Glutathione has recently been hailed as the 'master of antioxidants' with reports suggesting that it can help prevent dementia, heart disease and can even slow the ageing process.

Here, I review the evidence supporting these claims and explore its benefits.

There is an undeniable excitement among the health scene at the moment about glutathione. It's touted for its alleged superhuman ability to mop-up free radicals, boost the immune system and increase energy.

The glutathione molecule is found in every living cell. It plays an important role as an antioxidant that combats cell-damaging free radicals. The glutathione molecule is composed of three protein building blocks or amino acids:

• Cysteine

• Glutamine

• Glycine

Unlike other antioxidants (vitamin c, for example), glutathione is far more important as it's required in cells to enable other antioxidants (such as vitamin C, E Selenium and carotenoids) to work. Importantly Glutathione is not just an antioxidant, it also contributes to energy utilisation, the immune system and detoxification, specifically in the liver and disease prevention.

Glutathione production can be disrupted. Glutathione stored within your cells can quickly become depleted. This can be a result of:

• Poor diet

• Excess alcohol

• Infections

• Medication

• Stress

• Other toxins

So, we know that glutathione is vital to support the success of other antioxidants and that its supply can become depleted. Therefore it makes sense that glutathione would be offered as an dietary supplement.

But what does the evidence say about glutathione and which method of administration best provides the body with what it needs?

Normally glutathione is recycled by the body, but when toxins and free radicals gain strength, glutathione is diluted and supplementation is needed. Humans evolved in a time before the 80,000+ toxic industrial chemicals found in our environment today, before electromagnetic radiation and before we polluted our skies, lakes, rivers, oceans and teeth with mercury and lead.

Glutathione is the single most important component of our detoxification system; it effectively sticks to toxins and enables the body to excrete them (through the excretory system).

An article published by The Lancet in 2011 found that levels of glutathione were most abundant in under 25 year olds and that age had a negative impact on your ability to generate more. The research also examined the levels in two other populations, finding lower levels in over 50s and very low levels in hospitalised elderly patients.

Diet can contribute to a raised glutathione level to an extent. A healthy diet, rich in fresh fruit and vegetables may provide about 150 mg of glutathione per day. Asparagus, avocado, and walnuts are particularly rich dietary sources of glutathione.

The next study, conducted at Penn State University, published in 2015 in the European Journal of Nutrition, compared the effectiveness of various methods of intruding glutathione to the body. The study found that, when administered orally, only around 20% was absorbed versus 100% when administered intravenously (via a vein).

From this evidence we can conclude that glutathione is vital in the prevention of disease and to slow the signs of ageing. Glutathione, administered intravenously is scientifically proven to work most effectively because it avoids the digestion process.

True face Aesthetics practitioners are trained to prescribe and administer glutathione within our comfortable, medical clinics. The whole process takes less than 15 minutes with very little discomfort.

We recommend a monthly treatment of 1200mg glutathione. Prices from just £60.

Please get in touch to arrange your free, no obligation consultation.