How to Increase Glutathione Naturally
- , by SANUSq Research team
- 10 min reading time
Your body already makes the master antioxidant — the real question is how to help it make and keep more.
A quick recap, then the practical part
Glutathione is often called the body's master antioxidant, and we've covered what it is and how it works in detail elsewhere — see our full guide to glutathione, the master antioxidant, and our companion piece, Glutathione: the master anti-oxidant. This article takes a different angle: the practical question of how you actually raise and support your own glutathione — through food, precursors and lifestyle.
Glutathione is the most abundant low-molecular-weight thiol made inside cells, central to protecting them from oxidative damage and maintaining redox balance (Forman, Zhang & Rinna, 2009).
Glutathione foods: can you get it from what you eat?
This is the question that trips most people up. Glutathione is present in some fresh foods — think asparagus, avocado, spinach and okra — but here's the catch: glutathione eaten in food is largely broken apart in the gut before it reaches the bloodstream. So while these foods are excellent for you, they are not a reliable way to top up your glutathione directly.
In an early study, a single oral dose of glutathione did not significantly raise plasma glutathione in healthy volunteers, reflecting how readily it is broken down in the digestive tract (Witschi et al., 1992).
The reason is worth understanding, because it shapes everything else on this page. Glutathione is a tripeptide — three amino acids joined by peptide bonds — and the digestive tract is very good at taking peptides apart. Enzymes in the small intestine break most of what arrives into its component amino acids, which are then absorbed separately. Your body can and does rebuild glutathione from those parts, but that is a different process from absorbing the intact molecule, and it means the glutathione content listed against a food tells you less than you would hope.
None of which is an argument against eating those foods. Asparagus, avocado, spinach and okra earn their place for plenty of other reasons, and the raw materials they and other foods supply are genuinely useful. It is simply an argument against choosing them for their glutathione number, and against the idea that a glutathione-rich plate lifts your levels the way a glass of orange juice lifts your vitamin C.
Feed the raw materials instead
A smarter way to think about it is to give your cells what they need to build their own glutathione. It is made from three amino acids — glutamate, cysteine and glycine — with cysteine usually the ingredient in shortest supply. Sulphur-rich foods help here: garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Good-quality protein supplies the amino-acid building blocks, and nutrients like selenium and vitamin C support the enzymes that recycle glutathione once it has done its job.
Recycling matters as much as production. Glutathione does its work by giving something away: it hands over a hydrogen atom to neutralise a reactive molecule, and in doing so is converted to an oxidised form itself. An enzyme system then converts it back, ready for use again, so the same molecules turn over repeatedly rather than being spent once and discarded. Selenium is part of that machinery, which is why it appears in this conversation at all. The same recycling capacity is how glutathione helps restore vitamins C and E after they have done their own antioxidant work — when people describe antioxidants as a network rather than a list, this is largely what they mean.
On the food side, that points at a fairly ordinary list of everyday foods. Protein foods rich in cysteine, such as eggs, poultry, fish, dairy and pulses, supply the amino acid usually in shortest supply. Alliums and brassicas add the sulphur compounds; crushing or chopping garlic and onions before cooking, and steaming rather than boiling brassicas, retains more of what makes them worth eating. And a varied intake of fruit and vegetables covers the vitamin C and other cofactors the recycling enzymes depend on. It is not an exotic diet, which is rather the point.
Lifestyle habits that help
Some of the biggest wins are the least glamorous. Regular sleep, sensible alcohol intake and regular movement are all commonly associated with a lighter antioxidant load, which means the glutathione you have goes further. Over-restricting sleep or drinking heavily, by contrast, tends to draw down reserves faster than the body replaces them.
It helps to think about the demand side as well as the supply side. Anything that raises the body's oxidative load draws on the same reserve: smoking, heavy or habitual alcohol intake, short or broken sleep, persistent stress, illness and infection, and exposure to pollutants. Ageing contributes too, with production tending to slow while demand does not.
Exercise sits interestingly on both sides of this. A hard, unaccustomed session generates a burst of oxidative stress in the short term, which is part of why it feels like an insult to the body. Regular training, though, is associated with the body strengthening its own antioxidant defences over time — the adaptation, rather than any single session, is where the benefit sits. Which is an argument for consistency over heroics.
Where supplements fit
Because oral glutathione is hard to absorb intact, supplement formulation matters. Longer-term studies suggest supplementation can raise the body's glutathione stores over time, and delivery systems designed to protect the molecule through digestion, such as liposomal delivery, have been explored for this reason.
Six months of daily oral glutathione supplementation was associated with increased body stores of glutathione, which drifted back towards baseline after supplementation stopped (Richie et al., 2015).
For readers who want to explore this route, SANUSq offers a liposomal Glutathione (250 ml) and a liposomal Vitamin C with Glutathione, both formulated with the absorption challenge in mind.
What this does not mean
A few honest caveats are worth keeping in view. There is no routine test that gives you a meaningful personal glutathione number, and no agreed target to aim at, so anyone offering to optimise a figure for you is running ahead of the evidence. Nor is glutathione the whole of the body's antioxidant defence; it works alongside enzymes and other nutrients, and no single molecule accounts for how well those defences perform. Claims that raising glutathione detoxifies the body, reverses ageing or lightens skin run well past what the research supports. The reasonable position is narrower and duller: glutathione matters, the foods and habits above support the system that makes and recycles it, and that is worth doing on its own terms rather than in pursuit of a number.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my glutathione level measured?
Not in any routine or especially useful way. Measurement is largely a research tool, there is no agreed target range for an individual, and a number would not change what you would sensibly do next. The practical levers are the same either way.
Does cooking destroy the glutathione in food?
Cooking and long storage do reduce the glutathione content of fresh produce, which is one reason raw and lightly cooked vegetables come up in this conversation. Given how little dietary glutathione survives digestion intact, though, it matters less than it sounds — the sulphur-rich vegetables and protein foods that supply the building blocks are the more useful target.
What foods increase glutathione?
Some foods contain glutathione directly (asparagus, avocado, spinach, okra), but it is largely broken down in the gut. More useful are foods that supply the raw materials and cofactors your cells use to make and recycle their own — sulphur-rich vegetables like garlic, onions and broccoli, good-quality protein, and nutrients such as selenium and vitamin C.
How can I increase glutathione naturally?
Focus on the building blocks and the habits: sulphur-rich and protein foods, adequate sleep, sensible alcohol intake and regular movement. These support both the production and the recycling of your own glutathione, rather than relying on glutathione from food, which is poorly absorbed.
Do glutathione supplements actually work?
Absorption is the real challenge, since the molecule is vulnerable to digestion. Some longer-term studies have associated supplementation with raised glutathione stores, and delivery methods such as liposomal formulas are designed to help protect the molecule. The evidence here is still developing.
Does glutathione decline with age?
Research suggests glutathione tends to fall with age even as demands on the body's antioxidant defences rise, which is part of why people become interested in supporting their levels.
Is it safe to take glutathione?
Glutathione has generally been well tolerated in studies to date. As with any supplement, speak with your healthcare professional first, particularly if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or managing an existing condition.
Give your levels a helping hand
Food and habits first — and where you want extra support, our liposomal Glutathione is made with absorption in mind.
References
- Forman HJ, Zhang H, Rinna A. Glutathione: overview of its protective roles, measurement, and biosynthesis. Mol Aspects Med. 2009;30(1-2):1-12. PMID 18796312
- Witschi A, Reddy S, Stofer B, Lauterburg BH. The systemic availability of oral glutathione. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1992;43(6):667-9. PMID 1362956
- Richie JP Jr, Nichenametla S, Neidig W, et al. Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione. Eur J Nutr. 2015;54(2):251-63. PMID 24791752
Read more on the blog
- Glutathione, the master antioxidant: the full guide
- Glutathione: the master anti-oxidant
- Why glutathione is critical to detoxification
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We wish you good health on your terms.
The team at SANUSq.
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The health information in this article is provided for educational purposes only. Consult your healthcare professional before making any medical decisions.
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