Glutathione and mercury toxicity

June 10, 2009

Q: I will try this again...I am wondering about the connection between

glutathione and mercury toxicity. Can someone tell me if there is a

connection. We have begun a supplement due to overgrowth of yeast

and high citric levels, but I see glutathione mentioned now with

respect to toxicity. Thanks! >>

A: There are a number of connections and it is complicated.

Glutathione is your body's natural antioxidant and mercury is an oxidation

catalyst, so mercury uses up glutathione and leads to reduced levels.

Glutathione has a thiol group on it which mobilizes mercury and causes the

mercury to be more toxic, so increasing glutathione levels makes whatever

amount of mercury is present be MORE harmful.

Thus there is a tradeoff, and you want the RIGHT AMOUNT of glutathione for

your body's needs. Not just more and more - you don't want too much any more

than you want too little.

Some people's bodies respond to mercury by making more thiol containing

things like glutathione and cysteine. For these people they need to REDUCE

their intake of everything sulfury to keep levels down.

Other people's bodies respond to mercury by having low levels of glutathione

etc. and they need to INCREASE their intake of sulfury stuff.

Mercury is excreted from the liver in bile while bound to glutathione. Since

liver glutathione levels are tightly regulated this is not strongly

influenced by eating more sulfury stuff - but the extent to which the

existing mercury can be mobilized and made more toxic IS strongly influenced

by how much sulfury stuff you eat.

Yeast is nourished by glutathione and other sulfury stuff. Sulfur food

restriction reduces yeast levels.

High citrate may be due to many things. Was anything else like pyruvate,

aconitate, etc. high? One thing that is often helpful is B complex 3 or 4

times a day. Iron supplements are often also helpful.

Andy Cutler

PS iron supplements in the grocery store usually have a ton of red #40 in

them as well as lots of hydrogenated fats. Read the labels. Also, iron is

constipating for some people.

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