My Liposomal Glutathione

If you're asking about liposomal, you've usually already chosen glutathione. So the question our naturopaths help with is whether this form is the right one for you.

A good fit if

• You're an adult wanting glutathione for its antioxidant role, and the delivery idea appeals to you
• You'd rather take a liquid or gel than swallow capsules
• You're comfortable that the liposomal evidence comes from one small, early study
• You understand you won't feel it working day to day

Check with us first if

• You're having chemotherapy, or about to. Talk to your oncology team first. A 2024 study found cancer came back more often in people given oral glutathione during chemo. It looked back at records, so it shows a link rather than proof, but it's not worth the risk.
• You're sensitive to sulfites. The breathing problems seen with inhaled glutathione were caused by sulfites forming.
• You've had raised liver enzymes. Two people in a 12-week glutathione trial had short-term rises that settled once they stopped.
• You're weighing up the two forms. Plain reduced glutathione is the form the longer trials used.
• You take prescription medicine. Check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.

• Liposomal glutathione. Best known for: The same molecule inside phospholipid vesicles, meant to dodge the gut enzyme that breaks it down. Usually a liquid or gel. Absorption: One small open-label study raised blood and immune-cell glutathione within two weeks. No placebo, and no health-outcome trial. Typical use: 500 to 1,000 mg a day in that study, which the higher-strength liquids reach. Costs more than plain.
• Reduced glutathione (GSH). Best known for: The plain powder in a capsule, and the form nearly every trial used. Absorption: Poor on short-term blood measures. Over six months at up to 1,000 mg a day it raised body stores 30 to 35 per cent. Typical use: 250 to 500 mg a day, the range the trials used. The cheapest form.
• Micellar glutathione. Best known for: A different formulation that beat both plain and liposomal in a head-to-head absorption trial. Absorption: Single-dose crossover in 14 people, randomised and double-blind. Blood levels only, not outcomes. Typical use: 300 mg in that trial. Not a separate directory entry; ask us if you see it on a label.
• S-acetyl-L-glutathione (SAG). Best known for: Chemically changed glutathione, meant to be unlocked inside the cell. A different molecule, not a different wrapper. Absorption: One single-dose study at 3.5 g. Plasma beat plain glutathione, but red-cell glutathione didn't. Typical use: No outcome trials, and no Schedule 1 entry. Its Australian status is a question for each product's sponsor.

Reference values. There isn't one. Your body makes its own glutathione, so it isn't an essential nutrient and there's no recommended intake for any form of it.

Typical supplemental range. The one liposomal study used 500 mg or 1,000 mg a day for four weeks and found no difference between the two doses. The stronger liquids we stock reach that range. Plain capsules usually provide less, at 250 to 500 mg.

Upper level. None has been set. Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1, item 2379) sets no daily limit for glutathione in any form. The highest daily dose studied, 1,000 mg for six months, caused no serious side effects. But having no limit isn't the same as being proven safe.

Worth knowing. Blood markers changed within one to two weeks in the liposomal study, but that's a lab result, not something you'd feel. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Asparagus, avocado and spinach: named as glutathione-containing plant foods; no verified per-serve figure exists
• Cucumber and green beans: named, not quantified
• Protein foods, for the raw materials (glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine): your body builds its own glutathione from these, so no direct figure applies

This list is the part of the page we will not shorten. If any of it applies to you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before starting.

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Mandatory label warning under item 2379: not recommended for use by pregnant and lactating women.
• Children and teenagers. Item 2379 requires 'Adults only'.
• Chemotherapy. 2024 retrospective cohort in breast cancer: recurrence 31.8 per cent with oral glutathione against 22.2 without. Association, not proof. Escalate to the oncology team.
• Inhaled or nebulised glutathione. FEV1 fell 19 per cent in mild asthma, apparently through sulfite formation.
• Sulfite-sensitive people. Route to a practitioner before starting.
• Injected or intravenous glutathione. Not permitted by that route in an Australian listed medicine.
• History of raised liver enzymes. Two subjects in a 12-week trial had transient elevations that normalised on stopping.
• No established upper level of intake. Absence of a cap isn't evidence of safety at high doses.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.