Autism was first noted in 1943. The incidence has increased from a rare disorder to 1 in 100 over a 50-year period. 1 in 6 children now have some sort of learning disability.
Hair Analysis Study
A potential breakthrough in the understanding of the role of glutathione and autism came from a study published in the International Journal of Toxicology. They noticed that hair analysis of normal children showed higher levels of mercury than children with autism. The thinking was that normal children have the ability to move toxins such as mercury out of the body using different methods including using hair as a method of excretion. The resulting buildup of mercury is a plausible culprit in the damage of these young brains.
Kids With Autism Had Lower Levels of Glutathione
In 2005 Science News reported on glutathione research from the Arkansas Children's Hospital. They found 100% of children with autism had significant lower levels of glutathione in their blood compared to normal range children. Dr. James who headed up the study is quoted as saying: ""This pattern is consistent with an inability to detoxify poisons, especially heavy metals, such as mercury or lead because that antioxidant normally binds to heavy metals and the body then targets the molecular complex for elimination.
Dr. James also stated that she suspects that autism is a result of genetic mutation that depletes glutathione and the exposure to heavy metals or other poisons.
It is possible that the decreased mercury in the hair of children with autism is from the low levels of glutathione and the reduced excretion via hair growth.
Depleted glutathione levels are also associated with increased levels of homocysteine that are indicative of inflammatory stress that is associated with vascular disease.
One important conclusion of these studies is that damage from heavy metals including mercury or other toxins from vaccines occurs after glutathione levels are depleted.
Increasing glutathione isn't that hard. Make sure you and your family are protected by using some NAC and vitamin C for vaccine protection in general. We still do that in our house and that goes for your dog too.
