If You Like to Breathe – Or Want to Breathe Better – This Treatment Is for You
You may have heard the old adage that you are what you eat. While there’s a lot of truth to that saying, it would be more accurate to say “you are what you take in and remove.” You see, what goes into your body plays a major role on your health. And how well you get rid of the waste plays a big role in your health.
There are four main ways “stuff” from our environment gets into our bodies. Digestion is the one we usually think of. But there’s also ideas, which go in through our ears and eyes into our brain. These can have a major impact on our lives and health. The third way is through our skin, which is porous and absorbs anything it can.
The fourth primary entrance into our body is through our pulmonary system – mainly our lungs. The health of your lungs is every bit as important as the health of your gut, if not more so. I’ve given you some great ways to treat lung illnesses in the past. But there’s now another treatment that anyone with lung disease needs to consider. It’s a simple nutrient that I’ve talked about before. But how you use this nutrient is a game changer for lung disease patients. Just ask Joe.
Joe (not his real name) is a 95-year-old man who had emphysema. When he went to see his doctor, he was suffering from an acute respiratory crisis secondary to the emphysema and an apparent bronchial infection. He was in bad shape.
To get into his doctor’s office, he had to be wheeled in with a wheelchair. His emphysema required that he use an oxygen tank and mask. This was normal for him. He typically could breathe without oxygen. But his acute illness was making his breathing labored and troublesome.
He was alert and responsive, which was important because he adamantly did not want to go to the hospital or take antibiotics. He was fairly dehydrated too, which made giving him an IV difficult. The nurse struggled to find a vein. So instead of spending too much time on finding an IV and sticking Joe too much, the doctor decided to try something else.
The doctor had a supply of glutathione solution on hand. So he took 2 ml of the 60 mg/ml solution and put it in a nebulizer. He put the nebulizer mask over Joe’s mouth and nose and instructed him to breathe through the mask for 10 minutes.
Quick Improvement Leads to New Discovery
As soon as Joe began breathing through the nebulizer mask, you could see improvement. By the time he was done with the 10-minute treatment, he was breathing better and the coloration in his face had improved significantly.
Due to the obvious immediate benefit, the doctor decided Joe should continue the treatment at home. So he sent Joe home with a nebulizer and prescribed twice-daily administration of the glutathione solution. Joe’s family monitored Joe closely and found that the solution quickly improved his overall condition.
Amazingly, he went back to see his doctor three days later without the wheelchair or oxygen tank. He didn’t have any signs of respiratory distress. And with a stethoscope, his lungs sounded normal. The doctor was thrilled with his improvement.
When he asked Joe how he was feeling, he said, “I’m breathing better than I have in years.” He felt so good using the glutathione treatment that he continued to use it every day. And his breathing remained strong.
This was surprising to the doctor. He gave the nebulized glutathione to Joe to take care of the acute infection and to stop the respiratory crisis. He knew it would work for this. But what he didn’t know was that it would improve his overall breathing and prevent the emphysema from getting worse. The patient’s continued use of the treatment showed just how effective it was for him.
The improvement was so remarkable, it showed the doctor that nebulized glutathione is more effective for the lungs than IV glutathione. Some studies have confirmed this, showing that IV glutathione raises glutathione levels in the lungs’ epithelial lining fluid for only a very short period of time – not long enough to have significant effect. And nebulized glutathione is far superior to pills and other oral routes, as these don’t reach the lungs with any measure of effectiveness.
An additional benefit is that the aerosol application provides direct and localized concentrations of glutathione in the lungs and respiratory pathways. That means it helps your sinuses, your mouth, your throat, and every other aspect of your pulmonary system. It’s a truly remarkable therapy.
What Can You Treat With Nebulized Glutathione?
What I love about nebulized glutathione is the vast number of ailments you can treat with it. One study did a review of 11 studies focused on this treatment.
Based exclusively on what they found in those 11 studies, the researchers determined that inhaled glutathione can be used to treat the following:
- cystic fibrosis
- chronic otitis media with effusion
- HIV seropositive individuals
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- chronic rhinitis
The researchers limited their recommendations to these conditions because the studies were limited in scope and they kept their recommendations focused on the studies they reviewed. They considered all of these studies “good quality.”
What About COPD – Emphysema and Asthma?
For instance, they didn’t recommend nebulized glutathione for emphysema because the studies didn’t give enough information about its use for this illness. However, integrative doctors regularly use it to treat emphysema – and with positive results. That doesn’t mean it cures the disease. But it certainly helps. The researchers even suggest that it can be beneficial. They said, “There is experimental and human data demonstrating a link between glutathione, oxidant-derived damage, and possible protection against the development of emphysema.”
They go on to detail an in vitro study that showed how glutathione can protect against the development or escalation of emphysema caused by smoking. They also mention a recent review study that found high levels of glutathione in the tissues lining the lungs can prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in smokers.
If you smoke or have ever smoked for extended periods of time, it’s vital you talk to your doctor about using nebulized glutathione. Not all smokers go on to develop COPD. These researchers believe it’s because of high levels of glutathione in the lungs of those who do not develop the disease. (NOTE: If you can’t stop smoking, please contact Real Health Medical and ask about our fantastic protocol that so far is 100% effective in helping you stop smoking if you’re ready to quit. I’ll have more on this in the future.)
The researchers also don’t mention asthma – another illness integrative doctors treat with inhaled glutathione. There are some asthma patients who cannot use nebulized glutathione because they are sensitive to the sulfite in the nutrient. This can cause coughing, breathlessness, and bronchoconstriction. But these are the only known side effects of the treatment.
If you have asthma, ask your doctor to find out if you’re sensitive to sulfites before using this treatment. You’ll find sulfites in beer, wine, restaurant salad bars, seafood, potatoes, processed foods, and many pharmaceuticals. So if you’re sensitive to any of these foods, it’s best to avoid inhaled glutathione.
Other Fascinating Uses for Nebulized Glutathione
The researchers in this study mentioned several other potential uses of inhaled glutathione. The first one was Farmer’s lung. The illness gets its name from the fact that it typically occurs in farmers who spend a lot of time around hay. The dust from hay can damage the lining of the lungs, causing the illness. But one study found that farmers with ample glutathione in their lungs were far less likely to get the disease than those who were deficient in the nutrient.
Another interesting use of nebulized glutathione is to protect your lungs when you exercise. While exercise is great for you, it is a known cause of oxidative stress in the lungs. And it does lead to free radical production. This isn’t a problem for most people. But folks with deficient and/or impaired antioxidant status can experience tissue damage and oxidized stress in their lipids (think oxidized LDL cholesterol). Even if your antioxidant levels are normal, using inhaled glutathione can benefit anyone who exercises regularly. It can increase your exercise tolerance. And it can help maintain and/or replenish the antioxidant systems within the lungs. Just do a treatment after you exercise to see the results.
A third use of inhaled glutathione is for those with multiple chemical sensitivity disorder (MCSD). People who suffer from MCSD often suffer from bronchial hyper-reactivity and even exhibit asthma-like symptoms. The authors state: “Glutathione inhalation may be ideal since the primary route by which patients with MCSD get triggered is through smelling and breathing. Sulfite sensitivity would have to be considered since inhaled GSH could provoke adverse events. This treatment might be capable of providing antioxidant protection to both the upper and lower respiratory airways, which would theoretically help to reduce the symptoms of MCSD….”
Finally, one fascinating treatment the researchers didn’t mention is using inhaled glutathione to treat vocal cord stress. Anyone who uses their voice for a living – such as singers, TV and talk radio hosts, and teachers. We’ve found that inhaling glutathione can bring significant support to the vocal cords, relieving the stress, and protecting the cords from damage.
What Not to Treat — Maybe
What’s curious about the authors’ conclusions is that they say you shouldn’t use nebulized glutathione for lung cancer. Before saying this, though, they give multiple reasons the treatment can help prevent the disease, especially if you’re a smoker. And, then, after saying they don’t recommend it, they give multiple ways that it can help lung cancer patients. Their reason for not using it seems to be similar to why most oncologists tell cancer patients not to take vitamins during cancer treatment – they fear it will fight against the treatment. But many studies have shown that vitamin treatment actually enhances conventional cancer treatments. Some doctors have successfully used glutathione to treat lung cancer. So, if you have lung cancer, talk to an integrative medical doctor to find out if he thinks the treatment will help you.
How to Get Nebulized Glutathione
The first requirement to use inhaled glutathione at home is you must have a nebulizer. Your doctor can help you get one – and insurance will often pay for it. Your doctor can also help you get the glutathione solution you’ll need. Any compounding pharmacy should have glutathione – and your doctor or nurse practitioner can write a prescription for it. Anyone can use it, as the lungs tend to degenerate with age. So protecting your lungs is just as important as treating lung diseases.
If you’re interested in trying glutathione, contact Real Health Medical today and set up an appointment.
