Q. What is glutathione? Can it really whiten the skin and act as an antioxidant that can protect the body against diseases? Does it have any side effects? Is its skin whitening effect permanent?

--meanfran@yahoo.com

A. Yes, glutathione, a protein that is produced by the body and found in every cell, is a very important antioxidant.

Antioxidants, which aside from glutathione include vitamin E (tocopherol),  vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin A (retinol  and carotenoids), a variety of minerals like zinc, iron, copper, manganese and selenium, and thousands of phytochemicals (plant chemicals), are substances that protect the cells of the body from getting damaged by free radicals. Free radicals such as hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen are highly reactive atoms or groups of atoms that are by-products of the normal metabolic activities of cells. They serve a useful purpose in the body because they are able to help kill bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. But in excess, they injure cells—they oxidize proteins and lipids that are inside the cell and damage the nucleus, and contribute to such disorders as cancer, heart disease and many other conditions associated with aging.

Aside from serving as an antioxidant, glutathione also detoxifies many foreign compounds and plays a key role in the proper functioning of the immune system. It also plays a vital role in numerous metabolic and biochemical reactions.

Glutathione, however, is not an essential protein, which means it can be synthesized by the cells of the body as long as the amino acids L-cysteine, L-glutamic acid, and glycine are available. In other words, under normal circumstances, you need not provide your body with glutathione because whatever glutathione your body needs, it can synthesize. But will glutathione supplementation provide extra protection against diseases? Theoretically, yes. Unfortunately, scientific evidence shows otherwise.

To date, clinical trials have not established the presumed beneficial effects on cancer, heart disease and other degenerative disorders of mega-doses of glutathione or any antioxidant for that matter. Evidently, excess glutathione or any antioxidant does not translate into greater protection against diseases. Thus, because glutathione has no proven therapeutic effect, it cannot be marketed as a drug, but it can be sold, and is being sold, as a food supplement.

Does glutathione have any side effects? Actually, there are no reports of side effects of glutathione even when taken in large doses, except for the fact that it whitens the skin. And it is this side effect that has appealed to Filipinos because for most Filipinos “white is beautiful.”

Glutathione whitens the skin because it inhibits the enzyme tyrosinase, which simply means it prevents the concerned cells in the skin from manufacturing melanin, the pigment that is responsible for the brown to black coloration of the skin.

Glutathione is marketed in the form of whitening soap or tablet/capsule supplement. Either way, it apparently works, but it takes time—several weeks to months.

Glutathione is not well absorbed when taken by mouth. In fact, it is probably easier to raise the glutathione concentrations in the various tissues in the body by orally taking the precursors—that is, the substances such as S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) the body needs to make glutathione—rather than glutathione itself.

Are the skin whitening effects of glutathione permanent? Obviously not. If you stop using glutathione, the skin will promptly start manufacturing melanin again.

Incidentally, even if studies show glutathione to be generally safe, I wouldn’t advise people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, pregnant or lactating women, and children from taking the supplement.

(E-mail inquiries on health matters to: medical_notes@yahoo.com or wellbeing@mb.com.ph.)