High levels of cellular glutathione protect against mutations that can lead to various forms of cancer. Yet once cancer is started, boosting glutathione could strengthen the cancer. True or False? Read the article to find the answer.
I've been diagnosed with cancer and they are starting treatment? Cancer runs in my family? What can I do about it? What treatment options are there with glutathione? Someone I know has been through cancer treatments; what they can do to support their health? Read on for the answers to these questions.
Dr Daria Davidson, a medical doctor with 30 years experience, speaks about cancer and glutathione.
Referring to a reference, "Glutathione Disregulation and the Etiology and the Progression of Human Diseases" -- an article published in Biological Chemistry in 2009. It reads, “Glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in a multitude of processes including cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis.”
Apoptosis is the programming of cancer cells to self destroy. Wickopedia describes it as follows: “These changes include blebbing, loss of cell membrane asymmetry and attachment, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal, DNA fragmentation.”
The article goes on to say, “and as a result disturbances in the GSH homeostasis are implicated in the etiology and or progression of a number of human diseases including cancer, diseases of aging, cystic fibrosis, cardiovascular, inflammatory, immune, metabolic and neuro degenerative diseases. Owing to the pilotropic" (large or big) "effects of GSH on cell functions it has been quite difficult to define the role of GSH in the onset and or the expression of human diseases although significant progression is being made. GSH levels, turn over rates, and or oxidative states can be compromised by inherited or acquired defects in the enzyme transporters, signaling molecules or transcription factors that are involved in the homeostatic state or reactive chemicals,” as the article continues.
Dr Davidson summarizes by saying, “This basically purports that low glutathione levels increase the risk of disease.”
But a big question remains, "If cancer is present, is there a problem with boosting glutathione?" The reason the question is asked is because cancer cells also contain glutathione; and glutathione in the cancer cell actually serves to protect the cancer cell as well. Many professionals believe that cancer cells are weakened cells and if glutathione is boosted, then boosting glutathione could make them stronger.
Dr. Daria's feeling is that if the cancer cell were a weakened cell in the first place it wouldn't kill us. So instead we want to do something to weaken them if they are present.
She goes on to state that at every single moment of every single day every one of us has abnormal cells that could become cancerous. That's where we want apoptosis to occur; that's where keeping glutathione levels high as possible plus doing other important things such as eating healthy food, breathing clean air, drinking pure water and other healthy habits are important. It is these healthy habits that actually reduce the amounts of free radicals introduced to the cell and thus place less demand on the glutathione that is in the cell.
Still the big question is that if you have a cancer diagnosis would boosting glutathione be a harmful thing, not so good, or a good thing?
In her professional opinion it's a stage thing which is dependent on the relative numbers of cancer cells vs immune cells available. On one one end of the scale if one is stage IV cancer (terminal) with cancerous cells rampant throughout the body, the number of immune cells is very low and therefore boosting glutathione would not be of benefit. In fact it might serve to strengthen the cancer cells.
On the other end of the scale the cancer is early diagnosed or has just been treated (weakened) in which case boosting glutathione would boost immune functioning—boost the immune cells to kill cancer cells.
Yet, if glutathione is used before treatment, it may increase the cancer cell's resistance to chemotherapy.
As a side note she mentioned that glutathione is not recommended for platinum based therapies because glutathione deactivates platinum.
She also notes that in Europe the standard treatment is intravenous glutathione for many cancers.
In summary, having sufficient glutathione in one's cells in the first place protects the cells from dangerous mutations that could lead to cancer. Like wise in the case of early diagnosis as well as post radiation or chemotherapy having sufficient glutathione is beneficial in boosting immune functioning. However, for latter stage cancers where the body is overrun by cancer cells and immune functioning has been severely compromised, boosting glutathione levels is not recommended and may actually strengthen cancer cells.
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