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The Grandmother of All Antioxidants
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You’ve certainly heard about antioxidants before. They are the reason we strive to eat more organic fruits and vegetables. However, have you heard about the one that some people call the mother or the grandmother of all antioxidants? The one that is so powerful that it can prevent aging, heart disease, cancer, and much more? This one antioxidant has been studied in depth, yet most of us have never even heard about it.
Which antioxidant is this? Glutathione. (Pronounced gloota-thigh-own.) This antioxidant is a strong detoxifier as well as immune system builder, and is vital to a healthy body.
What Exactly is Glutathione?
This antioxidant is a simple molecule that is produced naturally by our bodies all the time. It’s a combination of three building blocks of protein – cysteine, glutamine, and glycine. Glutathione contains sulfur chemical groups that work hard at trapping and eliminating bad things, such as toxins and free radicals, along with heavy metals like mercury, and remove them from the body. This antioxidant is especially important in our modern world, filled with heavy metals and toxic chemicals.
Although our bodies make glutathione, the more you can get the better! The following food sources either contain this important antioxidant, or they contain the precursors to it, which will help your body produce even more.
Best Foods That Contain Glutathione
- Tomatoes
- Cardamom
- Watermelon
- Avocados
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Red Peppers
- Onions
- Garlic
- Peas
- Turmeric
- Cinnamon
- Avocados
- Cauliflower
- Brussels Sprouts
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Glutathione can protect us from chronic illness. It’s so powerful that it recycles antioxidants, killing off free radicals as they travel throughout the body. Glutathione can help your immune system fight chronic illnesses since it removes deadly toxins out of the body.
Exercise will also increase your levels of glutathione and help to improve your immune system. All you need is 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as swimming or walking, and strength training for about 20 minutes a couple of times a week.
Although it would be nice if we could simply take glutathione in a supplement form, but the body digests protein, so this wouldn’t really work. However, you can take supplement that will help your body to naturally increase its levels of glutathione. Take a good quality multi-vitamin, along with a B-complex supplement, and fish oil or krill oil supplements to help give your body everything it needs to keep your levels of glutathione at optimum levels. If you want to really increase your levels of glutathione, you can also consume a milk thistle supplement. This helps support healthy liver function and increases the body’s natural levels of glutathione.
This might sound like a strange idea, but it has been shown that cold showers, or sitting in very cold water for 5 or 10 minutes just once per week can stimulate the production of glutathione levels by as much as 25 percent. It might not sound appealing, but this practice can literally change your life.
You could also consume bioactive whey protein. This is a terrific and easy way to get the amino acid building blocks and cysteine for the synthesis of glutathione. Keep in mind that the whey protein must be bioactive and made from non-denatured proteins. Look for a brand that is non-pasteurized and came from non-industrially produced milk, which means that it should state clearly that it comes from cows that did not receive antibiotics, hormones, and is pesticide free.
SEE ALSO: 14 Benefits Of Antioxidants Infographic
Your body has to deal with almost unbelievable amounts of toxins every single day. When you eat a mainly plant based, organic diet, and consume some of the supplements listed above, you can stay vibrantly healthy, with a little help from the grandmother of all antioxidants.
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Kitsy WooWoo
Jun 15, 2015 at 11:55 am
Avocados must be pretty important as they showed up twice on your list. 😉
Are you able to suggest any brands of “good-quality” multivitamins? Ones that aren’t too monstrous to swallow?