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In this study of patients with type 2 diabetes,
blood levels of two vital nutrients - glutathione and vitamin E - were
found to increase when glucose levels dropped and blood sugar became better
controlled.
In addition, levels of both of these nutrients increased
even further in patients who received four weeks of vitamin E supplementation.
Although most people know about vitamin E, glutathione
is not quite so well-known. It is a peptide consisting of glutamic acid,
cysteine, and glycine. It serves as a critical co-enzyme for many reactions
in the body.
In addition to the increased glutathione and vitamin
E levels, levels of malonaldehyde, a naturally occurring possible carcinogen,
were reduced following the reduction of blood glucose levels. Malonaldehyde
occurs as a natural metabolic byproduct of prostaglandin synthesis and
as an end product of polyunsaturated lipid peroxidation. The CDC has reported
that there was clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in rats administered
malonaldehyde, particularly effecting the thyroid gland and pancreas.
Annals of Nutrition and
Metabolism 2000; 44: 11-13
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