L-Glutathione & Vitamin C

The amino acid glutathione and vitamin C help remove toxins from your system. Both support your immune system and may help you recover from an intensive exercise routine or other stressful conditions. You can take glutathione and vitamin C individually or together. Consult a health care provider before using any dietary supplement.

Vitamins and Amino Acids

Vitamins are organic compounds required for survival. Most vitamins -- with the exception of vitamin D, which the body can produce through sunlight exposure -- must be provided through your diet. Vitamins fulfill a variety of functions within your body, and in this respect are much like amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and even though many amino acids duplicate some of the functions of vitamins, they are radically different compounds. The most notable difference is that amino acids in various combinations form peptides and proteins, which no vitamin can do.

Antioxidants

When you are subject to stress, your body produces various compounds, some of them toxic. Oxidative stress, or when different systems within your body work with insufficient oxygen, produces numerous toxins called free radicals. Various types of activities can generate this stress, including the stress of daily activity or even exercise. The free radicals produced by oxidative stress are, in part, cleansed by a category of compounds known as antioxidants. Both glutathione and vitamin C belong to this category.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, which means that excess levels of vitamin C will be flushed from your system. Fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A and E, are stored in various fat cells throughout your body. Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, is commonly found in fruits, and a vitamin C deficiency, although extremely rare, results in scurvy. Vitamin C, in addition to being an antioxidant, will help lower your risk of heart disease, according to a 1998 study published in the "Journal of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry."

Glutathione

Unlike vitamin C, glutathione is not an essential nutrient as it can be synthesized from other amino acids. In addition to its role as an antioxidant, glutathione directly supports the immune system, regulates energy systems within your cells and contributes to protein repair. Its contribution to protein repair and remodeling makes it conditionally essential for athletes, as the increase in protein breakdown following sport performance requires your body to recover and repair itself. A 1994 study published in the "Journal of Applied Physiology" showed improved recovery from exercise-induced stress following glutathione supplementation.