Ask Dr. Maxwell

Autoimmune Disease? Read On!

Dr. Craig A. Maxwell

by: Dr. Craig A. Maxwell

If you’re living with any type of autoimmune disease, the key to a healthy immune system may be in natural antioxidant you may not have heard of … glutathione (GSH).

Remember When You Felt Healthy and Whole?

You haven’t always felt this terrible. There once was a time not long ago when you were filled with energy, vitality, and life. Autoimmune disease can strike anyone at any time. You may have tried talking with your primary care provider about your symptoms only to find he or she just doesn’t have the resources to treat you. Maybe your doctor simply doesn’t believe you.

If you are on immune suppressing drugs, you may have noticed that the side effects can be worse, or scarier, than the disease.

This kind of treatment can be horribly frustrating, but unfortunately it’s not uncommon.

If you remember the time when you felt wonderful, I’m here to say I believe you can feel that way again. There are plenty of natural remedies and supplements out there to help you get your autoimmune disease under control so you can get back to being you.

If you’ve already tried several dietary supplements without success, I understand. There are far too many low-quality supplements out there that not only do nothing to help your condition; they may even make things worse.

You may have never heard of glutathione but it’s about to change your life.

What Causes Autoimmune Disease?

If your medical provider has ever told you that he’s not sure what causes your immune system to attack itself, I feel he’s mistaken. Most all autoimmune diseases are triggered by poor diet, environmental pollution, mercury toxicity, fluoride contamination, stress, and trauma.

Is it any wonder that millions suffer with autoimmune diseases and that they are on the rise? A term that was once unusual is now a household name.

Glutathione – Your Key to a Healthy Immune System

You may have tried other antioxidant, detoxifying supplements but you’ve never tried anything like glutathione.

Glutathione is a molecule made from three amino acids in your diet. These amino acids are L-Cysteine, L-Glutamic Acid and Glycine. The hidden power of this molecular combination lies in its high levels of sulfur. Sulfur acts like a free-radical hunting magnet in the body, drawing free radicals, toxins, mercury, and other heavy metals so it can safely flush them from the body.

Ironically, glutathione does not work when taken orally (tablet, liquid, etc.) as our gastrointestinal tract will break it back down into the three original amino acids. Research reveals that oral doses as high as 3,000 milligrams do not raise levels of glutathione in the body. You will see glutathione advertised in various oral forms, but they do not deliver glutathione to your system in any significant amount.

For years, I gave my patients glutathione by IV, compounded topical creams and even compounded nasal spray…all in an effort to bypass the stomach and raise the blood levels of this wonderful antioxidant.  The topical creams and nasal sprays were not very popular to use, as glutathione has a sulfur smell. The results, however, were a great success.

If you suffer from an autoimmune disease, you are likely severely deficient in this molecule. This is why no matter how many antioxidant, detoxifying supplements you’ve tried, you still haven’t been able to get your symptoms under control.

If you’re low in glutathione, you don’t get enough L-Cysteine in your diet. And most of us do not, as it is difficult to get through diet alone. L-Cysteine is the rate limiting factor as to how much glutathione we are able to produce.

Every cell in your body produces glutathione when supplied with these three amino acids, but the biggest producer is the liver.

In addition to helping reverse the symptoms of autoimmune disease and stabilizing the body, glutathione has other health benefits as well.

Ongoing research reveals the following:

In a perfect world, there would be no such thing as nutritional deficiencies. We’d all be healthy and the word ‘autoimmune disease’, (or any disease for that matter), simply wouldn’t exist. Unfortunately, if you’re like most modern people, a combination of poor diet, stress, inadequate sleep, chemical pollution, infections, and trauma have plummeted your natural vitamin, mineral and amino acid levels to incredible lows.

To combat this, it is incredibly important to eat a healthy, nutritious diet, exercise, and reduce as much stress as possible.

Diet

For my patients with autoimmune disease, I recommend they eat plenty of sulfur-rich foods such as:

Whey Protein

I also recommend my patients consume a food product called bio-active whey protein as this is a great natural source of L-Cysteine. When choosing a whey protein, it’s very important to select a 100% organic protein that has been “undenatured”, in other words, not broken down. Mix it with whole organic milk with no growth hormones or antibiotics. Unpasteurized is best, but since this can be difficult to come by for many, organic is your second-best choice. Remember that when you add L-Cysteine to your diet, you make your own glutathione!

Exercise

Exercise raises natural glutathione levels and boosts the immune system naturally. If you’re living with an autoimmune disease, exercise may be the last thing on your mind because of the pain and fatigue.

You don’t have to do a strenuous workout to boost your glutathione levels. Start slowly with a walk around the block or a lap or two in the pool at your local gym and work up from there. Ideally, you should aim for 30 minutes a day, three days a week of moderate to vigorous exercise.

Treat Autoimmune Disorders with Diamond Nutritionals

If you’re already taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement for your health, you may want to change. Many commercial vitamin supplements are nothing more than a synthetic concoction of laboratory chemicals bound together with fillers, chemicals, additives, dyes, and shellac.

Oftentimes, even those who take a wide variety of nutritional supplements still struggle with vitamin and mineral deficiencies because the type of multivitamins they’re taking are not absorbable by the body or the amount of vitamins and minerals are too small to be therapeutic.

Diamond Nutritionals are professional grade vitamins, minerals and amino acids that are 100% bioavailable for your body. Everyone could benefit from a solid multivitamin and mineral supplement….and this goes double for anyone living with a chronic illness.

Diamond Nutritional’s Foundation Vitamins

Diamond Nutritionals’ Foundation Vitamins are unlike the vitamins you’re used to seeing on your grocer’s shelf. They’re made from pure ingredients designed to work with your body to boost your immune system and fill in the nutritional gaps in your diet.

Foundation’s immune-boosting ingredients include:

o Vitamin A – 7,500 IU

o Vitamin C – 500 mg

o Vitamin D3 – 500 IU

o Vitamin E – 100 IU

o Vitamin K – 50 mcg

o Thiamine – 25 mg

o Riboflavin – 25 mg

o Niacin – 25 mg

o Vitamin B6 – 38 mg

o Folic Acid – 400 mcg

o Vitamin B12 – 500 mcg

o Biotin – 200 mcg

o Panthothenic Acid – 150 mg

o Calcium – 100 mg

o Iodine – 113 mcg

o Magnesium – 200 mg

o Zinc – 10 mg

o Selenium – 100 mcg

o Copper – 1 mg

o Manganese – 2.5 mg

o Chromium – 200 mcg

o Molybdenum – 25 mcg

o Potassium – 50 mg

o Choline Bitartrate USP – 50 mg

o Inositol – 50 mg

o Mixed Tocopherols – 50 mg

o Lipoic Acid – 25 mg

o N-Acetyl-Cysteine USP – 25 mg

o Rutin – 25 mg

o Lutein – 3 mg

o Boron – 1.5 mg

o Lycopene – 1 mg

o Vanadyl Sulfate Hydrate – 1 mg

Diamond Nutritionals’ N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine

Even if you consume a very healthy diet, you’re body is still only approximately 100mg of glutathione each day. This means your glutathione levels are still critically low. This is why I recommend adding Diamond Nutritionals’ N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine. This is the most bioavailable form of L-Cysteine. Each capsule contains 500mg of essential L-Cysteine, to give your body the immune support it so desperately requires. Remember, L-Cysteine is one of the three amino acids needed for glutathione production, and the one that is least found in the typical American diet. Taking this professional grade product allows your body to manufacture therapeutic levels of glutathione.

Not too long ago, you were filled with vitality and health. You can be that way again. If you’re struggling with any type of autoimmune disorder, you can use supplements to support your immune system and prevent it from attacking itself.

Don’t let life pass you by. Let glutathione give your fatigued body the type of support it needs.

You’ll be amazed at how great you feel!