Your ability to detoxify is in grave danger as the FDA threatens to ban compounded glutathione. Help us protect access. Action Alert!
For the last few weeks, we’ve been telling you about the threat to compounded glutathione, one of the most important substances made by the human body. Glutathione helps with many ailments, but one of its most important functions is in detoxification—removing harmful foreign compounds from the body. Given the deluge of unregulated toxic chemicals we are exposed to in the modern world, our ability to detoxify to stay healthy is more important than ever. We must protect access to compounded glutathione.
Why detoxify in the first place? On one end of the spectrum, you may not have a disease, but simply don’t feel well. You may have low energy, brain fog, achy joints, gas, or any number of symptoms. Detoxifying can be a solution. Detoxification can also be part of treating or preventing disease. Emerging research is showing that chronic disease is caused by exposure to toxins in the environment, like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, pesticides, BPA, and others. Joseph Pizzorno, ND has estimated that as much as 90 percent of the diabetes epidemic is due to exposure to environmental toxins. These toxins can also play a role in autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Pizzorno estimates, for example, that 20 percent of asthma cases are caused by mold; that number jumps to 67 percent if the asthma is adult-onset. Preventing the accumulation of these toxins by regular detoxification could be one way to stave off these illnesses that affect millions of Americans.
Glutathione is key to Phase II detoxification, which is geared towards moving toxins out of the body. Without glutathione the body cannot remove these harmful toxins. Glutathione is directly responsible for transporting mercury out of cells and the brain. Glutathione also deals directly with the causes of oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals and removing persistent organic pollutants. In some cases, glutathione does this by helping to make toxins water soluble so they can be flushed from the body in urine. Low levels of glutathione are associated with chronic exposure to chemical toxins.
Given the roles glutathione plays in the body, it isn’t hard to imagine why it is used widely to help patients detoxify. This is usually done through intravenous, intranasal, or topical administration, as oral glutathione is not likely to increase intracellular glutathione levels. These useful forms are all made at compounding pharmacies—and they are all being threatened by an FDA ban, as we’ve been explaining in recent articles.
Another way to increase glutathione in the body is to supplement with NAC, which is the precursor to glutathione. Unfortunately, the FDA is on record saying that NAC is not a legal supplement because it was approved as a drug before it was sold as a supplement—though the agency has also stated it is considering initiating a rulemaking to allow NAC supplements.
Our recent coverage also underscores the pressing need for all of us to detoxify. Of course, the best option is to avoid toxic exposures to reduce the need to detoxify, but that simply isn’t an option for most of us. An analysis by the World Health Institute found that, in 2019, chemical exposures resulted in the death of 2 million people globally and the loss of 53 million disability adjusted life-years. Of the 84,000 chemicals currently on the market, the EPA has banned or restricted only a handful of chemicals since 1976.
Point being, we need to be able to detoxify our bodies, and the FDA is seriously compromising our ability to do so.
Action Alert! Write to the FDA and Congress, urging them to protect glutathione access. Please send your message immediately.
