GLUTATHIONE - Why is it so important?

This article will demonstrate to you why Glutathione is so important to your health and well-being.

Glutathione (pronounced 'gloota-thigh-own') is the body's essential health ABC's –Antioxidant, Blood Booster and Cell Detoxifier.

It is a tripeptide composed of glutamic, cysteine and glycine. Glutathione is found in all cells in the body, including the bile, the epithelial lining fluid of the lungs, and - at much smaller concentrations - in the blood.

Glutathione is the smallest intracellular non-protein thiol (molecule containing an S_H or sulfhydryl group) molecule in the cells. This characteristic emphasizes its potent antioxidant action and supports a multifaceted thiol exchange system, which regulates cell activity.

This small protein, produced naturally in the body, maintains these three crucial protective functions.

In fact, your life depends on glutathione. Without it, your cells would disintegrate from unrestrained oxidation, your body would have little resistance to metabolic acids, and your liver would shrivel up from the eventual accumulation of acidic toxins.

Glutathione is not yet a household word. Even some medical and holistic doctors who have heard the term may still have only a vague idea of what it is. However, everyone will soon be talking about this critical non-nutritive substance.

There was a time when only scientists had heard of cholesterol and vitamins, but today, everyone knows about them. Now the magnificence of glutathione is becoming known.In the last five years, over 25,000 medical articles about this substance have been published, and the scientific understanding of glutathione is gradually becoming common knowledge.

Each and every cell in the body is responsible for its own supply of glutathione and must have the necessary raw materials in order to produce it. Glutathione is always in great demand and is rapidly consumed when we experience any sort of emotional or physical stress, fatigue and even moderate exercise.

Some well-known causes of glutathione depletion are as follows:

1) Acidic lifestyle and diet
2) Air and Water pollution
3) Prescription and recreational drugs
4) Ultraviolet and Radiation from cells phones, computers, electrical cars, power lines, hair dryers, etc.
5) Emotional and physical stress
6) Injury, trauma or burns
7) Heavy metals
8) Cigarette smoke
9) Household chemicals
10) Acetaminophen poisoning
11) Exhaust from motor vehicles
12) Septic shock

All of these above factors lead to a build up of acidic toxins that cause the loss of glutathione as a non-nutritive buffer leading to cellular aging,disease and finally death.

Why is Glutathione Essential to Health?

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.

- Anti-oxidant
- Blood Booster
- Cell Detoxifier

These are the three critical processes driven by glutathione.

The Master Antioxidant

Over the past thirty years, researchers have explored the role of antioxidants in good health as well as the treatment and prevention of diseases involving oxidation or fermentation by metabolic acids.

Well known and widely used antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin E and selenium neutralize acid. They occur naturally in nature, but not in the body. They must be introduced as part of a balanced diet.

Given the critical role of antioxidants in good health, it is not surprising that the body itself manufactures its own natural antioxidants. The most important of these is glutathione. Because all other antioxidants depend upon the presence of glutathione to function properly, scientists call it 'the master antioxidant.'

Glutathione binds to toxins, forming a water-soluble complex - which is ultimately excreted in the urine or bile as waste.

Food for the Blood

Elevated glutathione levels enable the body to produce more white blood cells. White blood cells are the body's garbage collectors and are the most important cells for maintaining sterility of the body fluids.

Glutathione plays a central role in the proper function of the white blood cells. Dr. Bustavo Bounous, a leading glutathione expert, says, 'The limiting factor in the proper activity of our lymphocytes (the white blood cells) is the availability of glutathione.' In other words, healthy growth and activity of the white blood cells depends upon glutathione's availability. Put simply, glutathione is 'food' for the white blood cells.

Cellular Detoxifier

Whether we know it or not, we are continually inhaling and ingesting natural and synthetic acidic toxins. They are unavoidable in these modern times both in our polluted cities and our poorly engineered food supplies. When the body has the health and the nourishment it needs, it works tirelessly to eliminate acidic toxins and to protect itself. But, increasing levels of environmental pollution are depleting the body's store of glutathione more and more rapidly. Our main organ of detoxification of acidic waste products is the lymphatic system and the liver. This is the body's most concentrated source of glutathione.

Studies show that low glutathione levels lead to poor lymphatic and liver function, causing more and more acidic toxins to circulate through the body and resulting in damage to individual cells and organs.

Medical doctors today routinely use glutathione- promoting drugs to detoxify victims of certain types of drug overdose.

Glutathione in Natural Medicine

Practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have long advocated the use of milk thistle for liver problems. It turns out that this herb works by modestly elevating glutathione levels. The mineral selenium also produces subtle elevations in glutathione by becoming integrated into the glutathione peroxidase.

Glutathione in Traditional Medicine

Emergency medical doctors, toxicologists and lung and liver specialists are well acquainted with glutathione's therapeutic uses. American physicians seeking ways to raise a patient's glutathione levels can open the standard Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) and find two options - the pharmaceutical drugs sold under the names Parlodex and Mucomyst, and the natural dietary supplement found in natural foods stores derived from whey protein isolate.

Drugs That Raise Glutathione Levels

Pharmaceutical drugs like Procysteine, OTC, OTX, Glutathione monoesters and Glutathione diesters have been used to raise glutathione levels. However, they all produce side effects and are unsuitable for long term use.

This pharmaceutical non-nutritive chemical is used to break up mucus in lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis and asthma. It remains the standard treatment for acetaminophen overdose.

Glutathione in Health and Disease

It is believed that glutathione has an important role to play in the prevention and treatment of disease.

It may in the future be considered as important to health as an alkaline diet, exercise and alkaline lifestyle. Clinical tests show that raised glutathione levels may address some of the eight major health issues of our time:

1) Cardiovascular

- Prevents heart disease - Shimizu H, Kiyohara Y, Kitazono T, Kubo M, Ibayashi S, Fufishima M, Lida M.Relationship Between Plasma Glutathione Levels and Cardiovascular Disease in a Defined Population: The Hisyama Study. Stroke. 2004 Sep; 35(9):2072-7.

- Prevents stroke - Paterson PG, Juurlink BH. Nutritional Regulation of Glutathione in Stroke. Neurtox Res. 1999 Dec; 1(2): 99-112.

- Prevents atherosclerosis - Coppola L, Grassia A, Giunta R. Glutathione Improves Hemostatic and Hemorrheological Parameters in Atherosclerotic Subject. Drugs Exp. Clin Res 1992 18:493-98

- Reverses artherosclerosis

- Prevents reperfusion injury

2) Cancer

Cancer causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found to alter levels of glutathione compounds in experiments, which may alter the body's resistance to certain types of cancer.

Glutathione deficiencies have been linked to many forms of cancer.

- Prevents cancerous tissue

- Suppresses tumor growth

- Eliminates carcinogen - acids

- Retards oxidative stress-

- Prevents wasting disease

- Eases side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy

3) Pulmonary

Glutathione is the most efficient free radical (acid) scavenger in the airways, and dozens of studies have confirmed that free radical (acid) damage is a primary player in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Rahman I, MacNee W. Oxidative Stress and Regulation of Glutathione in Lung Inflammation. Eur Respir J. 2000 Sep; 16(3):534-54.

- Breaks up mucus - Rahman I, MacNee W. Oxidative Stress and Regulation of Glutathione in Lung Inflammation. Eur Respir J. 2000 Sep; 16(3):534-54

- Cystic fibrosis - Glutathione neutralized harmful oxidants introduced into the lungs or those released by cells. Exotoxins from bacteria can overload the endobronchial terrain and feed the fires of acidic inflammation. This staggering burden increases the oxidative sensitivity of the CF lung, resulting in further injury of lung parenchyma. Data supports evidence of a decrease in the antioxidant tri-peptide glutathione (Roum JH, Buhl R, McElvaney NG, et al. Systemic Deficiency of Glutathione in Systic Fibrosis. J Appl Physiol 1993; 75:19-24).

- Asthma

- Chronic bronchitis

- Emphysema - Lamson, David, MD, Grignall, Matthew, ND. The use of Nebulized Glutathione in the Treatment of Emphysema: A Case Report. Altern Med Review. 5(5);429-431, 2000 Oct.

- Pulmonary fibrosis - Ishii T, Fujishiro M, Nakajima J, Teramoto S, Ouchi Y, Matsuse T. Depletion of Glutathion S-Transferase P1 Induces Apoptosis in Huamn Lung Fibroblasts. Exp Lung Res. 29(7);523-36, 2003 Oct-Nov.

4) Aging

Glutathione is critically important to our brain as it is one of the most important brain antioxidants.

Glutathione helps preserve brain tissue by preventing damage from free radicals (acids).In addition to quenching dangerous acids, glutathione also acts to recycle vitamin E which also has the ability to reduce acidity in the brain. (Perlmutter D., Brain Recovery.com July 2004, 5th ed:13)

- Autism - Medical literature documents that an out-fection can lead to a lowering of glutathione which participates in detoxification, interacts with metallothioneins, and supports many crucial aspects of immunity. A link between glutathione and autism regression may derive from the fact that transient or chronic intestinal problems can impair an infant's or toddler's nutritional status, thereby minimizing the levels of amino-acids required for the production of glutathione (McCandless, J. Children With Starving Brains. 2003, 2nd ed; 252)

- Parkinson's Disease - Glutathione helps to preserve brain tissue by preventing damage from free radicals (acids) and destructive chemicals formed by the normal processes of metabolism, toxic elements in the environment, and as a normal response of the body to challenges by acidic agents or other stresses. With the understanding that glutathione is important for brain protection and that this protection many be lacking in the brains of Parkinson's clients due to glutathione deficiency, it can be seen as very beneficial.(Di Monte DA, Cahn P, Sandy MS. Glutathione in Parkinson's Disease: A Link Between Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Damage? An Neurol. 32 Suppl; S111-115, 1992.)

- Alzheimer's Disease - Woltjer, R.L., Hgheim W., Maezawa I., Vaisar T, Montine K.S., Montine T.J., Role of Glutathione in Intracellular Amyloid-Alpha Recursor Protein/Carboxy- Terminal Fragment Aggregation and Associated Cytotoxicity. J Neurochem. 2005 May; 93 (4): 1047-56.

- Huntington's Disease - Choo Y.S., Mao Z, Johnson GV, Lesort M. Increased Glutathione Levels In Cortical Striatal Mitochondria of the R6/2 Huntington's Disease Mouse Model. Neuroscience Letter. 2005 Sep 23; 386(1): 63-8.

- Multiple Sclerosis - Calabrese V, Scapaginini G, Ravagna A, Bella R, Butterfield DA, Calvani M, Pennisi G, Giuffrida Stella AM. Disruption of Thiol Homeostasis and Nitrostative Stress in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Active Multiple Sclerosis: Evidence for a Protective Role of Acetylcarnitine. 2003 Sep; 28(9):1321-8. Mann CL, Davies MB, Aldersea J, Fryer AA, Jones PK, Ko Ko C, Young C, Strange RC, Hawkins CP. Glutathione S-Transferase Polymorphisms in MS: Their Relationship to Disability. Neurology. 2000 Feb 8;54(3):542-7.

- ALS - Tohgi H, Abe T, Yamazaki K, Murata T, Ishizake E, Isobe C. Increase in Oxidized Products and Reduction in Oxidized Glutathione in Cerborospinal Fluid From Patients with Sporadic Form of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Neurosci Lett. 1999 Feb 5; 260(3):204-6.

- Cataract formation

- Macular degeneration

- Cancers of aging

- Prostate problems

- Osteoarthritis - Hammarqvist F, Luo JL, Cotgreave IA, Andersson K, Wernerman J. Skeletal Muscle Glutathione is Depleted In Critically Ill Patients. Crit Care Med. 25(1):78-84 1997 Jan.

5) Digestive

- Inflammatory bowel disease

- Hepatitis

- Malnutrition

- Pancratititis

- Peptic ulcer

6) Toxicology

- Detoxifies certain drug overdoses - Acetaminophen has been shown to reduce glutathione production, thus paving the way for enhanced brain destruction by metabolic acids. (Perlmutter D. July 2004, 5th ed:108)

- Detoxifies substances in cigarette smoke and auto exhaust - Rahman I, MacNee W. Lung Glutathione and Oxidative Stress: Implications In Cigarette Smoke-Induced Airway Disease. Am J Physiol. 277(6 Pt 1);1067-88, 1999 Dec.

- Detoxifies pollutants including heavy metals and pesticides – Elevated glutathione levels have been shown to protect tissue form lipid peroxidation created by exposure to certain metals. Consider infusions of glutathione to relieve the body burden of both neurotoxins and metal toxicity, including mercury. (Foster, JS. Kane PC, Speight N. The Detox Book. 2002;90)

-Prevents hearing loss from noise pollution

- Detoxifies many well-known carcinogens

7) Immunology

- Anti-viral for AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, etc. - Low glutathione levels in HIV clients may contribute to their immune deficiency since glutathione plays an important role in the function of lymphocytes. Some lymphocytes require adequate levels of glutathione in order to function normally, and HIV induces oxidative stress that depletes the cells of glutathione. Townsend DM, Tew KD, Tapero H. The Importance of Glutathione in Human Disease. Biomed Pharmacother. 2003 May-June;57(3-4):145-55. Droge W, Holm E. Role of Cysteine and Glutathione in HIV Infection and other Diseases Associated with Muscle Wasting and Immunological Dysfunction. FASEB J, 11(13):1077-89 1997 Nov.

- Lyme Disease - Lyme disease is a seriously complex multi-system acidic inflammatory condition that is triggered by bacterial exotoxins. Glutathione helps to remove exotoxic and/or mycotoxic acids by forming asoluble compound with them, which can then be excreted through the urine or gut. (Can Glutathione Help Lyme Disease Suffers? Excerpt from: The Glutathione Report: Opitmal Health with the Master Antioxidant, Issue 4, Volume 1, May 2004).

- Natural antibiotic

- Chronic fatigue syndrome - An article in the journal of Medical Hypothesis proposed that glutathione, an anitoxidant essential for lymphocyte function, may be depleted in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients. Glutathione is needed for both the immune system and for aerobic muscular contraction. The authors proposed that glutathione depletion by an activated immune system also causes the muscular fatigue and myalgia associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Bounous et al. 1999).

8) Metabolic- Athletic enhancement

- Decreases recovery time from physical stress

- Supports hemoglobin in kidney failure

- Diabetes - The blood and tissues of diabetics are marked by critically low glutathione levels. Glutathione depletion may have adverse consequences in diabetic clients independent of glycemic control, and it may weaken the defense against oxidative stress. De Mattia G, Bravi MC, Laurenti O, Cassone-Faldetta M, Armiento A, Ferri C, Falsano F. Influence of Reduced Glutathione Infusion on Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus. Metabolism. 1998 Aug;47(8):433-8.

Glutathione provides the body with tools to fight off these threats naturally. Healthy people also benefit from elevated glutathione levels through an enhanced ability to fight off acidic toxins, disease, pre-cancerous cells and the aging process itself. Diminished glutathione levels are a symptom of aging and are particularly evident in such aliments as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Glutathione is also important to physically active people. Many world-class athletes are discovering that well-maintained glutathione levels gives them the edge over their competitors, bringing greater strength and endurance ,decreased recovery time from injury, less muscle pain and fatigue, and muscle-promoting activity.

Putting It All Together

1) Medical science is still ascertaining all the critical roles played by glutathione in disease resistance and general good health. Clinical evidence links low glutathione levels to the most common illnesses of ourtime as well as newly emerging diseases.

2) As an essential aid to health, glutathione works as the master antioxidant in our body, optimizes the white blood cells and detoxifies a long list of pollutants and carcinogens or acids. The best way to raise glutathione levels is by eating foods that are high in glutathione such as avocados.

3) Pharmaceutical medicine has created drugs that do this very effectively. They have their uses in critical situations. But they also have side effects and repeated use is clearly in-advisable.

_________________________________________________________


References:

Aging

It is well known that aging is accompanied by a precipitous fall in glutathione levels. Lower glutathione levels are implicated in many diseases associated with aging including cataracts, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's atherosclerosis and others.Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 47:1021-26, 1994.

Antioxidant Functions

Antioxidants are well documented and known to play vital roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. Glutathione is your cell's own major antioxidant. Maintaining elevated glutathione levels aids the body's natural antioxidant function.Biochemical Pharmacology 47: 2114-2123, 1994.Neurological Disease Low glutathione levels have been associated with neuro-degenerative diseases such as MS (Multiple Sclerosis), ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The Lancet 344: 796-798, 1994.

Cancer

Glutathione plays a role in eliminating many carcinogens/acids and also maintains and optimizes white blood cell function while providing stronger anti-acidic/anti-tumor defenses.Cancer Letters 57: 91-94, 1991.

Athletic Performance

Raised glutathione levels help increase strength and endurance. Those interested in physical fitness can benefit from a definite athletic edge. Journal of Applied Physiology 87: 1381-1385, 1999.

Toxins, Pollution and Radiation

Glutathione detoxifies a variety of pollutants, carcinogens and poisons including many found in fuel exhaust and cigarette smoke. It also retards damage from radiation exposure due to the eroding ozone layer.Annual Reviews of Biochemistry 52: 711-760, 1983AIDSGlutathione levels correspond to poor survival of AIDS patients. Much documentation demonstrates the role of enhanced glutathione levels in AIDS.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA 94: 1967-72, 1997.

Heart Disease, Stroke and Cholesterol

Raised glutathione levels fight the oxidation of fats circulating in the bloodstream including cholesterol, retarding the process of plaque formation in the arteries leading to most heart attacks and strokes.Nutrition Reviews 54: 1-30, 1996.

Diabetes

Diabetics are more prone to 'out-fections' and circulatory problems leading to heart disease, kidney failure and blindness. Glutathione protects against the complications of diabetes.

Clinical Science 91:575-582, 1996

Lung Disease

Doctors have used glutathione-promoting drugs to treat many lung diseases including asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. New and potentially therapeutic roles can be found for cigarette smoke damage, pulmonary fibrosis and other illnesses.

American Journal of Medical Science 307:119-127, 1994

Digestive Disorders

Glutathione protects the body from inflammation of gastritis, stomach ulcers, pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Gut 42: 485-492, 1998 Hepatitis

The liver is a major storehouse for glutathione. Glutathione is impaired in alcohol hepatitis as well as in viral (acidic) hepatitis including hepatitis A, B, and C. Raised glutathione levels help restore liver function.

American Journal of Gastroenterology 91: 2569-2573, 1996

Kidney Disease

Those with kidney failure or on dialysis suffer from high levels of oxidative (acidic) stress and decreased glutathione levels. Raised glutathione levels help prevent anemia.Nephron 61: 404-408, 1992

Pregnancy, Lactation and Childbirth

Glutathione's role in fetal and placental development is critical. It also acts in the placenta to detoxify pollutants before they can reach the developing child. Many complications of pregnancy have been linked withpoor glutathione levels.Early Human Development 37: 167-174, 1994



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Update On My Dad

Well, I have been so busy that I haven’t posted the progress on my father.

Some of you know he was on his death bed the end of October, 2008. You may already know he has come back and no one is expecting him to go anywhere for a long time.

Maybe you remember that he has dementia/alzheimers disease and that the doctors said he is in the last stages and has hardly any white brain matter left.

I am hearing reports from the caregivers every day about dad remembering things. One mentioned he even remembered a DVD movie she had put in that night. A movie he had not seen for probably a month or so.

This is a man who didn’t have much of a long term memory or a short term memory for many years. He didn’t communicate much either. Well he is back and I wish his doctors would do another MRI because I bet it would look totally different!

Thank you God for MaxGXL and Dr. Keller!

GLUTATHIONE PROMOTING DRUGS, SUPPLEMENTS AND CO FACTORS

THE N-ACETYL CYSTEINE STORY

The only substances listed in the drug category above that have been approved by the FDA to date are N-acetyl cysteine and glutathione itself, both of which are usually administered intravenously. All others in that category have demonstrated significant problems and are not considered safe for long term use.

Nonetheless, it is estimated that pharmaceutical companies have spent billions of dollars to develop a glutathione producing/promoting drug. Given the relative obscurity of glutathione in mainstream medicine, don’t you find Big Pharma’s intense and costly interest curious?

With the scarcity of available drugs and their restricted uses imposed by the FDA and health insurance companies, it is clear, to me at least, that nutritional supplements are needed to maintain maximum glutathione levels (for health, quality, and perhaps even length of life).

One substance that occupies a position both as a prescription drug and a supplement is N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Of course the difference is that a prescription drug (NAC) must be pharmaceutical (highest) grade whereas supplements containing NAC may, but are not required to be, pharmaceutical grade. In fact, most of them are food grade. As such, drug NAC is purer bur not necessarily more effective (comparative studies don’t exist). Both drugs and supplements taken orally have the same potential gastrointestinal side effects (stomach ache, nausea, vomiting) if administered at greater than 800mg/m2 per dose.

Stated simply, this is about 12000 milligrams (mgs) for a 150-pound person. Some of the other negatives such as statements that NAC supplements raise glutathione levels only transiently (temporarily), however, require more critical examination.

Glutathione is synthesized within the cytosol of cells. The studies demonstrating that NAC raises GSH levels only transiently measure glutathione in the serum (blood). In a previous section, we mentioned that glutathione transferases transport glutathione out of cells when intracellular levels exceed the cells requirements. Although the ORAC test (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) may measure GSH levels in serum, remember neither serum glutathione elevations nor its duration accurately depicts the conditions within the cell. In fact, there are a few important articles in the research literature that speak directly to this controversy.

In one study, animals were given NAC every four hours. The studies revealed that intracellular glutathione levels increased with the initial dose; increased again with the second dose; and only plateaued after the third dose. Of note, the doses used were thousands of times the equivalent human dose.

In another study, animals were fed NAC, again at doses hundreds of times the equivalent human dose, over a prolonged period (the equivalent of approximately four years in humans). Examination of all the organs of the animals after the experiments were completed demonstrated no abnormalities in any tissue. In addition, comprehensive chemistry evaluation revealed only one minor abnormality in liver enzyme levels, but glutathione and glutathione peroxidase levels were elevated significantly.

Finally, an interesting study in baby animals demonstrated that 20 grams (20,000 mgs) in a baby chick weighing less than 100 grams (the ideal human is 70,000 grams) demonstrated increased growth compared to a group of baby chicks receiving no NAC. It must be noted that if 30 and 40 grams of NAC was given, the chicks actually demonstrated decreased growth rate compared to a placebo-fed group, but at doses at least thousands of times the human dose, NAC increased the growth of the baby chicks. This finding gains importance as babies of any species grow more quickly that adults and therefore, any problem associated with NAC should be magnified.

In addition, these are the very studies required by the FDA before human clinical trials can begin (animal toxicity studies) and are worthy of mentioning even though the results of animal studies cannot be extrapolated to humans. Given the beneficial effects at doses thousands of times any human dose, they call into question any statement concerning the possibility toxicity associated with long-term use of N-acetyl cysteine. These studies suggest strongly that NAC or other “protected” cysteines serve our integral purpose in any GSH promoting supplement.

CLOSING NOTE: N-Acetyl Cysteine is an ingredient in Dr. Keller's formulation.

From pages 41-43 of GLUTATHIONE, Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, Dr. Robert H. Keller, MD, MS, FACP, AAHIVS

The Heart

"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."

"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.

The surgeon looked up, annoyed "I'll cut your heart open," he continued,

to see how much damage has been done.."

"But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there," said the boy.

The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan

what to do next."

"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there.

The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."

The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart.

I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels.

And I'll find out if I can make you well.."

"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there."

The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery,"......damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration.

No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest

Prognosis: here he paused, "death within one year."

He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. "Why?" he asked aloud."Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in

this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"
The Lord answered and said, "The boy, my lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be Here,

in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot

imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace,

and My flock will continue to grow."

The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created

that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"

The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb,shall return to My flock, for

He has done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him,

but to retrieve another lost lamb.

"The surgeon wept... The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's

parents sat across from him.

The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"

"Yes," said the surgeon."What did you find?" asked the boy.

"I found Jesus there," said the surgeon.

Author Unknown - Celebrate Jesus in 2009

Have you lost someone you love or care about? Are you losing someone now? Perhaps the plan was never for them to be here forever. Would you change the way you treat someone if you knew from the day they were born they were on a limited stay here with us? Would you live your life differently if you knew just how long you would be walking this earth? What is your purpose here, now? Do you even know? Well I will have to find out from God just what he put my dad on this earth for but at least I have faith there was a plan put in motion from the day he was born. Hey without him I wouldn’t be here would I. I’ll have to remember to give him another hug today for that gift he gave me. Better do it today because I don’t know how much longer he will be with us…… What are you waiting for? Go hug that special person who is still here or tell them you love them now. If you wait then the pain will just be greater for you when you wake up and realize you didn’t have the chance because you waited too long. The pain will be all ours because they won’t be in pain.
Sorry, these are the thoughts and questions that came to my mind after I read this poem someone sent me. What kinds of thoughts does this poem bring to you? I’m interested. Tell me about it.

TESTIMONIAL-SEVERE PAIN - SPONDYLOLISTHESIS

This Testimonial is straight from Dr. Keller's book:

Cindy, Improved Cell Function & Anti-Inflammation

Hi, my name is Cindy M. I’ve suffered with severe scoliosis since I was 12 years of age. I also have a lower back problem that caused my scoliosis; which is known as Spondylolisthesis. I was in severe pain. I went through surgery at 13 and was in a body cast for 9 months and in bed for 6 months. I couldn’t sit up or hang my leg off the bed. I was basically confined to my bed. They did the surgery to slow the curve down and I didn’t have your typical surgery that you would have for scoliosis, because of my Spondylolisthesis. I had a Harrington type pin placed in my lower back instead of rods. Prior to all of this I wore a Milwaukee brace for two years. It didn’t work because of my lower back, however. Now they would like to go in and put four Harrington rods in from top to bottom.

And also some stainless-steel pins in the front to secure what they would have to do in the back. My doctor at University of Michigan has told me that he would like to tell me that he’s doing it to get rid of my pain but he is not. My spine’s not just curving, but it’s turning my torso and they would lie to try to stop that. I have suffered every day of my life with this pain. I have tried several different natural methods and I didn’t choose synthetic pain killers because this would be with me for the rest of my life, and I would have to take stronger doses with each passing year.

The day I was introduced to the glutathione supplement, I was in severe pain. I was very skeptical because of all the things I’ve tried. But I was always praying something would work. So I took the glutathione supplement and I went and rested because I didn’t think I was going to be able to go do errands that I had to do. Twenty minutes later, I started feeling better. I got up and started moving around and my pain was gone! I didn’t say anything to my family because I was still skeptical, wondering “was this really this supplement? How could it work this fast?”

So I finished the week’s supply and two days went by without the glutathione supplement and I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck. I was back to severe pain, calling everyone to see if I could get some more. I’ve never done crack, but I felt like an addict. I was looking for that fix. At that point I knew that it was the glutathione supplement. It’s been almost four months now, and the glutathione supplement has changed my life. My quality of life has never been this good since I was a little girl. I know everybody is different. It might not work on some people as fast as it did on me, but it was like the forest fire was put out on my back. I still have scoliosis but I’m not living with pain anymore.

Keller, RH, GLUTATHIONE Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, 2008

Testimonial-Fibromyalgia & Meniscus Cartilage Tear

This Testimonial is straight from Dr. Keller's Book:

Jillyn, Improved Cellular Function-Musculoskeletal

In February 2006, working as a teacher I, Jillyn, at 52 years old was tripped in the hall and landed on my left knee. It immediately swelled up and I struggled to walk. I was sent to two doctors, one was an orthopedic surgeon I had X-rays, and an MRI done. I was told my MRI showed a meniscus cartilage tear. It hurt so bad I couldn’t sleep and I walked with severe pain. I was given Prednisone and Amitriptyline to bring down the inflammation and the pain, but to no avail. I was on crutches for a month but that didn’t help either.

Then in April 2007, over a year later and still in pain, I was then sent to another orthopedic surgeon who really is a specialist in knees. He said I definitely needed surgery. But I am allergic to a lot of anti-inflammatories so I wanted to think about it for a few weeks. I then heard about the glutathione supplement and started taking it to see if it would help my fibromyalgia which I was diagnosed with in 1980 by a rheumatologist. Some symptoms of fibromyalgia, besides pain and lack of energy that I also struggle with are severe insomnia where many nights I did not sleep at all and a lack of mental clarity.

The longer I was on the glutathione supplement, the better I felt. After about 2 months of taking it I noticed increased mental clarity, my energy level was up and there was less stiffness in my joints and muscles. I sleep better and I feel better than I have in 27 years! I am sleeping all night, every night, and my knee is NOT painful anymore.

Now 1 ½ years since the fall, Oct. 1, I had a follow up with the knee specialist, the orthopedic surgeon who I saw last April. I was concerned about the surgery and when to have it. After my exam he wrote up the results and asked if I wanted a copy. In those results he wrote,

‘PLAN: Because her symptoms have shown signs of resolution and her exam is benign today would recommend holding off on surgery for now. Continue to follow on a conservative basis using the glutathione supplement. Since the inflammation is now resolving, it will take another 6 months or so for complete healing.”

My orthopedic surgeon then explained that by keeping the inflammation down with the glutathione supplement my body has been able to work on healing my meniscus cartilage tear. He then recommended careful exercise to build my knee strength, so the very next day I walked ONE mile on it, which I had not dared do, and my knee felt fine. I am ecstatic!

My knee is doing wonderful, NO surgery needed, my fibromyalgia seldom bothers me anymore, I have more energy, better mental clarity and I sleep every night.

For years I have also had severe allergies. And after four months on the glutathione supplement, I was able to keep my allergies completely under control. I felt normal and even forgot about my allergies until one day my husband asked me why I wasn’t suffering with them. I said I was only taking my glutathione supplement and had no allergy symptoms.

Keller, RH, GLUTATHIONE Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, 2008

Testimonial-Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

This Testimonial is straight from Dr. Keller's book:

Frank and Judy, Improved Cellular Function

I am 46 years young and I live in Peachland, BC.

In 1997, we were hit with the news that I was being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological disease which leaves little hope for the future. Our children were young teens at the time and needless to say this was terrifying for all of us. With MS comes many different types of symptoms, muscle pain and spasm, mental and physical fatigue, poor balance, I can go on and on. Activities had to be well planned so that I could be well rested. I hated feeling like a burden to my family.

As things go over the next years so many well intentioned friends and friends of friends were convinced they could “cure” my MS with their various products etc. Being somewhat of a realist I didn’t want any part of bouncing from product to product, I did my research, there is no cure for MS!

In January of 2005 my husband had a heart attack, yet another blow for us! Two surgeries and 11 stints later he is taking huge doses of Lipitor (80 mg daily).

Our children now being young adults and heading out on their own, I wanted a change for us so we moved to Peachland and semi-retired.

In June of 2007 my husband was introduced to a glutathione supplement. I was willing to try it.

About two weeks into taking the glutathione supplement, I had to admit that I was feeling so much better than I had in years! Less spasm, less pain, less fatigue and more energy than I had in some time! WOW and this gets better. After two months on the product, my husband’s medication was reduced by 20% to 60 mg of Lipitor daily.

Glutathione has been so much more than a supplement. It has and is changing our lives daily. I still have MS but MS doesn’t have me! We are looking forward to a much longer life and a better quality of life than we ever could have imagined!

Keller, RH, GLUTATHIONE Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, 2008

Testimonial-Fibromyalgia & Osteoarthritis

This Testimonial is straight from Dr. Keller's book:

Joanne, Improved Cellular Function

I am 61 years young --- feeling like I’m 39 and holding due to the glutathione supplement! I can think more clearly now (less senior moments), major pain nearly gone –more energy. I love to dance and there is no more lactic acid after dancing or exercise! Inflammation is the cause of almost all pain but with the glutathione supplement and my positive attitude, I am experiencing major pain relief. But my life wasn’t always this enriched --- healthwise!

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis back in the late ‘80’s --- early 90’s. I have been in pain since that time! Fibromyalgia is a condition where you hurt all over your body. I would take over-the-counter pain medicine to help with the pain ---- but it would help for a short time only. My doctor gave me antidepressants a few years ago. I told him that I wasn’t depressed. He told me that antidepressants work for the pain of fibromyalgia. So I went home and tried it. I took one tablet ---- a few minutes later I was sick to my stomach. I threw the pills in the garbage. So over the years I put up with the pain, dealing with it as best I could. Due to this condition, I only slept 3-4 hours a night as well. And we all know that as we sleep --- our bodies are repairing themselves. A person needs their proper sleep or they can’t function the next day!

But since learning about the glutathione supplement --- I’ve been taking it since July 9, 2007 noticing AMAZING RESULTS within 48 HOURS! First of all, I noticed my pain was not as bad as it used to be --- my arms and legs had a lot less pain. As the days went by, the pain got even less! I have a great sleep every night now and energy galore. An amazing supplement!


Keller, RH, GLUTATHIONE Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, Table 1, p 16, 61-70, 2008

Testimonial-Anxiety, Depression & Chest Pain

This Testimonial is straight from Dr. Keller's book:

Carvel, Improved Cellular Function

I am 66 years old. Using the glutathione supplement has changed my life. Yes, I have reentered life!

I experienced a significant benefit within 2 hours of using this product. I feel better now than I have in many years.

Here is my story.

I was in near perfect health, so I believed, through my late 50’s. Then I was assaulted by serious mental and physical health challenges.

I had been an outdoor enthusiast. I ran my first marathon at age 47. I ran at least one marathon a year for 10 consecutive years. I did a lot of mountain biking and backpacking into the backcountry. Also, I snow skied –--- never at a high skill level, but I had the energy and strength to do it.

All that great outdoor stuff stopped when I became ill. I stopped exercising and gained 75 pounds. For several years I was not living life ---- I was merely surviving from one day to the next.

I was diagnosed with severe depression and an anxiety disorder. Every day for at least 5 years, I had pains in my chest; some days it was only at an uncomfortable level, but most days the pain was excruciating.

I was committing many thinking errors. It adversely affected every area of my life, including financial, spiritual, and social.

Nothing seemed to deliver relief. I was hospitalized 3 times. I sought help from several different medical doctors. Many different pharmaceutical medicines were prescribed and used. Still no relief.

I tried several alternative approaches to my health problems, including acupuncture, hypnosis and chiropractic. Nothing worked.

I spent a week with a holistic practitioner in Mexico. It didn’t help.

Many well intended people gave me advice – what to do – what to eat – what to drink – what to swallow, etc. Nothing worked.

I decided to take an early retirement. I retired from my career in 2003. Life was still very hard.

Then I decided to move from Utah to Hawaii. I made the move early November, 2006. I believe that helped, but I was still hurting.

I woke up every morning with turmoil in my chest. I can best describe it by reporting that it felt like cats inside my chest clawing.

Sometime late December, 2006, I learned about glutathione supplement. I began using it mid-January, 2007.

This is what happened. Within an hour or two after I first took the supplement, I felt softening of the anxiety in my chest. The pain went away, and has not returned. It is an absolute miracle.

But the softening of the anxiety per se, is not the most miraculous part of my experience. Not only was my anxiety going down, but my energy was increasing.

Never before had I taken anything, good or bad, that increased my energy and also reduced the anxiety. Usually when my energy increased, my anxiety cranked up.

So, my first two noticeable benefits were my anxiety reduced and my energy went up.

Here are some other benefits I noticed:
Better sleep – that is, more restful slumber
Natural color returning to my hair
Old scar tissue on my right shin repairing
Increased desire to accomplish things each day
Increased sense of well being

I do not use any prescribed medications. I feel discouraged sometimes, but I no longer suffer from depression; I know the difference.

Yes, using this product has changed my life. It is true that I feel better than I have in many years.

I am not yet back to the point to where I thought I was enjoying near perfect health. But, that is now up to me. I know I need to exercise more, and shed some pounds.

There is more, but I think I have captured, and shared the essence of my experience using the revolutionary product.

Keller, RH, GLUTATHIONE Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, 2008

Parkinson's Testimonial

This testimonial is straight from Dr. Keller's book.

Jean, Improved Cellular Function-Neurologic

I am a 52 year old woman with Parkinson’s. I was diagnosed in 2002, at the age of 47. My neurologist is Ali H. Rajput, OC, SOM, MBBS, FRCPC, of Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, Canada. I was last seen by Dr. Rajput in December of 2006, when it was determined I could no longer work (I was a bakery manager at the time). This is a part of his letter to my family doctor. “Jean was examined 3 hours and 30 minutes after the last dose of Sinemet. There was a 2+ resting tremor in the left upper limb and 1+ resting tremor in all other limbs. There is 2+ postural tremor in the right upper limb and 1+ in the left upper limb. Her pronation/supernation is at 2+ on the left side and 1+ on the right side, and heel tapping is 3+ on the left and 1+ on the right. There is 1+ rigidity. Her posture is stable; she is therefore at Stage 2 disability.”

I first started taking the glutathione supplement in late May 2007. I started with three capsules in the morning and three in the afternoon. I felt nauseated, weak, developed a headache, and broke out in hives. So I then started taking only 1 capsule twice daily for three days. Then I went to 1 and 2 for 3 days. I still did not feel really well. Then I went to 2 and 2. By day 10, I started to feel really good. I actually slept for 4 hours straight, something that had not happened in the last 2 years. By day 12, I was feeling great! My medication did not “wear off” in one to one-and-a half hours like it usually did, but lasted 3 hours before wearing off! My pain level went from about an 8 to a 2. For the first time since about January of 2007, I did not have to use a cane to walk! What a wonderful feeling that was! There was no more Parkinson’s shuffle, and the cramping in my left arm and leg was minimal. And instead of sleeping half the afternoon away, I only need about a 15-minute nap. I started taking 3 and 3 capsules on about day 30. The hives have gone away and no more headaches. So, to sum up the first 3 months;

1) My energy level increased (from about a 2 to a 6)
2) I sleep for about three hours straight and for a total of about 6 hours per night, whereas before, I was lucky to get a total of 4 hours per night.
3) My medications last 3 to 3-and-a-half hours instead of 1 to 1-and-a-half hours, resulting in:
a) Less tremors
b) Less muscle cramping
c) Less muscle rigidity
d) Do not lose my voice very often
e) Do not have as much trouble swallowing
f) Pain in joints is minimal (as opposed to all day)
g) Do not need cane to walk
h) Less depression
i) My thinking is a lot clearer, not so foggy in the morning
j) Panic attacks are less
k) I fee more confident in such things as my driving, going put alone, etc.
l) Overall, more “on” time than “off” time

In September, I felt the glutathione supplement was not working as well, so I started taking 3 in the morning, 3 just after lunch, and 3 at around 4 or 5 p.m. This seems to be working well.



Keller, RH, GLUTATHIONE Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, 2008

Dad and a Duck

This is a picture of my father with a baby duck. He was always bringing home some kind of animal either for a pet or for us to raise to eat. I can remember at least 3 times when he brought home a baby duck. He can make the duck sound with his mouth very well. He uses it to shoo the dogs out of his bedroom even now. I am not sure of the time period. Looks like when he was over seas and maybe around 1964. I just took the picture in to my father and asked him if he knew who this person is and what the person is holding. He said it was him and that it was a duck!!! How is that for a guy who is in the last stages of dementia/alzheimers! He knew from as far back as 1964 or earlier! Thank you Dr. Keller for the miracle product you created for people like dad! Thank you God!

Almost Dead

When my husband got his wife back in June of 2007, I also got my husband back. You see when I was in bed sick over 80% of my day for over 4 years and taking almost a dozen prescription medications just to function, he was laying around much of his day too.

This is his testimonial. It’s even in his words.

“Between July, 2005 and October of 2006 I had 3 major surgeries and I almost died. I am a union electrician and even though I was not physically ready I returned to work in January of 2007.

My job consists of climbing ladders, crawling in attics and under houses and sometimes extreme physical labor. I didn’t have much energy and I rarely did anything after work and on weekends but rest. I was introduced to an all natural supplement called MaxGXL in June of 2007 and began to feel results positively within the first week. Not only is my energy level back but I also have noticed I sleep better and wake up easily with no morning fog no matter how late I stay up! My knees and legs used to get tired and would hurt by the end of the workday. I even thought that I needed new work boots but since taking MaxGXL I can work longer and still come home and enjoy my evenings and weekends and I still wear the same pair of work boots!”

He doesn’t say it here but his colon had perforated and his body was toxic. He woke up after 10 days in the hospital with a temporary colostomy. The next surgery was to reverse the colostomy and the last one was to repair multiple hernias in the incision site.

You see he thought he was fine. The truth is he hadn’t been fine for some time. He had little pockets in his colon that collected food and then one day the infection that had set up went through the colon wall thus leaking out the contents into his stomach cavity.

The moral of this story is that it’s never too late to start taking an active role in your health. By active I don’t mean just doing a bit of exercising here and a bit there and oh maybe watching what you eat sometimes. I mean taking an ACTIVE role in your health. Be diligent about it. We only get one life. If you don’t take care of it …………who will?

Marriage Proposal

Okay I think most of you are aware of my father’s seemingly miraculous turnaround since being at deaths door the end of October but you have to hear the latest.......

Let me preface this with reminding you that according to dad's doctors he is in the last stages of dementia and had been written off as "failure to thrive". So keep in mind this conversation I am about to tell you about shouldn't have occurred, especially with any rhyme or reason to it.

Here we go:

Last week my dad called me into his room and said, "I want to get married!"

I said, "Um okay, to whom"?

He said, "To um, um, that girl!" (Okay I didn't say he didn't still have senior moments!)

Since I had been out of town and one sitter in particular had been there all weekend I said, "Judy?"

He said, "Yes, would that be okay with you?"

I said, "Well, I think you should discuss this with her."

To which he replied, "Why don't you talk to her about it?"

Well I mentioned to Judy what dad said. We all didn't want to hurt his feelings so you can imagine we tried to avoid answering him and hoped he would forget. I mean is that too much to ask of someone with dementia/Alzheimer????...lol

Anyway he caught me in the hall several days later and said, "Have you talked to her about it yet?" I hem hawed or something like that around and basically said she will talk to him.

Judy hadn't been back until about 4 or 5 days later. Actually yesterday she was doing some other work for me at the house. Kathy, one of the other sitters said dad kept asking if she would take him outside. She used the excuse that it was too windy. That didn't stop him from wanting to talk to Judy so Kathy went outside to tell Judy dad wanted to talk to her.

I wasn't in the room but it was reported to me that when Judy came into the room she asked dad if he was causing trouble in a very sweet way. Dad said that he wasn't causing trouble and she said she thought he was.

He then said, "Will you marry me!"

Of course Judy had planned for this and said she had a boyfriend and what would he think about it... He said, "No you told me you didn't have a boyfriend".

She said, "No I didn't and here is a picture of him." (She had someone send a picture of himself on her phone to which she opened the phone and showed him.)

He didn't say anything after that.

The part I want you to notice here is that he had a normal conversation that a normal person would have. It wasn't a delusional one from medications because he doesn't take any that would cause that. It was a conversation from a man who is mentally there and was thinking of how nice it would be to be married. (Notice since I am his daughter I kept what I believe he was thinking clean. If he was thinking anymore than that I don't want to know...lol)

I so wish my dad was physically capable of all that he would like to do. I know he was bummed about the reply he got from his proposal but I am happy that he is thinking better and of more positive things.

May God bless you as he continues to bless us always.

Prayer: Sometimes Life Is Overwhelming

A very special friend told me today her father is not doing well and may very well be on his way to join his loving wife who passed just 1 year ago and his Savior. She is hurting as well as her family and asked that I keep them in my prayers. Connie you and your family are in my prayers.

Here is a special prayer that has given me comfort......

Loving Father,
Sometimes life can seem so overwhelming,
The pain is so deep,
the confusion so dense,
the struggle so disheartening.
But You, O God, know the full
measure of my anguish.
My feelings are as transparent
to You as my actions.
You have invited me to “be
myself” in prayer,
and so I am free to express the full
intensity of my emotions,
knowing that my honesty opens
the door to healing.
In the name of Him who prayed
for me with all the passion in His soul,
Your Son, Jesus.
Amen

From The Journey of Prayer by Terry W. Glaspey

Many hugs go out to all who are suffering. God truly has shown me his strength in my weakness. I pray he will for you too.

DAD - LAST SUMMER

This is a picture of my father when we toured an LST that is docked in our city. He seemed to really enjoy the outing. Dad retired from the Air Force in 1972 so he was familiar with this ship. I just liked seeing him smile with those huge blue eyes.

My Credentials

I want to take a minute to tell you about my credentials. I had someone ask me the other day if I was a doctor or a nurse. Here is my answer:

I am not a doctor. I am not a nurse.

I have worked with doctors in various fields and currently have many partners in the healthcare field both holistic and non-holistic. I do have an ex who is a nurse, a sister who is a nurse and a daughter in nursing school.

I have extensive and I do mean extensive on the job training in the nursing field. Many people tell me I should go ahead and get a degree since I have done and still do everything nurses do. However, I will not do that because I don't feel it would be a good leveraging of my time or income. This is not to say nurses don’t make lots of money...because they make a very good living. It's just that I feel I can help people best by connecting people with the doctors and scientist that are changing the world one person and a time, not be one.

So as you read my posts, please understand that it is not my intention to diagnose or treat anyone. They are only my opinions and true facts of my experience in life. I am a blunt person and a believer in God. I also believe I have a moral responsibility to pass on this second gift of life I was so graciously blessed with at age 42.

GSH - Glutathione....Say what??? Glue the what??

4 Facts About Glutathione (GSH)

Our body naturally creates a powerful antioxidant called "glutathione" or "GSH" to help deal with dangerous daily by-products of breathing oxygen and the toxic intrusions in our air, water, and food.While glutathione (GSH) is thousands of times more prevalent and powerful than our body's other antioxidants, there are four important areas we must understand if we are going to make use of improved glutathione levels.

Glutathione Absorption: We know that increased glutathione levels cleanse and optimize the cells of our body. How do we increase the GSH levels? Intravenous GSH is costly and a one-shot solution. Ingesting GSH supplementation gets torn apart in digesting it. GSH that would get to the blood stream is too large a molecule to get through cell membranes. The answer was developed by Dr. Robert Keller by creating a high level absorptive blend which contains the ingredients for GSH to be naturally accelerated in the most needed areas of the body.

Glutathione Production: Glutathione is needed and used in all the 50 trillion cells tens of thousands of times per second. By providing the amino acids and other precursors needed by the cell to produce GSH, Dr. Keller's GXL formula naturally optimizes intracellular health in the areas it is most needed. GSH neutralizes oxidative stress and chaperones toxins from the cells and body.

Glutathione Recycling: GSH is not only increased by the MaxGXL blend by more than 290% in 60 days, it is also recycled over and over again because of the other ingredients in the GXL formula. Dr. Keller does not know how many times the recycling of GSH goes around, but it is significant.

Glutathione Maximization: Dr. Keller points out that there are at least 17 enzymes involved in the production, recycling, and storage of GSH. The blend uses the quercetin, cordyceps, and silimarin to maximize and aid these enzymes. An added benefit is the rejuvenation of the liver functions for creating and storing GSH.

Glutathione - Antioxidant and Antitoxin

Imagine a single item that could thoroughly clean your home, wash your clothes, purify the air you breathe, protect you against tained food, and defend you and your family from a criminal attack.

While such an amazing entity doesn’t exist in stores, it can be found in every cell of your body. It’s a tripeptide named glutathione (pronounced glue-ta-thigh-own) and it is arguably the body’s most powerful antioxidant. It was discovered more than a century ago, but still laguishes in the shadows of mainstream medicine.

Glutathione functions as an antioxidant and an antitoxin, protecting us from the ravages of our increasingly toxic environment and our own foibles. In addition, it is a protector of our immune defense system and a promoter of efficient blood flow and production, ……..” From GLUTATHIONE, Your Best Defense Against Aging, Cellular Damage and Disease, Dr. Robert H. Keller, MD, MS, FACP, AAHIVS

Excellence is the result of caring more than other's think is wise. Risking more than other's think is safe, dreaming more than other's think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible.

Healing Crisis

The first thing that happened when my dad started on the glutathione accelerator supplement was he went through a healing crisis. It never sounds good when you put the crises word with any other word but this was actually a good thing. Hence the word HEALING. It was either the very next day after he started it or the day after that he was unable to ambulate when we tried to get him up in the morning. He was slurring his words and had a fever. His blood sugar was up also. I did panic somewhat. But I soon remembered what someone had explained to me to be a healing crisis. They had actually told me about it because they expected I could go through it.

I started to call the doctor but decided I would monitor the situation closely first. I checked his blood sugar and temperature every 2 hours even throughout the night. His temperature never got above 102 degrees and I gave him extra insulin as needed. The next morning all symptoms of the previous day were gone. No temp and his blood sugar was back down. I called the friend who had educated me on the healing crises and explained what had happened. She told me that Dr. Keller (formulator of the glutathione accelerator) advised his patients to back down on the amount they took for a few days and slowly start to work back up to the full dose. I did exactly as she related.

Once dad was up to the full dose again (only about a week’s time) I began to notice my father was urinating regularly again. I am not sure what exactly happened to my father in that department down there with his enlarged prostate and all but I can tell you when the man started urinating again like a normal adult I knew things were changing.

His skin also began to get some color too it. Like maybe he had been outside and gotten some sun only he hadn’t. He seemed to have more strength and stamina. He even began talking more. If you remember he hadn’t talked much at all when I got him. He did some hand gesturing but if and when he spoke you couldn’t tell what he was saying. His blood sugars that had been out of control even with a diabetic diet suddenly became more manageable. But the proof was in the pudding so to speak a few days after a doctor’s office visit. For the first time ever, the doctor’s office called me after they got his results from his blood work back. The nurse told me to not give him any more of the cholesterol medication I had been giving him since before I got him because they were sending a new prescription. Same drug but the amount was CUT IN HALF! If I wasn’t sure things were getting better for dad I was then.

As the months passed he started communicating more and more. It didn’t take long and the father I thought I would never be able to go to and have a real conversation with was back! He was mentally back!! He could talk to me and reason. His voice was clearer even. This was most unexpected but an answer to my prayers!

Don't think about the things you don't have. It will keep you from moving forward.

The Fires Within

TIME
In Partnership with CNN
Monday, Feb. 23, 2004

The Fires Within
By Christine Gorman; Alice Park; Kristina Dell

What does a stubbed toe or a splinter in a finger have to do with your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, suffering a heart attack or succumbing to colon cancer? More than you might think. As scientists delve deeper into the fundamental causes of those and other illnesses, they are starting to see links to an age-old immunological defense mechanism called inflammation--the same biological process that turns the tissue around a splinter red and causes swelling in an injured toe. If they are right--and the evidence is starting to look pretty good--it could radically change doctors' concept of what makes us sick. It could also prove a bonanza to pharmaceutical companies looking for new ways to keep us well.

Most of the time, inflammation is a lifesaver that enables our bodies to fend off various disease-causing bacteria, viruses and parasites. (Yes, even in the industrialized world, we are constantly bombarded by pathogens.) The instant any of these potentially deadly microbes slips into the body, inflammation marshals a defensive attack that lays waste to both invader and any tissue it may have infected. Then just as quickly, the process subsides and healing begins.

Every once in a while, however, the whole feverish production doesn't shut down on cue. Sometimes the problem is a genetic predisposition; other times something like smoking or high blood pressure keeps the process going. In any event, inflammation becomes chronic rather than transitory. When that occurs, the body turns on itself--like an ornery child who can't resist picking a scab--with aftereffects that seem to underlie a wide variety of diseases.
Suddenly, inflammation has become one of the hottest areas of medical research. Hardly a week goes by without the publication of yet another study uncovering a new way that chronic inflammation does harm to the body. It destabilizes cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries, leading to heart attacks and potentially even strokes. It chews up nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. It may even foster the proliferation of abnormal cells and facilitate their transformation into cancer. In other words, chronic inflammation may be the engine that drives many of the most feared illnesses of middle and old age.

This concept is so intriguing because it suggests a new and possibly much simpler way of warding off disease. Instead of different treatments for, say, heart disease, Alzheimer's and colon cancer, there might be a single, inflammation-reducing remedy that would prevent all three.
Chronic inflammation also fascinates scientists because it indicates that our bodies may have, from an evolutionary perspective, become victims of their own success. "We evolved as a species because of our ability to fight off microbial invaders," says Dr. Peter Libby, chief of cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "The strategies our bodies used for survival were important in a time when we didn't have processing plants to purify our water, when we didn't have sewers to protect us."
But now that we are living longer, those same inflammatory strategies are more likely to slip beyond our control. Making matters worse, it appears that many of the attributes of a Western lifestyle--such as a diet high in sugars and saturated fats, accompanied by little or no exercise--also make it easier for the body to become inflamed.

At least that's the theory. For now, most of the evidence is circumstantial. (A few researchers think chronic inflammation can in some cases be good for you.) But that hasn't stopped doctors from testing the anti-inflammatory drugs that are already on pharmacy shelves to see if they have any broader benefits. What they've found is encouraging:

--In 2000 researchers concluded that patients who take Celebrex, a prescription drug from Pfizer that was originally designed to treat inflammation in arthritis, are less likely to develop intestinal polyps--abnormal growths that can become cancerous. Now there are dozens of clinical trials of Celebrex, testing, among other things, whether the medication can also prevent breast cancer, delay memory loss or slow the progression of the devastating neurodegenerative disorder known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

--As cardiologists gain more experience prescribing cholesterol-lowering statins, they are discovering that the drugs are more effective at preventing heart attacks than anyone expected. It turns out that statins don't just lower cholesterol levels; they also reduce inflammation. Now statins are being tested for their anti-inflammatory effects on Alzheimer's disease and sickle-cell anemia.

--DeCode Genetics, an Icelandic biotech firm, announced last week that it is launching a pilot study to test whether an anti-inflammatory drug that was under development for use in treating asthma might work to prevent heart attacks.

--Of course the granddaddy of all anti-inflammatories is aspirin, and millions of Americans already take it to prevent heart attacks. But evidence is growing that it may also fight colon cancer and even Alzheimer's by reducing inflammation in the digestive tract and the brain.
This new view of inflammation is changing the way some scientists do medical research. "Virtually our entire R.-and-D. effort is [now] focused on inflammation and cancer," says Dr. Robert Tepper, president of research and development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Mass. In medical schools across the U.S., cardiologists, rheumatologists, oncologists, allergists and neurologists are all suddenly talking to one another--and they're discovering that they're looking at the same thing. The speed with which researchers are jumping on the inflammation bandwagon is breathtaking. Just a few years ago, "nobody was interested in this stuff," says Dr. Paul Ridker, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital who has done some of the groundbreaking work in the area. "Now the whole field of inflammation research is about to explode."

To understand better what all the excitement is about, it helps to know a little about the basic immunological response, a cascade of events triggered whenever the body is subjected to trauma or injury. As soon as that splinter slices into your finger, for example, specialized sentinel cells prestationed throughout the body alert the immune system to the presence of any bacteria that might have come along for the ride. Some of those cells, called mast cells, release a chemical called histamine that makes nearby capillaries leaky. This allows small amounts of plasma to pour out, slowing down invading bacteria, and prepares the way for other faraway immune defenders to easily enter the fray. Meanwhile, another group of sentinels, called macrophages, begin an immediate counterattack and release more chemicals, called cytokines, which signal for reinforcements. Soon, wave after wave of immune cells flood the site, destroying pathogens and damaged tissue alike--there's no carrying the wounded off the battlefield in this war. (No wonder the ancient Romans likened inflammation to being on fire.)

Doctors call this generalized response to practically any kind of attack innate immunity. Even the bodies of animals as primitive as starfish defend themselves this way. But higher organisms have also developed a more precision-guided defense system that helps direct and intensify the innate response and creates specialized antibodies, custom-made to target specific kinds of bacteria or viruses. This so-called learned immunity is what enables drug companies to develop vaccines against diseases like smallpox and the flu. Working in tandem, the innate and learned immunological defenses fight pitched battles until all the invading germs are annihilated. In a final flurry of activity, a last wave of cytokines is released, the inflammatory process recedes, and healing begins.

Problems begin when, for one reason or another, the inflammatory process persists and becomes chronic; the final effects are varied and depend a lot on where in the body the runaway reaction takes hold. Among the first to recognize the broader implications were heart doctors who noticed that inflammation seems to play a key role in cardiovascular disease.

IS YOUR HEART ON FIRE?
Not long ago, most doctors thought of heart attacks as primarily a plumbing problem. Over the years, fatty deposits would slowly build up on the insides of major coronary arteries until they grew so big that they cut off the supply of blood to a vital part of the heart. A complex molecule called LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol, provided the raw material for these deposits. Clearly anyone with high LDL levels was at greater risk of developing heart disease.

There's just one problem with that explanation: sometimes it's dead wrong. Indeed, half of all heart attacks occur in people with normal cholesterol levels. Not only that, as imaging techniques improved, doctors found, much to their surprise, that the most dangerous plaques weren't necessarily all that large. Something that hadn't yet been identified was causing those deposits to burst, triggering massive clots that cut off the coronary blood supply. In the 1990s, Ridker became convinced that some sort of inflammatory reaction was responsible for the bursting plaques, and he set about trying to prove it.

To test his hunch, Ridker needed a simple blood test that could serve as a marker for chronic inflammation. He settled on Creactive protein (CRP), a molecule produced by the liver in response to an inflammatory signal. During an acute illness, like a severe bacterial infection, levels of CRP quickly shoot from less than 10 mg/L to 1,000 mg/L or more. But Ridker was more interested in the low levels of CRP--less than 10 mg/L--that he found in otherwise healthy people and that indicated only a slightly elevated inflammation level. Indeed, the difference between normal and elevated is so small that it must be measured by a specially designed assay called a high-sensitivity CRP test.

By 1997, Ridker and his colleagues at Brigham and Women's had shown that healthy middle-aged men with the highest CRP levels were three times as likely to suffer a heart attack in the next six years as were those with the lowest CRP levels. Eventually, inflammation experts determined that having a CRP reading of 3.0 mg/L or higher can triple your risk of heart disease. The danger seems even greater in women than in men. By contrast, folks with extremely low levels of CRP, less than 0.5 mg/L, rarely have heart attacks.

Physicians still don't know for sure how inflammation might cause a plaque to burst. But they have a theory. As the level of LDL cholesterol increases in the blood, they speculate, some of it seeps into the lining of the coronary arteries and gets stuck there. Macrophages, alerted to the presence of something that doesn't belong, come in and try to clean out the cholesterol. If, for whatever reason, the cytokine signals begin ramping up the inflammatory process instead of notching it down, the plaque becomes unstable. "This is not about replacing cholesterol as a risk factor," Ridker says. "Cholesterol deposits, high blood pressure, smoking--all contribute to the development of underlying plaques. What inflammation seems to contribute is the propensity of those plaques to rupture and cause a heart attack. If there is only inflammation but no underlying heart disease, then there is no problem."

At this point, cardiologists are still not ready to recommend that the general population be screened for inflammation levels. But there's a growing consensus that CRP should be measured in those with a moderately elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease. At the very least, a high CRP level might tip the balance in favor of more aggressive therapy with treatments--such as aspirin and statins--that are already known to work.

A NEW VIEW OF DIABETES
Before Dr. Frederick Banting and his colleagues at the University of Toronto isolated insulin in the 1920s, doctors tried to treat diabetes with high doses of salicylates, a group of aspirin-like compounds. (They were desperate and also tried morphine and heroin.) Sure enough, the salicylate approach reduced sugar levels, but at a high price: side effects included a constant ringing in the ears, headaches and dizziness. Today's treatments for diabetes are much safer and generally work by replacing insulin, boosting its production or helping the body make more efficient use of the hormone. But researchers over the past few years have been re-examining the salicylate approach for new clues about how diabetes develops.

What they have discovered is a complex interplay between inflammation, insulin and fat--either in the diet or in large folds under the skin. (Indeed, fat cells behave a lot like immune cells, spewing out inflammatory cytokines, particularly as you gain weight.) Where inflammation fits into this scenario--as either a cause or an effect--remains unclear. But the case for a central role is getting stronger. Dr. Steve Shoelson, a senior investigator at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, has bred a strain of mice whose fat cells are supercharged inflammation factories. The mice become less efficient at using insulin and go on to develop diabetes. "We can reproduce the whole syndrome just by inciting inflammation," Shoelson says.

That suggests that a well-timed intervention in the inflammatory process might reverse some of the effects of diabetes. Some of the drugs that are already used to treat the disorder, like metformin, may work because they also dampen the inflammation response. In addition, preliminary research suggests that high CRP levels may indicate a greater risk of diabetes. But it's too early to say whether reducing CRP levels will actually keep diabetes at bay.

CANCER: THE WOUND THAT NEVER HEALS
Back in the 1860s, renowned pathologist Rudolf Virchow speculated that cancerous tumors arise at the site of chronic inflammation. A century later, oncologists paid more attention to the role that various genetic mutations play in promoting abnormal growths that eventually become malignant. Now researchers are exploring the possibility that mutation and inflammation are mutually reinforcing processes that, left unchecked, can transform normal cells into potentially deadly tumors.

How might that happen? One of the most potent weapons produced by macrophages and other inflammatory cells are the so-called oxygen free radicals. These highly reactive molecules destroy just about anything that crosses their path--particularly DNA. A glancing blow that damages but doesn't destroy a cell could lead to a genetic mutation that allows it to keep on growing and dividing. The abnormal growth is still not a tumor, says Lisa Coussens, a cancer biologist at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco. But to the immune system, it looks very much like a wound that needs to be fixed. "When immune cells get called in, they bring growth factors and a whole slew of proteins that call other inflammatory cells," Coussens explains. "Those things come in and go 'heal, heal, heal.' But instead of healing, you're 'feeding, feeding, feeding.'"

Sometimes the reason for the initial inflammatory cycle is obvious--as with chronic heartburn, which continually bathes the lining of the esophagus with stomach acid, predisposing a person to esophageal cancer. Other times, it's less clear. Scientists are exploring the role of an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the development of colon cancer. COX-2 is yet another protein produced by the body during inflammation.

Over the past few years, researchers have shown that folks who take daily doses of aspirin--which is known to block COX2--are less likely to develop precancerous growths called polyps. The problem with aspirin, however, is that it can also cause internal bleeding. Then in 2000, researchers showed that Celebrex, another COX-2 inhibitor that is less likely than aspirin to cause bleeding, also reduces the number of polyps in the large intestine.

So, should you be taking Celebrex to prevent colon cancer? It's still too early to say. Clearly COX-2 is one of the factors in colon cancer. "But I don't think it's the exclusive answer," says Ray DuBois, director of cancer prevention at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn. "There are a lot of other components that need to be explored."

ASPIRIN FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE?
When doctors treating Alzheimer's patients took a closer look at who seemed to be succumbing to the disease, they uncovered a tantalizing clue: those who were already taking anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis or heart disease tended to develop the disorder later than those who weren't. Perhaps the immune system mistakenly saw the characteristic plaques and tangles that build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients as damaged tissue that needed to be cleared out. If so, the ensuing inflammatory reaction was doing more harm than good. Blocking it with anti-inflammatories might limit, or at least delay, any damage to cognitive functions.
The most likely culprits this time around are the glial cells, whose job is to nourish and communicate with the neurons. Researchers have discovered that glial cells can also act a lot like the mast cells of the skin, producing inflammatory cytokines that call additional immune cells into action. "The glial cells are trying to return the brain to a normal state," explains Linda Van Eldik, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "But for some reason, in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, the process seems to be out of control. You get chronic glial activation, which results in an inflammatory state."

It appears that some people are more sensitive to plaques and tangles than others. Perhaps they have a genetic predisposition. Or perhaps a long-running bacterial infection, like gum disease, keeps the internal fires burning and tips the balance toward chronic inflammation.
Preliminary research suggests that low-dose aspirin and fish-oil capsules--both of which are known to reduce inflammatory cytokines--seem to reduce a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, most of these preventive measures need to be started well before any neurological problems develop. "What we've learned with dementia is that it's very hard to improve people who already have it," says Dr. Ernst Schaefer, a professor of medicine and nutrition at Tuft's Friedman School of Nutrition in Boston. "But it may be possible to stabilize people and to prevent disease."

WHEN THE BODY ATTACKS ITSELF
No doctors have more experience treating chronic inflammation than the physicians who specialize in rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus and other autoimmune disorders. For decades these diseases have provided the clearest example of a body at war with itself. But the spark that fuels their internal destruction doesn't come from excess cholesterol deposits or a stubborn bacterial infection. Instead, in a bizarre twist of fate, the body's supersophisticated, learned immunological defenses mistakenly direct an inflammatory attack against healthy cells in such places as the joints, nerves and connective tissue.

Over the past few years, powerful drugs like Remicade and Enbrel, which target specific inflammatory cytokines, have worked wonders against rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders. But as often happens in medicine, the drugs have also created some problems. Patients who take Remicade, for example, are slightly more likely to develop tuberculosis; the same inflammatory cytokines that attacked their joints, it seems, also protected them against TB.

Inflammation may be more of a problem in the earlier stages of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. So much tissue is eventually destroyed that nerve damage becomes permanent. "Your initial goal is to keep the immune response in check, but then you have to ask how you encourage regrowth of damaged tissue," says Dr. Stephen Reingold, vice president for research programs at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It could take decades to figure that one out.

ASTHMA WITHOUT ALLERGIES?
One of the most intriguing questions in immunology today is why everyone doesn't suffer from asthma. After all, the air we breathe is full of germs, viruses and other irritants. Since half of the 17 million Americans with asthma are hypersensitive to common substances like cat dander or pollen, it stands to reason that their allergic reactions trigger the chronic inflammation in their bodies. Yet the people who develop asthma as adults--one of the most rapidly growing segments of the population--often don't have allergies. Doctors still don't know what's driving their disease, but the signs of inflammation are every bit as present in their lungs.

Many treatments for asthma are designed to control inflammation, although they still don't cure the disease. "It may mean that the inflammatory hypothesis is not entirely correct or the drugs that we use to treat inflammation aren't fully potent," says Dr. Stephen Wasserman, an allergist at the University of California at San Diego. "There are a lot of gaps to fill in."

Everywhere they turn, doctors are finding evidence that inflammation plays a larger role in chronic diseases than they thought. But that doesn't necessarily mean they know what to do about it. "We're in a quandary right now," says Dr. Gailen Marshall, an immunologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. "We're advancing the idea to heighten awareness. But we really can't recommend specific treatments yet."

That may soon change. Researchers are looking beyond aspirin and other multipurpose medications to experimental drugs that block inflammation more precisely. Any day now, Genentech is expecting a decision from the FDA on its colon-cancer drug, Avastin, which targets one of the growth factors released by the body as inflammation gives way to healing. Millennium Pharmaceuticals is testing a different kind of drug, called Velcade, which has already been approved for treating multiple myeloma, against lung cancer and other malignancies. But there is a sense that much more basic research into the nature of inflammation needs to be done before scientists understand how best to limit the damage in chronic diseases.

In the meantime, there are things we all can do to dampen our inflammatory fires. Some of the advice may sound terribly familiar, but we have fresh reasons to follow through. Losing weight induces those fat cells--remember them?--to produce fewer cytokines. So does regular exercise, 30 minutes a day most days of the week. Flossing your teeth combats gum disease, another source of chronic inflammation. Fruits, vegetables and fish are full of substances that disable free radicals.

So if you want to stop inflammation, get off that couch, head to the green market and try not to stub your toe on the way.
--With reporting by Dan Cray/Los Angeles
With reporting by Dan Cray/Los Angeles; Christine Gorman and Kristina Dell
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