N-Acetyl Cysteine holds the power for natural detoxification and immunity.

Facts:

• 90% of our health care expenses are due to the consequences of chronic health issues.  As opposed to 100 years ago it was acute health issues like communicable disease (pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc.).
• If you are not taken out early by some kind of accident, you are likely at some point to succumb to the effects of:

1. Neurodegeneration (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia)
2. Cerebro-Cardio vascular disease (includes diabetes)
3. Cancer

What do all 3 of these have in common?  Inflammation and detoxification.

Inflammation:

Inflammation is a by-product of toxic insult that results in the immune system being chronically activated.  This often leads to autoimmune disorders which are collectively the most common health issue by far in our country.

Detoxification:

How we dispose of factors that can lead to chronic inflammation such as metabolites, sugar (glucose and fructose), cholesterol, other toxins such as medication, alcohol, pesticides, preservatives and more.

How can N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) help?

NAC is derived from the non-essential amino acid, Cysteine.  When an acetyl group is attached to the nitrogen molecule of cysteine, we get NAC.  I’ll stop there with the biochemistry.

A simple Google or Wikipedia search will yield a wealth of information about many conditions treated with NAC.  As a matter of fact, it will be listed as a drug, which it is not.  It is over the counter.  Because it impacts the health of every cell, there are many conditions that respond to it.  There are psychiatric applications, mucus and lung applications, even overdose and poisons are treated with NAC.  The list can go on and on.

When combined with co-factors, NAC can yield activity of the most powerful detoxification pathway from inside each of the 100 trillion individual cells in your body all the way to the gastrointestinal system and liver.

NAC is involved in:

• Anti-aging
• Reducing inflammation
• Immune regulation
• Antioxidant function

NAC is a nutrient that can be used to detoxify the body from alcohol, reduce the impact of fatty liver, save your life from Tylenol overdose or toxicity.  You might be wondering, why haven’t I heard of this before?

You may have heard of the powerful “cellular forcefield” made by every cell in the body — called glutathione.  NAC is the precursor ingredient to make glutathione.  Under the right conditions, glutathione is made by the body and therefore does not need to be supplemented or ingested.  However, there are many situations— due to toxicity, genetic variants (known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs), illness, medications and poisoning, immune challenges or unhealthy lifestyle, etc., where our reserves of glutathione can drop precipitously to dangerous levels.

Glutathione has been used in the supplement form, but typically is cleared out by the digestive system before any meaningful levels can be absorbed to restore cellular levels.  Many people have genetic variants (or SNPs) that make glutathione difficult to produce in sufficient quantities on your own to combat the effects of modern industrialized living.  You may have heard of MTHFR or methylation SNPs.  SNPs associated with glutathione production are closely associated with the B vitamin SNPs including folate and B12.  For those who have time and money,  you can get regular intervals of intravenous glutathione drips directly into your veins several times per week. However simply supplementing NAC in appropriate quantities with the proper activating co-factors can be more effective (and far cheaper) than sitting for 30 minutes receiving a $125 IV drip — three times per week.

NAC in its proper dose and with appropriate cofactors can be, in my opinion, one of the supplements everyone should take, every day for life, along with Vitamin D, Probiotics and Omega 3.  Regardless of prior health status.

Please share this article with anyone you feel may want to know more, leave comments or ask questions.  Thank you.