Find Out If Your Body Is Rusting From the Inside Out

Everyone knows what rust is, right?

It’s what happens to metal (metal made with iron to be specific) after it gets wet and is then exposed to oxygen.

But do you remember the chemical reaction that causes rust?

Go on, think back to chemistry class…

If you can’t remember I’ll be nice and come out and tell you. Rust is caused by oxidation. When metals rich in iron are exposed to oxygen and water iron loses electrons to oxygen atoms.

The problem with rust is it eats away at iron until it becomes weak and brittle. Eventually rust will cause the iron, one of the strongest substances on the planet, to disintegrate into dust.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m spending all this time talking about iron and rust.

Simple.

Oxidation doesn’t just destroy rust. It can destroy your body from the inside out. 

Here’s How Oxidation Destroys the Human Body

Oxidation doesn’t just happen with iron.

It happens inside of our bodies too.

There’s no way to stop it either. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

But when oxidation gets out of control it causes oxidative stress.

And oxidative stress has the power to harm cell function and create some pretty nasty health conditions.

Here’s what Dr. Timothy Legg writes about oxidation.

“Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body. Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with an uneven number of electrons. The uneven number allows them to easily react with other molecules. Free radicals can cause large chain chemical reactions in your body because they react so easily with other molecules. These reactions are called oxidation. They can be beneficial or harmful.”

In general, oxidative stress is harmful when there are more free radicals in the body than there are antioxidants.

When free radicals come into contact with your body’s cells, (protein cells, DNA, fatty tissue)  the excess amount of electrons can interfere with cell function.

Sometimes this interference will cause your cells to mutate and grow out of control. In other cases, the interference may result in an autoimmune response. And in some instances, an out of control immune response may occur.

None of these are good.

And not only are these side effects of oxidative stress, there are many who believe the overabundance of free radicals and the damage they cause could be one of the leading causes of most major health issues in the world.

Obviously you want to do all you can to fight free radicals from harming your cells - so you don’t “rust from the inside out.”

As a general rule this is why it’s so important to increase how many antioxidants you get in your diet.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of places for you to get antioxidants. Both in diet and in supplemental form

But I would argue one of the most powerful, and most effective at neutralizing these free radicals is one you make yourself.

It’s called glutathione. And without an ample supply of this antioxidant in your body seriously negative health consequences might occur.

Why Glutathione Is One Of... 

The Most Important Antioxidants For Your Health

While Glutathione is absolutely essential for good health, it’s not an overly complicated antioxidant.

Glutathione is made in your body from the amino acids: cysteine, glycine, and glutamine. All of which come from basic food sources.

As I noted in another article “What makes glutathione so powerful is it contains sulfur, and sulfur does a wonderful job of attracting harmful elements to it. Once bonded to sulfur, they are removed from your body. Things like heavy metals, free radicals, and toxins will all bond to sulfur and then be moved out of the body.”

Part of the reason glutathione is so incredibly beneficial at neutralizing free radicals is that your body can reuse glutathione and it also helps to recycle other antioxidants so they help fight free radicals.

Glutathione can be used over and over to keep the body well.

But only to a point...

If the burden of free radicals in your body is too high then your body won’t be able to reuse glutathione. And then it may become deficient in this critically important antioxidant.

Or, if you’re dealing with any of the following, it may also contribute to an eventual glutathione deficiency.

• Bad blood sugar
• Heart conditions
• Chronic illness
• Constant stress
• Poor diet
• Exposure to pollution
• Exposure to Toxins
• Taking Medications
• Acute or chronic Trauma
• UV radiation

However one of the biggest contributors for declining glutathione levels is something you simply can’t control.

Getting older.

Age is a major factor in losing glutathione. The Lancet, found the highest glutathione levels in healthy young people, lower levels in healthy elderly, lower still in sick elderly and the lowest of all in the hospitalized elderly.

Any (or all) of these factors could lead to a limitation in your ability to reuse glutathione.

And this could lead to serious health problems in the future.

Research Shows Glutathione Deficiencies Are Related To Serious Health Problems

There are more than 89,000 published medical articles on glutathione.

And thousands of them show if you don’t have enough glutathione circulating throughout your body then your health will suffer.

One of the strongest arguments for maintaining proper glutathione levels is what the following study observed. A team of researchers working with the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London noted without proper amounts of glutathione in the body, the mitochondria in the cells may begin to malfunction.

Proper mitochondrial function is essential for good health.

I don’t know if I can emphasize how important that is.

The mitochondria are what give your cells the ability to do anything as they’re the “engine” that provide energy for basic cellular function.

This team noted that without sufficient amounts of glutathione the mitochondria would malfunction which would lead to a host of health problems as this would hinder the body’s ability to fight oxidative stress and impairs the activity of the electron transport chain (ETC) which is needed for proper cellular function.

This is why it’s important to do all you can do reverse a glutathione deficiency.

3 Of the Best Ways To Reverse A Glutathione Deficiency

Unfortunately you can’t easily test to see if you’re low in glutathione.

However, it’s not hard to restore low levels of glutathione.

These are my top 3.

1. Exercise consistently. Exercising can help your body produce more glutathione. If you don’t have an exercise routine, refer back to this article I wrote on exercise.
   
   
2. Eat foods high in sulfur. Eating sulfur containing foods will help your body make more glutathione. Try onions, garlic, and any cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, cabbage, collards, cauliflower, watercress, etc.).
3. Take a glutathione supplement. Glutathione supplements are terrific for helping to restore glutathione levels, one of the best is the Glutathione Plus Transdermal Cream.
   
   Unlike a pill that you have to take everyday, this rubs onto your skin and gets right into your cells so that it will absorb into your system quickly.
   
   The reason why I recommend transdermal glutathione specifically is because it absorbs quickly and efficiently in the body for maximum effect. This is essential if you're taking glutathione during a bout of sickness, or after a surgery.