All information in this article is intended for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of rendering medical advice. Statements made in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please check with your medical practitioner before taking any supplements or remedies mentioned in this article.
Glutathione is known to most health professionals as one of the best respiratory system supplements due its powerful effects at reducing inflammation in the epithelial lining of the lungs.
Studies show that people who have low ELF glutathione levels have worse lung disease responses and have a greater difficulty breathing as a result. When glutathione levels drop in the body, the patient shifts from a Th1 response to Th2 dominance. The Th1 immune response goes down with the reduction of intracellular glutathione levels. Data suggests that N-acetyl-cysteine can take up extracellular glutathione which can then be used to replenish the intracellular glutathione. This inhibits Th2 polarization (by deprivation of Interleukin-10) and you can shift back into the Th1 response.
Essentially, if you’re deficient in glutathione, your lung response to COVID or any other viruses or conditions worsens because glutathione deficiency leads to Th2 dominance in the body which leads to inflammation.
Here is a paragraph quoted directly from a research article showing the side effects of Glutathione deficiency. Macropinocytosis of Extracellular Glutathione Ameliorates Tumor Necrosis Factor α Release in Activated Macrophages: Neal S. Gould, Elysia Min, Brian J. Day. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025704 states:
“A number of inflammatory lung diseases have abnormally low glutathione (GSH) levels in the airway fluids. Lung macrophages are common mediators of inflammation, make up the majority of cells that are found in the airway epithelial lining fluid (ELF), and are commonly elevated in many lung diseases. Several animal models with altered ELF GSH levels are associated with similar alterations in the intracellular GSH levels of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells. The possible mechanisms and outcomes for this association between ELF GSH levels and intracellular BAL cell GSH are unknown. To investigate these issues, macrophages were grown in media supplemented with 500 µM GSH. GSH supplementation resulted in a 2–3 fold increase in macrophage intracellular GSH levels. The increase in macrophage intracellular GSH levels was associated with a significant reduction in NF-κB nuclear translocation and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) release upon LPS stimulation. Furthermore, co-treatment of macrophages with GSH and inhibitors of GSH breakdown or synthesis did not block GSH accumulation. In contrast, treatment with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of actin dependent endocytosis, and amiloride, an inhibitor of macropinocytosis blocked, at least in part, GSH uptake. Furthermore, using two cigarette smoke exposure paradigms that result in two different GSH levels in the ELF and thus in the BAL cells resulted in modulation of cytokine release when stimulated with LPS ex vivo. These data suggest that macrophages are able to utilize extracellular GSH which can then modulate inflammatory signaling in response to proinflammatory stimuli. This data also suggests the lung can modulate inflammatory responses triggered by proinflammatory stimuli by altering ELF GSH levels and may help explain the dysregulated inflammation associated with lung diseases that have low ELF GSH levels”
Here is another article quotation explaining how GSH glutathione inhibits the replication/survival of several pathogens (i.e. viruses and bacteria). Fraternale A., Brundu S., Magnani M. Glutathione and glutathione derivatives In immunotherapy: Biol Chem. 2017 Feb 1; 398(2): 261-275 states:
“Reduced glutathione (GSH) is the most prevalent non-protein thiol in animal cells. Its de novo and salvage synthesis serves to maintain a reduced cellular environment, which is important for several cellular functions. Altered intracellular GSH levels are observed ina wide range of pathologies, including several viral infections, as well as in aging, all of which are also characterized by an unbalanced Th1/Th2 immune response. A central role in influencing the immune response has been ascribed to GSH. Specifically, GSH depletion in antigen-resenting cells (APCs) correlates with altered antigen processing and reduced secretion of Th1 cytokines. Conversely, an increase in intracellular GSH content stimulates IL-12 and/or IL-27, which in turn induces differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cells to Th1 cells. In addition, GSH has been shown to inhibit replication/survival of several pathogens, i.e. viruses and bacteria. Hence, molecules able to increase GSH levels have been proposed as new tools to more effectively hinder different pathogens by acting as both immunomodulators and antimicrobials.”
These 2 articles cited are explaining the importance of GSH glutathione for the body to avoid Th2 dominance and also be able to fight off viruses and other pathogens. Glutathione also has immune-modulating effects which can help avoid chronic inflamamtion and tissue destruction (lung damage for example).
TGFB (transforming growth factor beta) levels go up in the body when there is enough inflammatory triggers/processes to drive it up. TGFb is a marker of something happening with the immune and is a response to chronic inflammation. TGFb gets released from macrophages when there is inflammation because it acts as an anti-inflammatory. When TGFb levels are very high in the body especially in the case of pneumonia or lung conditions (but also other conditions), you want to take very high amounts of glutathione and vitamin C to help reduce the chronic infection inflammation that will create fibrosis of the lungs.
What does a COVID plan look like?
I am not a doctor and the information shared in this post is for educational purposes only. You must check with your medical doctor before taking any supplements recommended here. This information is not to be taken as medical advice. This is just a guideline in which your practitioner might follow if you have infection, particularly in the lungs. If you have lung inflammation, you always want to work with a professional and not try to treat your symptoms on your own.
Step 1: You first need to understand your symptoms and look for underlying sources of non-purposeful inflammation (diet, candida overgrowth, etc).
Step 2: Once you have found sources of inflammation, you need to remove them by improving your diet, removing fragrances from the home, etc.
Step 3: You MUST be getting good quality sleep. You can take melatonin to ensure you will sleep well every night so your immune system can fight off infection. If you are sleeping well already, you can take 6mg of Melatonin. If you are not sleeping fine, you can do 12-15mg of melatonin.
Step 4: You must make sure your Th1 response is adequate before you start taking anti-inflammatory supplements so that they don’t raise TGFb which can combine with TH2 cells to make TH9. TH9 cells can be problematic in respiratory disease and create inflammation and mucous production and lead to further lung and respiratory distress. TH1 immune support if you are in the U.S or Berberine immune support if you are in Canada can help to support Th1 immune cell production.
Step 5: Take quercetin, NAC, and astragalus to inhibit GABA3. You can find all three compounds in Pure encapsulations TH2 modulator. You also want to do high amounts of perilla extract (to inhibit Interleukin-4 which can inhibit Th2 dominance).
Step 6: You want to get an IgE test for birch, timothy grass, ragweed, etc. and then test foods that are cross reactors.
Step 7: You want to keep working to diminish your TH2 dominance (Perilla, Quercetin, NAC and astragalus) if it is present and take adaptogens (astragalus and reishi) to get cortisol and Adrenalin levels down. Once TH2 is decreased, you can do Boswellia, curcumin, resveratrol, Vitamin A and Vitamin D, etc to help reduce inflammation. If you try reducing inflammation with curcumin and Boswellia, etc before your Th1 is increased and Th2 is decreased, you can push the yourself into Th9 dominance which can lead to more chronic inflammation and tissue destruction.
Recap:
- Promote Th1 activity with Th1 support supplement. Do a lot of glutathione (it will also help with TH1 response), but also give large amounts of N-acetyl-cysteine which helps make Glutathione. This will prevent the body from wasting expensive glutathione to Make cheap NAC.
- Promote Natural Killer cell (NK cells) activity with astragalus, reishi, vitamin C. This will inhibit TH17 and help with the autoimmune process.
- Inhibit TH2 with perilla, astragalus, NAC. Also get rid of allergens from the diet and take high amounts of quercetin. Astragalus promotes NK cells so can help the immune system to fight off infection.
- Then do a high dose of curcumin, resveratrol, vitamin A, D, E, and fish oil. Do this step last to prevent a Th9 response from forming (First promote TH1 then inhibit TH2 then take anti-inflammatories).
- Take melatonin and adaptogens because we are all stressed out and need to reduce our cortisol levels.