BY | Fair Beauty
The number of COVID-19 cases is still on the rise and poses threat to everyone in all ages. While most of us are waiting for the vaccine, several medical findings show that we can cope with COVID-19 with glutathione and N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) supplementation. Before elaborating on what glutathione can do against COVID-19, let’s discuss first the findings of Dr. Alexey V Polonikov in a recent research. He is a professor from the Department of Biology and Medical Genetics of Kursk State Medical University, Russia. He found out that deficiency of endogenous glutathione especially in the older individuals could also be one of the contributing factors leading to the progression of the disease from mild infection to severe conditions. Interestingly, Thailand Medical News reports observations demonstrating that patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 infection have lower levels of glutathione.
In the past studies, it has already been established that glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent oxidative stress, inflammation and at the same time helps boost the functions of the immune system. As an antioxidant, Glutathione neutralizes the free radicals that destroy the cells. Once cells are damaged, we become susceptible to infections including influenza. This may even contribute to inflammatory lung conditions. Therefore, it is important to keep the glutathione levels high to ensure that we are healthy.
Glutathione is naturally made in the human body, but it gradually decreases as we age that is why we need to have a supplement boost of NAC, the precursor for Glutathione. But NAC does not only increase glutathione production, it can also help reduce airway inflammation in the lungs and may prevent the progression of pulmonary diseases. Initially conceptualized as a mucolytic agent, NAC may play a role in having thin mucus secretions to prevent severe lung conditions such as pneumonia. It also shows antiviral efficiency as demonstrated in the study of de Flora (from the Institute of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy) showing that six-month preventive administration of NAC significantly reduced the incidence of clinically apparent influenza and influenza-like episodes especially in elderly high-risk individuals. Thailand Medical News adds that NAC supplementation ensures lung health and helps in lung tissue maintenance, repair and regeneration.
