Mercury, in particular, depletes glutathione reserves and weakens glutathione-dependent enzymes
These enzymes play crucial roles in neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and detoxifying xenobiotics and metabolic byproducts, thereby enhancing the livers detoxification capacity and reducing oxidative stress
Enhancing GSH, mainly through NAC, GSH precursors rich in cysteine (whey protein, whey protein isolate rich in cysteine) or pro-GSH compound administration, becomes a potential treatment option for inflammatory diseases by reducing oxidative stress and cytokine expression especially in diabetic patients that also are at risk of more severe COVID-19 disease (299)
doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2017.132
Favilli F, Marraccini P, Iantomasi T, Vincenzini MT