Which Glutathione Supplement Is Best
Have you been considering taking an oral glutathione supplement, but are confused about which glutathione supplement is best with the array of different options available? Here we compare the best glutathione supplements on the market to help you decide which one is best for you.
Which Glutathione Supplement Is Best?
Unfortunately, it's not easy to get enough glutathione from your diet alone due to stress, poor diet or even illness — so you'll need to supplement it if you want better health.
The best way to get more glutathione into your body is by taking a supplement that contains all three of its building blocks: cysteine, glutamine and glycine.
To know which glutathione supplement is best, most glutathione supplements come in pills and capsules. Zaca is our pick for the best glutathione supplement because it come in a chewable tablet, easiest to take, most potent, fermented source, and clinically proven to increase glutathione levels.
What To Look For In The Best Glutathione Supplement
To know which glutathione supplement is best, we've laid out some key things to look for:
1. Reduced vs Liposomal Glutathione
There are two main forms of oral glutathione supplements: reduced (free) glutathione and liposomal glutathione.
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Reduced glutathione is the form of the nutrient that you get naturally from foods or produce in your body. It's also known as the reduced form of glutathione because it contains one fewer electron than oxidized glutathione (GSSG).
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Liposomal glutathione is a delivery system that allows you to take in more than just the reduced form of this vital antioxidant. Liposomes are microscopic bubbles made out of lipids (fats) and phospholipids (fatty acids). Their small size makes them easy to absorb through the GI tract as well, which makes them an ideal vehicle for transporting nutrients such as glutathione across your intestinal wall.
Reduced glutathione is the active form of glutathione that performs its antioxidant functions in the body, however it's more unstable. If you use reduced glutathione make sure there's evidence it's stable and therefore absorbing in the body.
2. Fermented vs Enzymatic Glutathione
The two forms of manufacturing Glutathione are either from fermentation or enzymatically.
Fermentation tends to be a more natural process that branded Glutathione sources like Setria uses.
Setria Glutathione supplements have an assay value of 99.0% to 101.0% of pure and safe material.
3. Complex or Isolated Glutathione Formula
Glutathione supplements vary heavily in the type of formulas used.
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Complex Formula - A complex formula we'd consider is any glutathione supplement with other active ingredients to work synergistically. This enhances Glutathione and can give a variety of added benefits so that you can more bang for you buck from your supplement.
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Isolated Formula - An isolated formula only contains glutathione in reduced or liposomal form. Without the added benefits of other ingredients you do miss many possible benefits, however, with a sole focus of increasing the master antioxidant glutathione levels in the body.
4. Healthy or Harmful Ingredients
A key differentiator is not only the glutathione used or how robust the formula is, but also if the added ingredients are healthy or harmful.
Some glutathione supplements may use unhealthy fillers, additives, preservatives or other ingredients that can cause irritation, allergies, or simply be unhealthy.
You want to look for glutathione supplements like Zaca, where the formula is very clean and pure. As with Zaca, this includes being GMO free, sugar free,
gluten free, soy free, and no artificial flavors or sweeteners. If you're allergy sensitive, this also includes being made without soy, eggs, milk, fish or nuts. And lastly being diet friendly, which includes vegan friendly, keto friendly, kosher friendly, paleo friendly.
Benefits To Taking A Glutathione Supplement
Glutathione is the body's most important antioxidant. Glutathione is often touted as being one of the strongest antioxidants and is even used by some athletes to increase their performance.
Glutathione is an important antioxidant that helps to prevent free radical damage to cells. It's found in every cell in the body and plays a role in many functions including detoxification, immune function, energy production, hormone regulation and more. Glutathione for liver detox is also a popular use.
It plays a critical role in protecting the body from free radicals that can cause damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids. Glutathione deficiency is associated with numerous health conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, and cancer.
Some of the studies show the following benefits to taking a glutathione supplement:
- Glutathione was shown in research to boost the innate immune response to infection in the body.¹
- Glutathione was proven to be the most important regulator which controls inflammatory processes.²
- Glutathione was shown to play an important role in detoxifying alcohol.³
- Glutathione was shown to deplete during alcohol consumption.³
- Glutathione was found to play a role in the brain and neurons, and potentially with neurodegenerative diseases.⁴
- Glutathione can help with exercise-induced oxidative stress on the body.⁵
- Glutathione can increase natural killer activity by 200%.⁶
- Glutathione treatment was shown to improve markers of hepatic chronic fatty liver damage.⁷
- Glutathione is shown to have detoxifying capabilities.⁸
- Glutathione is shown to play a role in mitochondrial physiology and disease.⁹
- Glutathione may be a key protector in altitude sickness after being shown to deplete in high altitude conditions by up to 45%.¹⁰
Glutathione, as shown in the research above, is clearly a highly functional and beneficial amino acid to so many of the body's processes. Proven glutathione a superior ingredient to supplement for health.
Top 5 Best Glutathione Supplements To Buy
If you want to know which glutathione supplement is best, we break down our top 5 glutathione supplements in the marketplace.
1. Zaca Chewables With Setria Glutathione
Zaca Chewables with Setria Glutathione is a premium and powerful formula that offers a proprietary complex of three other key ingredients: Hovenia Dulcis, Glutamine and Prickly Pear.
Known as one of the
best rated glutathione supplement, these three added compounds in Zaca are known to have the ability to support glutathione within your body and give many additional benefits. Outside of the powerful antioxidant properties of Glutathione, it also helps your body with hydration, detox, liver aid, immune support and more.
Made by a family-owned company, these fast-acting chewables give you Glutathione in easiest, most convenient way to take on-the-go. And the branded Setria Glutathione used is proven in research to increase glutathione levels in some cells up to 260%.
2. Life Extension Glutathione
Life Extension Glutathione is made with reduced glutathione, cysteine & vitamin C. A combination of 3 effective antioxidants.
The company, Life Extension, has been around for 40 years so there's a lot of trust in their development of different supplements over time.
While they do use the reliable Setria Glutathione, they use ascorbic acid as their Vitamin C source which is not the purest form.
You can buy a bottle of 100 capsules of Life Extension Glutathione for $17.
3. Bulletproof Glutathione Force
Bulletproof Glutathione Force pills are the only supplement that contain glutathione using CELLg8.
CELLg8 is a liposomal technology to improve absorption and effectiveness. Liposomes are tiny spheres made up of phospholipids (fatty acids) that form a protective layer around nutrients to protect damage by stomach acid.
While this product only contains glutathione, a quality choice is you want this amino acid isolated in pills.
You can buy a 90 count pill bottle of Bulletproof Glutathione Force for $53.96.
4. Amandean Liquid Liposomal Glutathione Supplement
Amandean Liquid Liposomal Glutathione Supplement is an excellent and natural way to increase your glutathione levels if you prefer taking a liquid.
Liposomal glutathione supplements are made by encapsulating the antioxidant inside of tiny spheres called liposomes. This makes them very easy to absorb through the gut wall.
While it uses sunflower in its formula which is not preferred by some, it does use a GMO free form.
Being a liquid, one downside is you'll have to mix it as it comes with a sulfuric taste. You can get a 4oz bottle of Amandean for $59.95.
5. NOW Supplements Glutathione
NOW Supplements Glutathione is one of the more popular brands on the market.
It's a simple formula with reduced glutathione, not branded and clinically tested like Zaca and Life Extension. While it does also contain rice flour as a filler.
While we don't think it's the best quality or most robust product, it's an affordable option if you want glutathione isolated.
You can buy 60 count veggie capsule bottle for $25.99.
Zaca's Best Quality Glutathione Supplement
Zaca's best quality glutathione supplement is a powerful combination of fermented L-Glutathione from Setria, and other important ingredients such as Glutamine and Prickly Pear that work together to promote the body’s natural defenses. These chewables are packed with powerful free radicals neutralizing ingredients that have been proven to help you fight oxidative damage to your cells. It is easy and convenient to take – just pop a few chewable tablets to eat – so you can feel better naturally, no matter what life throws your way. Try Zaca's best rated glutathione supplement today.
SOURCES
1. Glutathione Fine-Tunes the Innate Immune Response toward Antiviral Pathways in a Macrophage Cell Line Independently of Its Antioxidant Properties
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2017.01239/full
2. The antioxidant master glutathione and periodontal health
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26604952/
3. Glutathione Depletion and Recovery After Acute Ethanol Administration in the Aging Mouse
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1930162/
4. Glutathione in the Brain
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125908/
5. The Antioxidant Role of Glutathione and N-Acetyl-Cysteine Supplements and Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-2-2-38
6. Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24791752/
7. Glutathione in the treatment of chronic fatty liver diseases
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7569285/
8. The role of glutathione in the gastrointestinal tract: a review
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10470601/
9. Mitochondrial glutathione: features, regulation and role in disease
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23123815/
10. Effect of high altitude (7,620 m) exposure on glutathione
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11320641/