Damage Control

Glutathione is often called the master antioxidant. In fact, according to the June ’11 Better Nutrition, it’s the most powerful antioxidant the body makes. It’s made up of three amino acids—cysteine, glutamine and glycine. Glutathione is found in every cell of the human body, including muscle tissue. The problem is that a poor diet and stress—like hard workouts—can deplete glutathione stores. It also becomes more scarce as you age.

Glutathione can help your body deal with toxins and pollutants, as it’s found in high concentrations in the lungs, liver, kidneys and digestive tract.

Let’s face it: The healthier you are, the easier it is to build and hold on to muscle mass—but there’s more to glutathione than a strong immune system. Emerging research shows that it can help you look younger. Scientists recently gave 60 subjects a drink with about 105 milligrams of glutathione or a placebo each day for four weeks. At the end of that month those getting the glutathione drink showed significant improvement in the severity of skin wrinkles and better blood flow, especially to the skin.