Anti-Aging

Understanding Glutathione Deficiency: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

Glutathione is naturally produced in your liver and nerve cells. This essential antioxidant is made from three amino acids: glycine, L-cysteine, and L-glutamate. Your body protects its glutathione levels, but aging and chronic diseases can cause them to decline.

What can cause a glutathione deficiency?

Factors that affect glutathione levels include:

Oxidative stress
Toxin accumulation
Heavy metal exposure
DNA damage
Prolonged, excessive alcohol consumption

Glutathione has the power to reduce oxidative stress and neutralize dangerous free radicals. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants. This can happen for a variety of reasons. However, most oxidative stress occurs as a result of aging and other stresses on the body from illness or disease.

Exposure to viruses, bacteria, radiation, environmental toxins, and pollution may deplete glutathione levels, resulting in an accumulation of free radicals, which are unstable atoms that can be extremely harmful to the body.

Glutathione regenerates other antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E.¹ Glutathione also blocks the production of inflammatory cytokines. It is essential for both innate and adaptive immunity.² Glutathione has many important health benefits.

What can increase oxidative stress?

Free radicals are metabolic byproducts that can harm cells. Free radicals alter the form and function of cellular structures by binding to DNA and proteins. Glutathione exists in two forms: oxidized (GSSG) and reduced (GSH). Glutathione in its reduced form donates an electron to inflammation-causing free radicals, neutralizing their effect. Glutathione is said to be oxidized after losing an electron, but it can be recycled back into its reduced form. When your body is under chronic stress, it impairs its ability to recycle oxidized glutathione to reduced glutathione.³

Factors that can increase oxidative stress include the following: ^4,5

A diet high in processed foods
Aging
Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer
Excessive alcohol consumption
Excessive or prolonged physical activity
Exposure to pollution, radiation, and environmental toxins
Exposure to heavy metals
Infections
Poor nutrition
Sleep deprivation
Smoking

What are the symptoms of glutathione deficiency?

Rarely, a serious inherited condition can cause more severe glutathione deficiencies. In most cases, people experience a mild-to-moderate glutathione deficiency that is associated with non-specific symptoms. Symptoms associated with low glutathione levels include:

Fatigue
Frequent infections
Joint and muscle aches
Male infertility
Skin damage
Weight gain

What happens when glutathione levels are low?

When glutathione levels are low, there is an increased risk of cellular damage from oxidative stress and inflammation. This can increase your chances of developing a chronic disease.

Your body produces less glutathione as you age, increasing the likelihood of glutathione deficiency. Glutathione declines after menopause are thought to contribute to osteoporosis. ^6,7

Glutathione depletion is associated with several medical conditions, including ^8,9,10

Acute respiratory distress syndrome
Aging
Asthma
Cancer
Cataract and glaucoma
Chronic liver disease
Chronic obstructive lung disease
Cognitive impairment
Cystic fibrosis
Diabetes
Heart attacks
High blood pressure
Immune diseases
Increased cholesterol
Liver disease
Lupus
Male and female infertility
Mental health disorders
Multiple sclerosis
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Friedreich’s ataxia

How do you check your glutathione levels?

Because glutathione levels fluctuate throughout the day, glutathione testing is not widely used. This makes it difficult to develop a standard. Typically, the normal range of reduced GSH is 3.8 to 5.5 umol/L. In red blood cells (RBCs), the standard range of glutathione levels should be 1,000 to 1,900 umol/L, with 1,000-1,200 umol/L considered low.¹¹

Many people self-diagnose a mild-to-moderate glutathione deficiency based on symptoms such as fatigue, poor sleep, frequent infections, and brain fog.

Is glutathione safe for everyone?

There is not enough research on glutathione dosages, the effects of overdosage, or stopping glutathione. Despite being generally recognized as safe, glutathione may cause side effects. Glutathione injections may lead to the following:¹²

Nausea and vomiting
Allergic reactions
Rash or irritation at the injection site
Kidney and liver problems
Blood clotting problems: Glutathione injections may interfere with blood clotting, increasing the risk of bleeding and bruising. However, a long-term phase 4 study did not find an increased bleeding risk after using glutathione.

If you supplement with glutathione long-term, ask about having your zinc levels checked. Prolonged glutathione supplement use has been associated with zinc deficiency.¹³ Oysters are rich in zinc. Red meat, poultry, legumes, nuts, and dairy products are excellent sources of zinc.

Glutathione injections bypass breakdown by the liver. Injections have a half-life of about 10 to 90 minutes. How long glutathione stays in your system depends on many factors, such as your metabolism, route of administration, and how fast your body uses glutathione.¹⁴

Learn more about buying Glutathione injections online.

Disclaimer

While we strive to always provide accurate, current, and safe advice in all of our articles and guides, it’s important to stress that they are no substitute for medical advice from a doctor or healthcare provider. You should always consult a practicing professional who can diagnose your specific case. The content we’ve included in this guide is merely meant to be informational and does not constitute medical advice.

References

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2. Ghezzi P. Role of glutathione in immunity and inflammation in the lung. Int J Gen Med. 2011 Jan 25;4:105-13. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S15618. PMID: 21403800; PMCID: PMC3048347.

3. Marí M, Morales A, Colell A, García-Ruiz C, Fernández-Checa JC. Mitochondrial glutathione, a key survival antioxidant. Antioxid Redox Signal. Nov 2009;11(11):2685-700. doi:10.1089/ars.2009.2695

4. Kanagasabai T, Ardern CI. Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants Contribute to Selected Sleep Quality and Cardiometabolic Health Relationships: A Cross-Sectional Study. Mediators Inflamm. 2015;2015:824589. doi:10.1155/2015/824589

5. Flora SJ, Mittal M, Mehta A. Heavy metal induced oxidative stress & its possible reversal by chelation therapy. Indian J Med Res. Oct 2008;128(4):501-23.

6. Kolesnikova L, Semenova N, Madaeva I, Suturina L, Solodova E, Grebenkina L, Darenskaya M. Antioxidant status in peri- and postmenopausal women. Maturitas. 2015 May;81(1):83-7. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.02.264. Epub 2015 Mar 7. PMID: 25824469.

7. Huang Q, Gao B, Wang L, Hu YQ, Lu WG, Yang L, Luo ZJ, Liu J. Protective effects of myricitrin against osteoporosis via reducing reactive oxygen species and bone-resorbing cytokines. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2014 Nov 1;280(3):550-60. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2014.08.004. Epub 2014 Aug 15. PMID: 25130202.

8. Minich DM, Brown BI. A Review of Dietary (Phyto)Nutrients for Glutathione Support. Nutrients. 2019;11(9):2073. doi:10.3390/nu11092073

9. Pizzorno J. Glutathione! Integr Med (Encinitas). Feb 2014;13(1):8-12.

10. Labarrere CA, Kassab GS. Glutathione: A Samsonian life-sustaining small molecule that protects against oxidative stress, ageing and damaging inflammation. Front Nutr. 2022;9:1007816. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1007816

11. Guilford, T. (2012) What every doctor should know about glutathione. Retrieved from https://holisticprimarycare.net/topics/vitamins-a-supplements/what-every-doctor-should-know-about-glutathione/

12. Weschawalit S, Thongthip S, Phutrakool P, Asawanonda P. Glutathione and its antiaging and antimelanogenic effects. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2017;10:147-153

13. Steiger MG, Patzschke A, Holz C et al. Impact of glutathione metabolism on zinc homeostasis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, FEMS Yeast Research, Volume 17, Issue 4, June 2017, fox028, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsyr/fox028

14. Hong SY, Gil HW, Yang JO, Lee EY, Kim HK, Kim SH, Chung YH, Hwang SK, Lee ZW. Pharmacokinetics of glutathione and its metabolites in normal subjects. J Korean Med Sci. 2005 Oct;20(5):721-6. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2005.20.5.721. PMID: 16224142; PMCID: PMC2779265.