I am amazed and glad to see how parents are at the front of the frontiers of knowledge with health care concerns. A recent blog post at Tales From The Crib talked about Epsom salt baths helping these children.
It also mentioned IV glutathione being used and found beneficial.
In the post it mentioned GSSH. What is GSSH and what is the epsom salt thing?
It is my understanding that Glutathione is designated by the letters GSH. Oxidized glutathione is designated in literature by GSSH or GSSG
GSH, the smallest intracellular thiol molecule (a thiol is a compound that contains a sulfur and hydrogen atom which is the SH of GSH), has incredible reducing capacity (takes something toxic like say, mercury and reduces it to something the body can get rid of), serving as a potent antioxidant (the GSH sacrifices it’s hydrogen which attaches to the oxidative free radical, much like a marine throwing himself on a live grenade to protect his friends) along with dozens of other functions, like giving up its SH when needed for other things.
The GSH levels are regulated and a fine balance exists between GSH synthesis (creation or manufacturing) and oxidation (think of this as cellular rust).
Once GSH sacrifices it’s self to save the cell and eliminate the insurgent oxidative free radicals, it is converted back to GSH by glutathione reductase that utilizes other intercellular chemicals that convert GSSG to GSH.
It also may interest you to know that the SH in GSH is the sulfa-hydroxyl that binds the two cystine molecules together. Cystine is toxic. Bind two cystine together and you get cysteine.
Cysteine is the precursor to GSH synthesis.
Not all cysteines are equal. It needs to be bioactive cysteine to boost intercellular glutathione.
There are several dietary sources for cysteine. It is fragile and cooking kills it. Also it is essential to eliminate the foods that kill GSH like MSG and fluoride in water.
There are several supplements for boosting GSH. Some are not recommended for children although the people pushing them will say otherwise. There is one in the PDR that is ok for kids and is even in a clinical trial at this posting.
So where does the Epsom salts fit in? Well, our skin is one of the largest and most often forgotten organ of our body.
Our feet, which have a lot of blood vessels, have the ability to absorb as well as detoxify our bodies. Smelly feet are the sign of a detoxifying body.
Although controversial as to effectiveness, there are machines you soak your feet in exposing them to some kind of machine. When your done, the color of what ever toxin is most prevalent in your body will be the color of the water when your through.
People claim they feel better once using it.
It probably will not work for our young ones with autism because of having to sit still for a while. The point is, it offers some clues as to how and why the Epsom’s salts work. It is not just the skin but most likely the feet where the benefit comes from.
Good Health to all.