RADICAL MASS BY TEAM FLEX Supplementing with glutathione combats free radicals and boosts muscle As a bodybuilder, you must take all the necessary steps to ensure muscle growth: you have to train hard, eat the proper diet and take essential supplements, including whey protein, glutamine, creatine and, of course, antioxidants – the supplements that help reduce free radicals. If you aren’t currently taking antioxidants, this article should convince you that these supplements are crucial to protect your muscles. Believe it or not, training is a double-edged sword. Always keep in mind that you don’t get big because you train; you get big because you recover effectively from your training. When you train, free radicals are produced in large quantities, and these harmful chemical compounds can bring your muscle gains to a halt. Obviously, the answer is not to quit working out. The answer is to help your body effectively protect itself. The good news is that your body can produce its own antioxidants, such as glutathione, to help combat muscle-eating free radicals. Your body never produces enough antioxidants, though, to stop all of the free radicals. Those that escape this natural defence system can continue their attack on your muscle cells and the genetic material that will produce the extra muscle protein needed for growth. They also initiate a release of chemicals that inhibit the anabolic effects of growth hormone and insulin like growth factor 1. All of these effects spell trouble for bodybuilders because they cause muscle to actually shrink. So what’s a growing bodybuilder to do? It’s simple – take supplements that boost your body’s production of glutathione to stop free radicals dead in their tracks and keep your muscle gains on track. GLUTATHIONE 101 Glutathione is a natural antioxidant that’s critical for preventing free radicals from damaging tissues throughout your body, including your muscles. It also helps protect your liver from poisons and certain drugs. Supplementing with glutathione itself is not a very effective strategy, because your gut digests most of it and prevents it from reaching the bloodstream intact. That’s why it’s seldom sold in supplement stores. Therefore, the best way to raise glutathione levels is to get enough of its most important nutritional building blocks, which include the mineral selenium and the amino acid cysteine. A bodybuilder’s quantitative need for selenium is not entirely clear. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for adults is set at 55 micrograms (mcg), so make sure you get at least this much from foods and/or supplements. Because the RDA is based on typical adults, who tend to be less muscular and active than bodybuilders, getting more than the RDA is probably a good strategy to help protect your muscle mass. The upper limit that is regarded as safe for adults is 280 mcg. Shoot for a supplement that delivers about 50 mcg (which may appear as 0.05 milligrams [mg] on labels) of selenium and eat a diet that includes selenium-rich foods. Particularly good sources of selenium include cereals and other grains, Brazil nuts, seafood, poultry, mushrooms and asparagus. Acceptable forms of selenium supplements include amino acid chelates (e.g., selenomethionine), selenium yeast and sodium selenate. Another acceptable form of selenium is called selenocysteine. Because it forms an active part of many enzymes, selenocysteine is considered by some scientists to be the 21st amino acid. The key is not to overdo it, as too much selenium can cause muscle loss. More common than other mineral toxicities, too much selenium blunts the appetite, disrupts thyroid and gut function, damages the liver and causes hair loss and fingernail abnormalities. Daily intake of more than 800 mcg is typically required for serious toxicity. WHEY TO GO Interestingly, one of the most efficient ways to bolster your glutathione levels may be to take whey protein. Scientists compared the effects of 20 grams (g) of whey to a placebo and to 20 g of casein on the glutathione levels of 20 healthy subjects. Unlike the placebo or casein treatment, whey caused a 20% rise in blood glutathione levels, suggesting that it improves antioxidant status. One explanation for its effect is whey’s content of the sulphur-containing amino acid cysteine. Supplementation with a form of cysteine called N-acetyl cysteine increases glutathione levels in humans. Unfortunately, N-acetyl cysteine may also cause adverse effects if higher-than-normal amounts are taken for prolonged periods, so its effects are too mixed for us to recommend it as a way to enhance glutathione. One study found that N-acetyl cysteine actually increased free radicals when given as a supplement in combination with vitamin C after intense resistance exercise, while also measurably increasing the amount of muscle damage. As a result, whey protein is preferred over N-acetyl cysteine to improve glutathione levels and supply your body with the amino acids it needs to build muscle tissue and support your training. We recommend 50 g daily. In addition to these methods for boosting glutathione levels, another good strategy is to take supplements that supply other antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C, which have been shown to reduce muscle damage after intense exercise. We recommend about 400 international units (IU) of vitamin E, 500 mg of vitamin C and at least eight servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Although many of these supplements can have additional benefits, it’s important for bodybuilders to consider the muscle-sparing effects of selenium, whey protein and vitamins C and E. Fighting off the detrimental effects of free radicals is one more weapon in your muscle-building arsenal. FLEX This article is for information purposes only. Weider Publishing Ltd does not accept liability for the effect of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the dosage allowances specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosage.