Dr. Nayan Patel begins The Glutathione Revolution (Hachette Books, 2020) by wondering what you will do after reading “there’s a powerhouse substance that has the capability to both protect your body against disease and help heal it if you do get sick,” yet can also “help slow down the aging process, refresh your energy level, and keep your skin looking luminous?”

I fear you’ll roll your eyes, assume he’s a huckster, and that his book is nothing more than hype. So let me set the record straight.

If you get past the over-the-top intro, you’ll find the book to be a first-rate information source and yet another reason to eat well.

Moreover, experimenting with a few of Patel’s suggestions to increase your levels of glutathione can do nothing but help your overall health.

He calls doing so “remarkably safe,” and states he has “not seen one adverse side effect” even from excessive use.(FYI: That long-term use may lead to lower zinc levels is the only downside other research has revealed.)

Moreover, the importance and efficacy of glutathione was established in scientifically well before Patel’s book. That information, however, is found in hard-to-read-scholarly articles, and what you’re likely to find today by Googling the term can be ... well, a bit suspect.

In short, Patel is correct when he observes “there’s little accessible yet authoritative information [about glutathione] out there.” Correct, that is, until now.

One thing Patel’s writing certainly is, is accessible.

To establish the dangers of free radicals, Patel borrows a concise quotation, “wherever there’s disease and destruction, there are free radicals,” and then clearly chronicles how both occur. He explains how the “acts of theft” committed by free radicals force the molecules who have been robbed to “cannibalize the electrons of their neighbors.”

These neighbors then do the same, which results in oxidation. “If you want to have a picture in your mind of oxidation,” Patel says, “think of rust.”

And while some of the “rust” from free radicals can’t be avoided and is actually helpful to your body, too much of it can cause chronic inflammation, damage DNA, increase the odds of cancer, reduce fat burning capabilities, and add deposits of plaque to the arterial walls. In addition, oxidation creates “just about every malady you can think of” - including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and macular degeneration - and accelerates all types of aging.

Antioxidants, however, can reduce or negate free radical damage by donating an electron, which - to use a political buzzword and not Patel’s - stops the steal. While all antioxidants do their part to battle free radicals, glutathione is the “most magnanimous” donor to this cause.

In large part because of that, Patel calls it the mother of all antioxidants.

Ingestion of alcohol, use of medical or recreational drugs, exposure to toxins and pollution, eating poorly, and even exercising strenuously increase the production of free radicals, which in turn increases the need for “mom.” But your body’s ability to be motherly and produce glutathione is lessened by inflammation, stress, and aging - especially aging.

A study Patel cites found the glutathione levels of those between the ages of 41 to 69 to be about 20 percent lower than those between the ages of 25 and 40. This creates a “double whammy.”

Patel’s book teaches you ways to undo this double whammy, as well as other ways to increase your glutathione level. One such way is through a rather sensible and healthy eating plan.

In past studies, oral supplements of glutathione have been found to be ineffective because the enzymes in the stomach break down the substance before it can work its magic. (As a result, Patel created GlutarylTM - a highly absorbable spray form of reduced L-glutathione that allows the glutathione to be absorbed into your skin - and sells it through the company he has created, Auro Wellness.)

Those past studies also found that three amino acids are required to create glutathione: glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. So you would think a diet featuring meat would increase glutathione levels since animal products contain all the amino acids in abundance. But there’s a caveat.

Eating meat, Patel warns. “may bring in more glutathione, but it also makes you use more glutathione,” defeating the purpose.

Consequently, he suggests an eating plan that reminds you of the Mediterranean diet. It permits fish (except the types most likely to be loaded with mercury and other toxins) and features fruits and vegetables, as well as other foods high in cysteine and “glutathione-boosting nutrients,” like vitamin C and selenium. It limits processed foods and asks you to abstain from alcohol, at least for 14 days.

Possibly the best reason to read the book and follow this diet is found in the chapter about energy and exercise. “Glutathione simply makes everything in the body work better,” Patel writes. “And if everything is operating better, you’re going to feel better.”

Could there be a better reason for giving something a try?