GSH is the most important antioxidant in humans. Among its many essential functions is the recycling of Vitamins C and E. When GSH is low, people need much more of these antioxidant vitamins. You probably haven’t heard about the master antioxidant because there was nothing you could do to increase it safely until recently.

I believe that my knowledge of GSH saved my life, but more on that later. First, let’s explore a few facts about this essential substance which is found in nearly every cell of our bodies.

GSH is made up from three amino acids: glutamate, glycine and, most importantly, cysteine, which gives this molecule its biological activity. Many people have a diet low in cysteine and its precursors; additionally, cysteine needs to be in a particular combination to be effectively absorbed and transported to the cells. This article is too short to give specifics, but I highly recommend the third edition of Dr. Jimmy Gutman’s book GSH – Your Body’s Most Powerful Protector (Communications Kudo, 2002), which provides great detail in an easy- to-read format.

In many chronic diseases, GSH levels are very low. In cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, GSH levels are less than 10% of normal. As we get older, GSH levels drop and are an important reversible factor in aging. For example, the average 65 year old has only 65% of the GSH which they had when they were younger.

Here is why I have such a personal interest in Glutathione: In 1998, I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer (my biopsy graded as Gleason's score 7). Medical colleagues with whom I consulted strongly advised me to do something invasive such as surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. Prostate cancer that is classed as Gleason 7 is considered to be a very serious diagnosis and likely to spread. Thus, the advice that I take definitive action immediately was unanimous.

Instead, I chose to thoroughly review the medical literature on prostate cancer, as well as any reports on alternative ways of dealing with this potentially invasive cancer. I did not like what I found about the risks and possible complications using conventional, invasive therapies. Although these therapies attacked the immediate problem of the cancer, they did not deal with the underlying conditions that allowed cancer to manifest in the first place.

To cut a long story short, what stood out most in my review was that over 20 years of research at Montreal’s McGill University Medical School had shown that raising GSH levels was an effective way of combating some cancers. Being a researcher myself (I was a professor of preventive medicine and epidemiology for 10 years), I was impressed by the extensive medical literature. The only way I found to reliably and safely increase my GSH levels was to take a newly-patented, specialized isolate of milk serum.

I have been taking this in powder form for over five years and my health is certainly much better now. Recently, I saw my urologist for the first time in three years. He was surprised to find that my prostate gland had shrunk and was almost normal in size. Every person is different, so I advise that anyone with cancer consult with at least two health care practitioners before deciding on any treatment. However, there is much published evidence that increasing GSH helps to deal with any cancer, whatever other treatment is used.

Increasing Glutathione levels helps in many other conditions as well. For example, Dorothy, a very good friend of mine, was told that she had rapidly growing cataracts in both eyes and that she would likely lose her drivers license. After three months on a nutritional product designed to increase intracellular GSH, Dorothy noticed that her vision was "clearing" and that it no longer seemed "as if I were looking through milky glasses." After 9 months, her eye specialist reported that there was no evidence of cataract in her left eye and that the one on the right was so thin that nothing need be done. Subsequently, Dorothy passed her eye tests and renewed her driving license until 2006!