Lung health is critical at any time of the year… but during flu season, it can actually mean the difference between life and death. Violent immune responses can spell trouble for the unluckiest patients. In addition, serious respiratory distress—which typically takes hold between the second and fourth days of illness—are predicted to be the likeliest culprit behind most of this year’ s flu-related fatalities.
To make matters worse, even people with an otherwise tip-top respiratory system are at risk—which means your lungs need more protection than ever if they’ re going to weather the storm safely. The good news: Research shows that getting this extra protection can be as simple as adding just a single supplement to your daily regimen.
Derived from the amino acid l-cysteine, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) can increase your body’ s stores of the powerful antioxidant glutathione, which in turn binds to and curbs the inflammatory effects of excess nitric oxide—a common marker of serious respiratory conditions like asthma, emphysema, and cystic fibrosis.1 NAC is also proven to reduce levels of reactive oxygen species, inflammatory cytokines and the deadly enzyme NADPH oxidase in your lungs—all of which are known to be lethal factors in severe cases of influenza infection.2
Given these unique abilities, it shouldn’ t surprise you that animal studies show that NAC can decrease mortality rates dramatically when administered to influenza-virus-infected mice—while further research indicates that this amino acid acts directly on your immune system to modulate your body’ s response to threats and enhance the proliferation of pathogen-fighting T-cells.3-4
In fact, N-acetyl-cysteine has been shown to be essential in the fight against a number of viral assaults, serving to inhibit replication, influence cytokine response patterns, differentiate T-cells, and activate both macrophages (cells that engulf and destroy detected invaders) and natural killer (NK) cells against a variety of diseases.5
A simple NAC supplement could be a crucial factor in making sure your lungs stay strong this winter. Luckily, you can find N-acetyl cysteine readily available in capsule form through Vitamin Research Products.
References:
1. Bengtsson A, Lundberg M, Avila-Carino J, et al. Thiols decrease cytokine levels and down-regulate the expression of CD30 on human attergen-specific T helper (Th) 0 and Th2 cells. Clin Exp Immunol. 2001 Mar; 123(3):350-60.
2. McCarty MF, Barroso-Aranda J, Contreras F. Practical strategies for targeting NF-kappaB and NADPH oxidase may improve survival during lethal influenza epidemics. Med Hypotheses. 2009 Jun 30. Published Online Ahead of Print.
3. Ungheri D, Pisani C, Sanson G, et al. Protective effect of n-acetylcysteine in a model of influenza infection in mice. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2000 Sep-Dec;13(3):123-8.
4. Hadzic T, Li L, Cheng N, et al. The role of low molecular weight thiols in T lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 secretion. J Immunol. 2005 Dec 15;175(12):7965-72.
5. Fraternale A, Paoletti MF, Casabianca A, et al. Antiviral and immunomodulatory properties of new pro-glutathione (GSH) molecules. Curr Med Chem. 2006;13(15):1749-55.
