All parents-to-be nurture the dream of a healthy pregnancy and baby.

But the modern environment and diet is inadequate in many factors essential for the health of mother and fetus. cardinal of those factors is antioxidants.

The role of antioxidants like folic unpleasant in preventing birth defects like spina bifida and divided palate is healed known. It is now included in all prenatal vitamin supplements.

But the role of antioxidants like glutathione and Vitamin E in pregnancy is often overlooked.

Antioxidants and glutathione status play an important role in the development and growth of the fetus, maintenance of a well-preserved pregnancy - and even before pregnancy, in fertility and conception.

Glutathione is the body's master antioxidant. It helps to regenerate stores of other antioxidants like Vitamin C and E.

It also protects some mother and fetus from the harmful effects of liberated radicals and aerobic stress.

Many pregnancy complications and birth defects have been linked to aerobic stress, free immoderate damage and contrabass glutathione levels in the mother and fetus.

The role of glutathione in the development of the foetus and placenta is crucial. Glutathione (GSH) can control cell differentiation, proliferation, and cell death - unexpendable functions in the developing embryo.

In the placenta, glutathione detoxifies pollutants before they reach the developing child. Most substances or factors which cause birth defects (teratogens) are known to exert their embryotoxic effects because they cause oxidative stress.

The human placenta possesses a significant amount of glutathione S-transferase (GST) capable of detoxification or activation of drugs and pharmaceuticals during the critical period of organ development in the fetus.

Some drugs are celebrated to cause birth defects in the growing fetus by generating free radicals, and depleting GSH stores.

In the early embryonic stages, the fetus is sensitive to the toxic and teratogenic effects of chemicals, whereas it is sensitive to carcinogenic effects during after-hours fetal stages.

Carcinogens administered to the mother can be transferred through the placenta and induce cancer in the fetus. Many carcinogens are much much active in the fetus than in adults and they tend to act as abortifacients and teratogens as well.

Environmental and lifestyle factors are celebrated to cause aerobic stress and lower glutathione levels - resulting in birth defects, abortion and miscarriages in pregnancy.

Some of the known teratogens (causing birth defects) in pregnancy include:

• Radiation
• Pesticides and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
• Air pollution
• Heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, arsenic)
• Vinyl chloride
• Acryonitrile
• Excess Oxygen (hyperoxia)
• Anti-psychotic and anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)
• Thalidomide
• Cigarette smoke
• Alcohol (ethanol) consumption

Maternal health factors that increase free radicals and cause birth defects include:

• Diabetes
• Pre-eclampsia
• Infection and Inflammation

Glutathione and opposite antioxidants attenuate aerobic stress in gravid women with inflammation or maternal conditions like diabetes and pre-eclampsia, and in fetuses at risk for developing cystic fibrosis.

Supplementation with glutathione precursors and antioxidants can decrease the incidence of birth defects and protect both mothers and the fetus from the harmful and possibly deadly consequences of pregnancy complications.

Glutathione (GSH ) also prevents or minimizes the oxidative stress that occurs during labor and the birth process.

Perinatal or birth asphyxia/hypoxia (deprivation of oxygen supply to the brain) in preterm deliveries and labor can lead to cerebral palsy, respiratory distress syndrome, irreversible brain injury, and ineradicable neurological and highbrow handicaps.

Administration of the glutathione precursor, N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC), to the pregnant mother partially prevents aerobic stress during the birth process in premature infants.

Currently, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology advises complete pregnant women to take a prenatal vitamin containing antioxidants.

In addition, they advise eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, the best sources of antioxidant protection.

For a detailed report with references on the role of glutathione in pregnancy, visit: http://www.1whey2health.com/glutathione_pregnancy.htm

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah

About The Author

A naturally occurring compound, L-Glutathione (Tathion,) has demonstrated that it is effective in fighting cancer, environmental poisons, and equal cataracts. Sound same snake oil? Well, that is what I thought until I started doing research. It turns out that L-Glutathione is one of the most hard-hitting antioxidants that our body produces. It works to protect our bodies from the thousands of daily hazards that we are unprotected to such as pollution, second hand smoke, alcohol, and food chemicals and poisons. In fact, it is so effective that whatsoever researchers believe that it can actually slow down the aging process.

L-Glutathione is an antioxidant that our body produces from cardinal basic amino acids that are saved in our food. Our body makes it and uses it, along with the other vitamins that we ingest, as a woody line defense against all of the hazards that cause us to grow sick and old. This is influential because research into this specific anti-oxidant has shown that it can actually cure disease, reformed damaged tissue, minimize the side effects of chemotherapy, and treat cataracts.

It works by acting as a guardian to the toxic compounds that attack our cells. These compounds, typically called free radicals, are extremely assertive and attack the molecules that make up the cells in our body. These free radicals change the chemical structure of the molecules in our cells and make them ineffective. This in turn either kills the cell, makes it ineffective, or turns it cancerous. L-Glutathione and other antioxidants attack the free radicals and destroy them before they have a chance to attack the cells.

Because it protects our cells by attacking the outside poisons, the levels of L-Glutathione in our blood have the potential to significantly impact our overall health. Studies have demonstrated that administration of L-Glutathione is extremely hard-hitting in treated diseases such as Hepatitis. It has also been shown to be a important player in the regeneration of the liver, and to combat cirrhosis. The compound is effective in treating jaundice and protects the brain and body tissues in the event of poisoning. In addition, the level of tissue damage from Carbon Monoxide, Hydrogen Sulfide, heavy metals, pesticides, and environmental poisoning has been incontestable to be significantly lower with satisfactory L-Glutathione in the blood stream. Finally, the side effects of chemotherapy and the growth of cataracts have been demonstrated to be significantly reduced with the addition of L-Glutathione.

So what does complete of this mean? Essentially, it is time to supplement your diet with L-Glutathione or the proteins that help your body make more of this essential nutrient. Although L-Glutathione is readily made by your body, supplementation with it and its precursors may increase your overall equal of protection. Glutathione and its precursors, Cysteine, Glycine and L-Glutamic Acid, are all readily acquirable as food supplements in your topical health food store. In addition to eating a well-preserved and balanced diet, supplementation with Glutathione and its constituents can only help to increase your overall level of health, and may even slow falling the process of growing old.

About The Author

Glutathione, the body's master antioxidant and detoxifier, is cardinal of the 14 "Superfoods" listed in SuperFoods Rx : Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, co-authored by Dr Steven Pratt.

Glutathione levels cannot be multiplied to a clinically beneficial extent by orally ingesting a single dose of glutathione. (1) This is because glutathione is manufactured inner the cell, from its precursor amino acids, glycine, glutamate and cystine.

Hence food sources or supplements that increase glutathione must either provide the precursors of glutathione, or enhance its production by some opposite means.

The manufacture of glutathione in cells is limited by the levels of its sulphur-containing precursor amino acid, cysteine.

Cysteine - as a free amino unpleasant - is potentially toxic and is spontaneously catabolized or destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract and blood plasma. However, when it is present as a cysteine-cysteine dipeptide, titled cystine, it is more stable than cysteine.

Consuming foods rich in sulphur-containing amino acids can help boost glutathione levels. Here are some food sources and dietary supplements that help boost glutathione levels naturally.

1. N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

It is derived from the amino acid L-Cysteine, and acts as a precursor of glutathione. NAC is quickly metabolized into glutathione once it enters the body. It has been proven in many scientific studies and clinical trials, to boost intracellular production of glutathione, and is approved by the FDA for treatment of accetaminophen overdose. Because of glutathione's mucolytic action, NAC (brand name Mucomyst) is commonly used in the treatment of lung diseases like cystic fibrosis, bronchitis and asthma.

2. Milk Thistle, Silymarin

Milk thistle is a stiff antioxidant and supports the liver by preventing the depletion of glutathione. Silymarin is the nimble compound of milk thistle. It is a natural colored detoxifier and protects the liver from many industrial toxins such as carbon tetrachloride, and much common agents same alcohol.

3. Alpha Lipoic unpleasant

Made naturally in body cells as a by-product of energy release, ALA increases the levels of intra-cellular glutathione, and is a natural antioxidant with free immoderate scavenging abilities. It has the ability to regenerate oxidized antioxidants like Vitamin C and E and helps to make them much potent. ALA is also known for its ability to enhance glucose uptake and may help prevent the alveolate damage accompanying the complications of diabetes. It also has a protective effect in the brain.

4. Natural Foods That Boost Glutathione Levels

Asparagus is a leading source of glutathione. Foods like broccoli (2), avocado and spinach are also celebrated to boost glutathione levels. Raw eggs, garlic and new unprocessed meats contain high levels of sulphur-containing amino acids and help to maintain optimal glutathione levels.

5. Undenatured Whey Protein Isolate

Whey protein contains proteins like alpha-lactalbumin which is is rich in sulphur-containing amino acids. Heating or pasteurization destroys the delicate disulphide bonds that give these proteins their bioactivity. Undenatured whey protein is a non-heated product that preserves bioactive amino acids like cystine. It has been shown in many scientific studies and clinical trials to optimize glutathione levels.

6. Curcumin (Turmeric)

Treatment of brain cells called astrocytes, with the Indian curry spice, curcumin (turmeric) has been saved to increase expression of the glutathione S-transferase and protect neurons exposed to oxidant stress. (3)

7. Balloon Flower Root

Changkil saponins (CKS) isolated from the roots of the Chinese herbal medicine, Platycodon grandiflorum A. DC (Campanulaceae), commonly called Balloon Flower Root or Jie Geng, have been found to increase intracellular glutathione (GSH) content and significantly reduce aerobic injury to colored cells, minimise cell death and lipid peroxidation. (4)

8. Selenium

Selenium is a co-factor for the enzyme glutathione peroxidase. Selenium supplements have become popular because whatsoever studies suggest they may play a role in tapering the risk of certain cancers, and in how the immune system and the thyroid gland function. However, too much selenium can cause some cyanogenetic effects including gastrointestinal upset, brittle nails, hair loss and mild nerve damage.

Disclaimer: The information here is not provided by medical professionals and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Nutritional supplements, while usually benign, can produce adverse reactions in some people. As with prescribed drugs, long-term effects from supplements are often unknown. Pregnant women and children should not take supplements except after consultation with their healthcare provider. Never exceed the recommended dosage on the container. If you observe adverse effects stop taking the supplement immediately and contact your healthcare provider.

References:

1. The systemic availability of oral glutathione

Cancer cells and normal cells are known to respond differently to nutrients and drugs that affect glutathione status.

Numerous studies have shown that tumor cells have elevated levels of glutathione levels, which confers resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

One of the challenges of cancer therapy is how to deplete tumor cells of glutathione, so as to make them much vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy drugs, while at the same time allowing normal cells to remain relatively unaffected by chemotherapeutic drugs.

A number of new findings have emerged that take into consideration the role of glutathione in pathways that promote programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.

A German study has reported that glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in cellular mechanisms that result in cell death. The study found that cancer cells insusceptible to apoptosis had higher intracellular GSH levels.

Depletion of glutathione in these tumor cells ready-made them more penetrable to the effects of anticancer drugs or the gene that promotes apoptosis (CD95 or APO-1/Fas). The researchers finished that apoptosis resistance in tumor cells depends, at least in part, on intracellular GSH levels. (1)

In other study conducted in Spain, researchers saved that lowering GSH concentration may be convenient not single for the efficiency of chemotherapy, but also to induce a rather swift and direct apoptosis mechanism in tumor cells. (2)

Based on that premise that the glutathione-S-transferase enzyme is spoken at high levels in many tumors, researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Pennsylvania, went on to design a original prodrug (PABA/NO).

The glutathione-s-transferase in tumor cells converts PABA/NO to lethal nitric oxide, resulting in death of the tumor cell. The prodrug was shown to have antitumor effects in an animal model for human ovarian cancer. (3)

In the fourth study, Polish researchers found that ingesting a selenium supplement is beneficial, as a positive element in chemotherapy. (4)

Selenium is a co-factor of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase [GSH-P(x)] and was saved to significantly increase the activity of GSH-P(x) in patients reciving the supplement.

A previous objective study by the same researchers advisable the administration of selenium in patients with ovarian cancer undergoing multi-drug chemotherapy. (5)

Another absorbing study by researchers in Texas showed that your chances of surviving a type of brain cancer, called direct malignant glioma, could depend on the type of glutathione-s-transferase (GST) gene you were born with.

Having a combination of a cardinal specific variants of GST (germ-line GSTP1*A/*A and GSTM1 invalid genotype) confers a survival advantage in some types of brain cancers, but also comes with an increased risk of adverse events related to chemotherapy. (6)

There is compelling evidence to suggest a life-and-death role for glutathione and substances that target glutathione metabolism in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Undenatured whey protein is cardinal of the earthy foods known to selectively deplete cancer cells of their glutathione, thus making them more hypersensitised to such cancer treatments as radiation and chemotherapy.

For a complete report on the research on undenatured whey protein and cancer see the report Glutathione (GSH) and Whey Protein in Cancer. http://www.1whey2health.com/cancer_glutathione.htm

Disclaimer: The information present is not provided by medical professionals and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult your physician before beginning any course of treatment.

References:

1. Friesen C et al. [Cell Death and Differentiation advance online publication, 23 April 2004]

2. Tormos C et al. [Cancer Lett. 2004 May 10;208(1):103-13.]

3. Findlay VJ et al. [Mol Pharmacol. 2004 May;65(5):1070-9.]

4. Sieja K et al. [Gynecol Oncol. 2004 May;93(2):320-327.]

5. Sieja K. [Pharmazie. 1998 Jul;53(7):473-6.]

6. Okcu MF et. al. [Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Apr 15;10(8):2618-25.]

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah

About The Author

Are You Half The Man Your Father Was?

It is a well-known fact that sperm counts have dropped by half in the last 50 years, and that new men have 20 percent less semen volume than their fathers (BMJ, 1992, volume 305).

A recent report from researchers in Aberdeen presented exploratory data that suggests the sperm concentration of the men seen in their clinic had declined by 29% finished the past 14 years. (British Fertility Society; 5 January 2004)

Persistent nonsynthetic pollutants (POPs) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals from normal, everyday plastics are known to cause reproductive damage, as documented in Theo Colborn's book "Our Stolen Future."

Damage to sperm caused by exposure to common chemicals like alcohol, pesticides in food, has been linked to lowered intelligence and behavioral disorders in children.

Lifestyle risk factors known to decrease sperm superior include

• Cigarette smoking
• Alcohol consumption
• Chronic stress
• Nutritional deficiencies.

Other reasons for infertility include congenital factors, and health conditions like prostatitis and diabetes that can affect sperm production.

Pollution is stealing our future, and there's little anyone can do to avoid it. There may not be a lot you can do to reduce your exposure to persistent environmental toxins.

But there are clear measures you can take to reduce the impact of the environmental pollutants and toxins on your body.

You can prevent and, to a definite extent, repair the damage they cause to your body, through a healthier lifestyle and nutrition.

Some nutritional therapies and antioxidants that have proven advantageous in treating masculine infertility and rising sperm counts, sperm morphology and motility include:

• Carnitine
• Arginine
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Vitamin B-12
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Glutathione
• Coenzyme Q10

Studies show that anti-oxidant supplementation - glutathione in specific - can improve sperm quality, and possibly increase your chances of conceiving.

If you smoke, drink, are exposed to stress, chemicals, radiation, pesticides or take medication or drugs (like sulfasalazine, ketoconazole, azulfidine, anabolic steroids, marijuana) that affect fertility, you should consider taking an antioxidant supplement to backward some of the damage.

Why are Antioxidants influential for Sperm Quality?

Mammalian spermatozoa are coated by a membrane rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids are extremely hypersensitised to oxidative damage by free radicals or Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) by a process titled lipid peroxidation (LPO).

Lipid peroxidation damages the sperm cell membrane. It is considered to be the important mechanism of ROS-induced sperm damage and leads to

• Loss of sperm motility
• Abnormal sperm morphology
• Reduced capacity for oocyte penetration
• Infertility

To protect sperm from damage, the body depends on powerful antioxidant enzymes in the body such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase/reductase (GPX/GRD).

Seminal plasma and spermatozoa have several antioxidant enzymes - glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase.

Some amount of all the antioxidant enzymes, which may protect spermatozoa from oxidative attack, are also made by the epididymis during storage.

The glutathione peroxidase/reductase enzymes play a central role in the defense against oxidative damage in human sperm.

Why is Glutathione important for Sperm Quality and Fertility?

A decrease in levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) during sperm production is known to disrupt the membrane integrity of spermatozoa due to multiplied oxidative stress.

Intracellular glutathione levels of spermatozoa are celebrated to be bated in certain populations of infertile men. Compared with a control group, the infertile men in all groups had significantly higher levels of ROS and lower levels of total antioxidants.

There is brawny clinical evidence to show that men diagnosed with infertility have high levels of oxidative stress that may impair the quality of their sperm.

In some groups, higher levels of ROS were related with lower sperm counts and imperfect sperm structure, while lower antioxidant levels correlated with ablated sperm movement.

Previous evidence has also shown that aerobic stress can decrease a sperm's life span, its motility, and its ability to penetrate the oocyst, or egg cell.

Up to 40% of men with undetermined male infertility have higher levels of free radical activity in their bodies.

Because men with high levels of ROS have a seven-fold lower likelihood of inducing a pregnancy than men with lower levels, researchers recommend that treatment for infertile men should include strategies to reduce oxidative stress and improve sperm quality.

How can Glutathione help in the Treatment of Infertility?

Glutathione is not single vital to sperm antioxidant defenses, but selenium and glutathione are essential to the formation of "phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase" - an enzyme present in spermatids - which becomes a functional protein in the mid-piece of matured spermatozoa.

When either substance is deficient, it can lead to instability of the mid-piece of the spermatozoa, resulting in imperfect motility.

Free immoderate scavengers - much as glutathione - that restore the structure and function of poly-unsaturated greasy acids (PUFA) in the cell membrane, can be old to treat these cases.

In a double-blind cross-over study of twenty impotent men, treatment with glutathione led to a statistically prodigious improvement of the sperm quality.

The study haunted men in whom the sperm superior was poor repayable to unilateral varicocele or germ-free genital tract inflammation - two conditions in which ROS or other toxic compounds are indicated as causative factors.

Treatment with glutathione was also saved to have a statistically significantly constructive effect on sperm motility (in specific forward motility) and on sperm morphology.

The findings of these studies indicate that glutathione therapy could represent a possible therapeutical tool in cases where ROS or exposure to toxins is the equiprobable cause of infertility.

Read the all-out report with references on Male Infertility and Glutathione

http://www.1whey2health.com/glutathione_infertility_sperm.htm

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah

About The Author

Numerous studies have shown that tumor cells have elevated levels of glutathione levels, which confers resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

One of the challenges of cancer therapy is how to deplete tumor cells of glutathione, so as to make them more penetrable to the effects of chemotherapy drugs, while at the same time allowing normal cells to remain relatively unimpressed by chemotherapeutic drugs.

A number of spic-and-span findings have emerged that take into consideration the role of glutathione in pathways that promote programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.