Glutathione – John Hobbs

Improving Prostate Health

My doctor told me that every male over 50 had prostate cancer! Well that got my attention. This was during a discussion that occurred at the conclusion of a general physical when I was in my late 50s. The process for the physical included a variety of blood tests and a physical examination.

He then went on to say that generally it progressed at such a slow rate that it was not a problem and would have no impact on longevity. He said that what they were worried about was catching a prostate cancer that was progressing very quickly, since that could cause serious issues. [After some personal research it would appear that he was exaggerating somewhat. But that startling stark statement did achieve his objective of getting me to focus intently on what he was saying!]

The prostate gland is found below the bladder, with the urethra passing through it. When doctors conduct a physical (rectal) examination, one of the things they are looking for is an enlarged prostate which could indicate a problem.

He told me about the PSA test. The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test is a blood test that measures the level of PSA in a man’s blood. PSA is a protein produced by cells in the prostate gland, and it is a marker for various prostate conditions, including prostate cancer. Elevated levels of PSA in the blood may indicate the presence of cancer or other prostate conditions. He told me that if the result was above a certain threshold level there was a high probability that there was a cancer evolving and that action would need to be taken, possibly surgery.

When I was 64 he ordered the PSA test despite no problems indicated by the physical examination. At that point I had been on a glutathione accelerator for about two years. Later, when I asked about the results, he said there was “no problem.”

Well being the analytical person that I am, I conducted some personal research. The unit of measure for PSA tests is nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). The normal range for PSA levels can vary depending on a man’s age, ethnicity, and other factors.

Separate research indicated readings in the 4–10 ng/mL range represents a 20 to 30 percent increased risk of cancer, 10–20 ng/mL represents a 50 to 75 percent increased risk of cancer, and anything over 20 ng/mL represents a 90 percent probability of the risk of prostate cancer developing. I found further that what was considered “normal” levels increased with age. Someone in the 60-69 age category (like me at the time) should not worry much if they got a reading of about 4 ng/mL.

It turns out that:

For men under age 50: A PSA level of 1–2.5 ng/mL is considered normal.
For men ages 50 to 59: A PSA level of 1–3.5 ng/mL is considered normal.
For men ages 60 to 69: A PSA level of 1–4.5 ng/mL is considered normal.
For men over age 70: A PSA level of 1–6.5 ng/mL is considered normal.

These normal ranges for PSA levels are based on general guidelines from the American Urological Association (AUA).

Some time later I pressed my doctor to tell me what the actual reading was. He looked up the test and told me the result was ZERO! Remember, at that point I was considerably older than the age 50 my doctor mentioned originally.

I don’t know what you concluded from this set of facts. But I know what my conclusion was! And on that basis, I will be taking large doses of glutathione accelerators for the rest of my life.

Seven years later I asked my doctor to run the PSA test again to see what had transpired. At that time I was now in my 70s and, due to my age, I had doubled the glutathione accelerators I was already taking. For my current age, normal readings are considered to be anything in the 1–6.5 range. My reading was still in the ZERO range! (For those who want details, the actual reading was 0.15 ng/mL.)

p.s. To find out what I used to elevate glutathione levels, go to the Contact John menu item and send me a message.

Wound Healing Experience

Some time ago I wrote an article about wound healing in the context of a surgical procedure (Are You Facing Surgery?). This time I’m going to tell you about something that happened to me that drove the message home very clearly.

Day +0

It was Friday, October 23, 2020 late in the afternoon. I was walking with my daughter across a parking lot toward a grocery store. I went to step up onto the walk in front to the store but didn’t raise my foot quite high enough. My toe caught on the curb and I tripped. My forward motion meant that my centre of mass was well in front of my feet, so I was about to fall on my face.

Fortunately (?) there was a concrete pillar just in front of me, so I put my hands out to the pillar to break my fall. That worked. Unfortunately, my head maintained its forward momentum and came in resounding contact with the corner of the pillar. I put my hand up to the point of impact on my forehead and it came away quite bloody. I tried to use a few facial tissues to staunch the flow but to no avail. Head wounds tend to bleed heavily as a matter or course. Add to that the blood thinner I was taking and things got messy very quickly.

My daughter asked a store staff person for some paper towels to use as a pressure bandage. Fortunately in her younger years she was a lifeguard and had extensive training in rescue and first aid. (She won several competitions as well.) When I asked if we could just put a band-aid on it and get on with things she told me no, the cut was too deep. (What she told me the next day was that she could see the scull bone! But she didn’t want to upset me so kept quiet at the time.)

She asked the same helpful staff person to get a chair for me to sit on. Then she proceeded to call Emergency Services and asked for a Paramedic unit to attend. When they arrived, first they put on their Covid protective equipment and then examined me. Apparently standard protocol for someone over 65 with a head injury is immediately to apply a neck brace. (I’m over 70.) Then they applied a pressure bandage. But because of the position of the wound on my forehead, they had to wrap my head to hold it in place. Then off to the Emergency Room at a local hospital.

I won’t go into all that happened during the six hours at the hospital. (I will tell you that Covid protocols mean everything takes longer.) The doctor who treated me had to apply 4 dissolving stitches deep in the wound and 8 regular stitches on the surface. She told me that due to gravity some of the excess blood in the wound area would drift down my face. I was to go to my regular doctor to get the stitches removed in seven days. The nurse later applied some antiseptic ointment and a bandage over the wound. They sent me on my way about midnight.

I recalled the wound healing study (peer reviewed and published in 2015) that demonstrated several benefits for wound healing by elevating glutathione levels. Because of my age I was already taking multiple doses of glutathione accelerators (Xxxxxxxxxx, XxxXxx, and XxxXXX). So as soon as I got home I started a program of increasing the amounts by 50% with the intent of continuing that for at least a couple of weeks.

Day +2

I decided to leave everything alone for a day. On the second day after the injury I took off the bandage so I could have a shower, clean the wound, apply some antiseptic ointment and put on another clean bandage.

There was still dried blood in my hair. And recalling the doctor’s warning about the blood drifting downward to my face, I can now positively confirm that my eye is part of my face. That’s ugly!

Given my age, I expected that I would have a very nasty “zipper” scar on my forehead. But the reports in the wound healing study gave me some hope for a better outcome.

Day +7

Managed to get an appointment with my doctor to have the surface stitches removed a week after the injury.

Most of the blood around my eye had dissipated.

The wound itself was looking better than I expected. But I still anticipated that evidence of the stitching job would be visible.

Day +14

Clearly the wound healing study has been validated in this human. The scar will always be there. But it looks like what I might expect if a 12 year old had a similar injury. But I am in my early 70s!

The range of benefits delivered by elevated glutathione levels continues to empress!

Update: Day +180

As noted earlier, for the two week period following the injury I increased my intake of glutathione accelerators by about 50%. Then I reverted to pre-injury levels. However, you should note that my usual level is over three times standard doses! This is due to my age (early 70s). Natural glutathione production drops as we age. Most people in their 30s and 40s need some level of supplementation. Those over 60 need even more.

When glutathione levels are raised in the body a wide variety of the body’s systems are impacted. Some of these improvements may happen within minutes, others over several hours, others over days or weeks. Whenever I recommend a glutathione accelerator, I ask the person to undertake a self-evaluation exercise to track the improvements they notice over time. (Ten criteria, self-evaluation, baseline assessment before they start, and then a fresh evaluation every week over a 12 week period.) What we have observed is that for middle-age people (those in their 40s and 50s) who have no significant health challenges, over 90% of them record noticeable benefits within three months (90 days). People with health challenges tend to notice improvements sooner.

So I thought it would be useful to track the progress of the healing of my wound over time as well. Here is the final photo taken six months after the injury.

Over the course of taking progress photos weekly for the first three months, I observed that the wound images were impacted by a couple of factors in addition to the healing itself. One was the characteristics of the lighting when the photo was taken. So I tried to take the photos in a fairly consistent setting. (Saturday late mornings, diffuse natural light coming in a North facing window, supplemented by a ceiling light fixture with CF bulbs. The natural light was impacted on different days by current weather conditions.)

The other thing I noticed at other times was that the redness of the wound would be impacted by my level of physical activity. Immediately following some of my workout routines the redness was more pronounced due to increased blood flow and temporarily higher blood pressure. I think this is to be expected.

Finally, over time the visible width of he scar seemed to diminish, but very slowly. The scar will never disappear. But given the original condition of the wound, I am both surprised and pleased with the impact that elevated glutathione levels had on the wound.

#glutathione #health #healthscience

Viral Infections and Immunity

As most people know, infections caused by a bacterium are different from those caused by a virus. Bacteria are living organisms that can grow and reproduce. Bacterial infections can be countered by a range of antibiotics. But lately we have begun to see some bacteria evolving to become resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics have no impact on a virus.

A virus is a microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium and it cannot grow or reproduce apart from a living cell. A virus is not really alive. A virus particle is nothing but a fragment of DNA in a protective coat. The virus comes in contact with a cell, attaches itself to the cell wall and injects its DNA (and perhaps a few enzymes) into the cell. The DNA uses the machinery inside the living cell to reproduce new virus particles.

The Immune System

Viral and bacterial infections are by far the most common causes of illness for most people. They cause things like colds, influenza, measles, mumps, malaria, AIDS and so on. The job of your immune system is to protect your body from these infections. The immune system protects you in three different ways:

It creates a barrier that prevents bacteria and viruses from entering your body.
If a bacteria or virus does get into the body, the immune system tries to detect and eliminate it before it can make itself at home and reproduce.
If the bacteria or virus is able to reproduce and start causing problems, your immune system is in charge of eliminating it.

There are many diseases that, if you catch them once, you will never catch again. Measles is a good example. What happens with these diseases is that they make it into your body and start reproducing. The immune system gears up to eliminate them. It produces antibodies designed to eliminate the specific disease.

A vaccine is a weakened form of a disease. It is either a killed form of the disease, or it is a similar but less virulent strain. Once inside your body your immune system mounts the same defence as it would for the real thing, but because the disease is different or weaker you get few or no symptoms of the disease. Later, when the real disease invades your body, your body is able to eliminate it immediately because the antibodies are already there.

In the absence of a vaccine administered in advance, the body is largely dependent on the strength of its immune system to fight off an initial viral attack. There is nothing similar to an antibiotic to help the way there is for a bacterial infection.

Key Health Resilience Indicator

Glutathione is a tripeptide produced on demand in each cell in the body. Glutathione levels tend to be lower in the elderly and in those suffering health challenges. In these trying times, this is a significant fact.

Glutathione is necessary for the proper functioning of the immune system. If glutathione levels are low, the body may be sluggish in trying to defend itself against a bacterial or viral attack.

Glutathione is key to keeping you healthy overall. Not only is glutathione vital for the immune system, it plays a variety of other important roles in the body as well. (Refer to the article Why Does Your Health Depend on Glutathione). They include:

Master antioxidant in each cell
Only antioxidant that can recycle itself
Helps recycle certain other antioxidants
Primary synthesizing agent for other antioxidants
Critical for the production of ATP to provide energy to each cell
Major synthesizing agent to allow proteins to be used by the body
Major anti-inflammatory in each cell
Master detoxifier of chemical toxins in each cell
Primary chelator of heavy metals, removing them from the body
Transforms hemoglobin into its reduced state, enabling it to carry oxygen and transport that to the cells
Major protector of mitochondrial DNA against radiation damage
Enhances the body’s immune system
Enhances the body’s ability to heal wounds
Lowers “bad cholesterol” by lowering LDL, Lp(a) and oxidised lipid concentrations

The level of glutathione is a key indicator of the body’s resilience against health threats. Raising blood serum glutathione levels is helpful; but what is critical is raising intracellular glutathione levels, particularly in the organs.

Resources: For more detailed information about the immune system look at How Your Immune System Works.

#immunesystem #glutathione #wellness #health #holistichealth #healthscience #socialdistancing

Are You Facing Surgery?

I tell this to everyone facing any kind of surgery.

A wound healing study was completed in 2014 and subsequently peer reviewed and published in March of 2015 in the American Journal Of Surgery (Reference 1). It clearly showed that raising glutathione levels before surgery (a surgical incision is considered a wound in medicine) and keeping the level elevated after surgery dramatically reduced the healing time, increased the strength of the healed wound, and significantly reduced any resulting scar.

It was an animal based study that involved genetically identical rodents. This was necessary since the animals would be dissected to understand what healing was happening below the skin.

A friend of mine, Fran, had a double knee replacement done about three years ago. (On a side note, I told her I thought she was nuts trying to have both knees done at the same time. I was thinking of practical things like getting down onto and up from the toilet. Although her surgeon was originally resistant, she convinced him. Clearly a very determined woman.) She was aware of the study and listened to my related recommendations. For a month before the surgery she took a set of supplements aimed at increasing her intracellular glutathione levels. She continued for a month after the surgery, then gradually went back to her normal levels.

At her 10 day followup visit, her doctor was amazed at how completely she had healed and couldn’t figure it out. Well she explained it to him and referred him to the study. But according to the rules he operates under he is unable to tell any of his patients about it. Such is the world of modern medicine.

She conformed religiously to the required post-surgery physiotherapy regimen. And not long after she was walking normally with no pain.

References

Reference 1: Saltman, Adam E., d-ribose-l-cysteine supplementation enhances wound healing in a rodent model, American Journal Of Surgery. (March 2015)

#surgery #glutathione #health #healthscience

What About Autism?

According to Autism Canada, “Autism Spectrum Disorder, or autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts brain development causing most individuals to experience communication problems, difficulty with social interactions and a tendency to repeat specific patterns of behaviour. There is also a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests.”

Rising Incidence of Autism is Alarming

More children than ever before are being diagnosed with ASD. It is unclear how much of this increase is due to a broader definition of ASD and better efforts in diagnosis. However, a true increase in the number of people with an ASD cannot be ruled out. The increase in ASD diagnosis is likely due to a combination of these factors.

According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control (Ref 1), the incidence of ASD was 1 in 59 children in 2014. This estimate is roughly 30% higher than the estimate for 2008 (1 in 88), roughly 60% higher than the estimate for 2006 (1 in 110), and roughly 120% higher than the estimates for 2002 and 2000 (1 in 150). There is no sign that this worsening trend is slowing.

ASD Characteristics

As its name implies, individuals with ASD may exhibit a spectrum of challenging behaviours.

Individuals with severe autism conditions may have serious cognitive disability, sensory problems and symptoms of extremely repetitive and unusual behaviour. This can include tantrums, self-injury, defensiveness and aggression. Without appropriate intervention, these symptoms may be very persistent and difficult to change. Living or working with a person with severe autism can be very challenging, requiring tremendous patience and understanding of the condition.

Individuals with mild autism conditions, however, may seem more like they have personality differences, making it challenging to form relationships.

The primary symptoms of autism include problems with communication and social interaction, as well as repetitive interests and activities.

Various Treatment Options

As one might imagine, with such a wide variety of factors like number and particular kinds of symptoms, severity (mild to severe), age, levels of functioning and challenges with social interactions, there is a wide variety of treatment options.

Approaches vary from intensive behaviour therapy, to education for both parents and children, to administration of pharmaceuticals (e.g., to suppress aggressive behaviour), to diet changes, to consumption of dietary supplements that address nutrient deficiencies. The options available to parents of an ASD child can be daunting. Autism Canada has some useful information about the evolving options. (Ref 2)

The basic problem is that, as with most modern chronic disease, treatments tend to address observed symptoms rather than trying to tackle underlying causes.

What Causes Autism?

Over the years there has been much research and speculation about the cause of ASD. There is even the possibility that, given the range of symptoms, there may be multiple different causes.

Some of this speculation has received sensational reporting in the news media. Who has not heard the claim by many parents that certain vaccines administered to young children provoked the development of ASD? This story has seen its ups and downs, involving emotional claims by parents and condescending reassurances from pharmaceutical companies. (I haven’t seen a really good response to the parents’ question of “why on earth would a pharmaceutical company include toxic mercury in a preserving agent for a vaccine directed at very young children, since its only function seems to be to save the company money by extending the shelf life of the vaccine?”) On the other hand, apparently valid studies have shown no correlation between vaccines and incidence of ASD.

But some relevant analysis seems to shed light, not just on the cause of ASD but also on a possible cause of a variety of other neurological disorders that have seen increasing occurrence trends in recent decades. Although this may be new to many people, this is not new research. The relevant science and analysis is well laid out in a report entitled “Environmental contamination and autism: Special report from UPHE”. UPHE is the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and the report was published in January of 2015 (Ref. 3) I encourage you to read the entire report.

In addition, on Jan, 29, 2015, six physicians with expertise on how air pollution affects the brain gave a 75 minute presentation on the latest research on this critical public health topic. (Ref. 4) On that page is a link to the audio of the presentation and a summary of the highlights. For those with specific interest, I recommend it.

Quoting from the report:

In early 2014 leading scientists in pediatrics and public health warned of a “silent pandemic,” of brain disorders citing strong evidence that “children worldwide are being exposed to unrecognized toxic chemicals that are silently eroding intelligence, disrupting behaviors, truncating future achievements and damaging societies.”

These toxins — heavy metals, fluoride, chemicals like PCBs, toluene, solvents, flame retardants, BPA, phalates, pesticides, and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) — are found in the air you breathe, the food you eat, the water you drink, and the grass your kids play soccer on. Dramatically escalating rates of autism are part of this “silent pandemic.” Autism rates have climbed another 30% just since the last survey of two years ago, with Utah having the second highest rates of autism in the country, double the national average. As of 2012, one in every 32 Utah boys had autism. This “silent pandemic” warning should be a real wake up call for Utah physicians and policy makers.

Evidence is mounting that autism is likely caused by environmental exposures in genetically susceptible individuals. Supporting an environmental/genetic tag team are other studies showing autistic children and their mothers have a high rate of a genetic deficiency in the production of glutathione, an antioxidant and the body’s primary means of detoxifying heavy metals. High levels of toxic metals in children are strongly correlated with the severity of autism. Low levels of glutathione, coupled with high production of homocysteine, increase the chance of a mother having an autistic child to one in three. That autism is four to five times more common among boys than girls is likely related to a defect in the single male X chromosome contributing to antioxidant deficiency. But there is no such thing as a genetic disease epidemic because genes don’t change that quickly, so the alarming rise in autism must be the result of increased environmental exposures that exploit these genetic defects.

While numerous environmental exposures have been implicated, including pharmaceuticals like anti-depressants, in the last few years a growing body of epidemiological studies have been published linking autism to air pollution, including a highly regarded one from the Harvard School of Public Health just last month that showed a strong correlation between prenatal air pollution, especially in the third trimester, and autism.

Enhanced GSH Levels as a Key Countermeasure

If we look at the highlights:

heavy metal and toxic chemical concentrations in the mother during pregnancy,
heavy metal and toxic chemical concentrations in the ASD child,
co-occurring conditions (Ref 5) that correlate to low glutathione levels, and
oxidative stress as a common theme across the board

it becomes obvious that glutathione (GSH) is a critical factor.

If we review the various roles that glutathione plays in your body (refer to Why Does Your Health Depend on Glutathione) we can see a possible strategy. The major threat factors identified in the UPHE analysis are chemical toxins, heavy metals, oxidative stress and inflammation.

Glutathione:

is the body’s master detoxifier, removing chemical toxins from the body,
chelates a variety of heavy metals out of the body,
is the body’s master antioxidant, neutralizing free radicals and thereby reducing oxidative stress, and
reduces cellular inflammation.

The countermeasures seem obvious. Increase the body’s intracellular glutathione levels.

Possible Actions to Take

If we assume that the analysis published by UPHE is valid, there are a few things that you could do to protect against neurological harm, both for your baby and for yourself:

If you are pregnant or considering pregnancy, take action immediately to increase your intracellular glutathione levels at least until you stop breastfeeding.
If you are an adult, understand that this harmful pollution is also a risk to your health. Take action to increase your intracellular glutathione levels on an ongoing basis.
If you have a new baby or young child, have their glutathione levels checked periodically. And if indicated, take action to increase their intracellular glutathione levels. Or consider doing this anyway as a general preventive measure.
If you are an adult with ASD, your body is no doubt in a state of oxidative stress. Take action to increase your intracellular glutathione levels on an ongoing basis.
Finally, get behind any initiative that will get governments to severely reduce industrial air pollution worldwide. It’s either that or get used to the idea of every individual, including young children, wearing a functional Darth Vader mask to help keep the toxic pollution out of their bodies.