< previous page | page_201 | next page >
Page 201
| Supplementing the diet with lipoic acid, NAC, and glutathione itself (in the reduced form), as well as herbs such as milk thistle and turmeric, will protect, maintain, and enhance glutathione levels. Enhancement of glutathione is a critical part to any successful program for both preventing and treating cancer. Cancer, by its very nature, depletes GSH. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy also deplete GSH, making these supplements critical when cancer patients are undergoing such therapies. |
| Necrosis and apoptosis are two distinct mechanisms of cell death that may be distinguished morphologically as well as biochemically. Apoptosis is a physiological suicide of sorts, a programmed death, while necrosis describes the death of tissue which has been affected by local injury. Several cell lines were tested with GSH against either 5-FU, a frequently used chemotherapy, or a control group. The cell lines tested consisted of one small-cell carcinoma, one colon carcinoma, one neuroblastoma, one mammary carcinoma, and one acute myeloic leukemia line. The results showed that apoptosis is induced in tumor cells after ten days of incubation and four applications of GSH. The cell lines treated with 5-FU did not show any apoptosis. 71 |
| An animal study conducted in 1993 demonstrated the ability of reduced glutathione to inhibit the development of oral carcinogenesis. In that study, hamsters were given oral supplementation of reduced glutathione after exposure to DMBA. The control group was untreated. After fourteen weeks, the glutathione group demonstrated significantly fewer and smaller tumors.72 |
| A more recent study involved ovarian cancer patients being treated with cisplatin, a chemotherapeutic agent. The study demonstrated that by adding glutathione to the cisplatin, more cycles of the cisplatin treatment could be administered became less toxicity occurred. The glutathione also produced a statistically significant improvement in depression, nausea, peripheral neurotoxicity, hair loss, and shortness of breath.73 |
| One of my key goals in supplementation is the enhancement of glutathione by adding nutrients such as lipoic acid and cysteine, and flavonoids, such as milk thistle, schizandra, turmeric, and whey protein to individual protocols. |
| Glutathione and the Detoxification of Cisplatin |
| The toxicity of cisplatin, an effective drug in the treatment of solid tumors, is a major obstacle to its use. GSH, a safe compound that prevents cisplatin-induced |
< previous page | page_201 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!