Glutathione is the master antioxidant in our body and crucial in our detox pathway.
Paracetamol is a commonly used pain killer and fever lowering drug.
Did you know though, that one of the drug that depletes our Glutathione reserve IS paracetamol. Intrahepatic glutathione detoxifies paracetamol with loss of over 70% of intrahepatic glutathione stores from normal values. Therefore, individuals who have low baseline intrahepatic glutathione are likely to be at greater risk of developing paracetamol-related hepatotoxicity. And taking paracetamol (Panadol) will make us more susceptible to multiple diseases because our antioxidant reserve becomes very low. And those who were born with already low level of glutathione are those with the higher risk of more diseases.
A 54 year old male came to my practice with chief complaint of unexplained fatigue for 2 months. My investigation on him found a very high homocysteine (18 - where the optimal level should be below 10), elevated liver enzyme (liver is a major detox organ) and low GFR (kidney is another major detox organ). He has a history of taking paracetamol due to tension headaches and sinusitis related headache for years.
His Nutrigenomic test revealed that he has SNP (genetic variation) on liver detox pathway - so he was born with defect/less glutathione capacity. Taking Panadol regularly depletes his (already low) antioxidant reserve. His cortisol level is low yet still following its diurnal rhythm. Rest of his lab is unremarkable.
The simple drug that he thought helped his headache so he can function at his role of being a CEO had caused him a decreased liver and kidney functions. Pain is a way your body telling you something is not right. My theory on him is that the reason he could not stop taking paracetamol is because his forever headache. Little that he know, when he depleted his glutathione reserve more and more, he is likely to get more and more headache because his liver became toxic (hepatotoxic) and caused toxins stay longer in the body and reached his brain causing some sort of hepatic encephalopathy (he confirmed forgetfulness, confusion, problems in movements, changes in moods and bad breath - these are the common symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy). It will take time to bring those functions up but precision medicine is a charm, addressing his conditions based on his uniqueness will help him recover at no time.
Remember that even for (what it seems like) a simple harmless drug like Panadol, can put your health at risk. Listen to your body. #makelifestyleyourmedicine.
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