Glutathione Foods: What Raises Glutathione Naturally

Glutathione is found in fresh fruits, vegetables and freshly prepared meats, while dairy, cereals and breads contain little, and heavy processing destroys much of it. Your body also makes its own glutathione from three amino acids, so foods that supply cysteine and glycine, plus nutrients like selenium and vitamin C, also matter. (Jones and colleagues, 1992; Sekhar and colleagues, 2011; NIH ODS selenium) This guide covers the foods highest in glutathione, the building blocks your body uses to make it, and what human studies show about raising it naturally.

It is educational, not medical advice.

Key Takeaways

• Fresh beats processed: fruits and vegetables have moderate to high glutathione, fresh meats are relatively high, and processing and preservation cause large losses; frozen foods keep levels similar to fresh (Jones and colleagues, 1992).
• Your body makes its own: glutathione is built from glutamate, cysteine and glycine, and in older adults two weeks of cysteine plus glycine raised glutathione (Sekhar and colleagues, 2011).
• Protein with cysteine helps: 45 g a day of a pressurized whey protein raised immune-cell glutathione by about 24% in two weeks (Zavorsky and colleagues, 2007).
• Helpers count too: 500 mg a day of vitamin C raised red blood cell glutathione by nearly 50% in healthy adults (Johnston and colleagues, 1993), and selenium is part of the glutathione peroxidase enzymes (NIH ODS selenium).

What Is Glutathione?

Glutathione is a small molecule made of three amino acids, glutamate, cysteine and glycine, that your cells use as one of their main antioxidants (Sekhar and colleagues, 2011; Minich and Brown, 2019). A review of human studies found that amino acids, vitamins, minerals, plant compounds and whole foods can all influence glutathione levels in the blood, and that genetic differences change how much each person responds (Minich and Brown, 2019). For more on what glutathione does, see our glutathione ingredient page. Ergothioneine, an antioxidant found mostly in mushrooms, is often compared with glutathione; see our guide to ergothioneine vs glutathione.

Foods High in Glutathione

A study that measured glutathione in the foods Americans eat most found clear patterns by food group (Jones and colleagues, 1992):

Food group	Glutathione content	What to know
Fresh fruits and vegetables	Moderate to high	Eat them fresh or frozen
Freshly prepared meats	Relatively high	Fresh rather than cured or processed
Frozen foods	Similar to fresh	A practical way to keep produce on hand
Dairy, cereals and breads	Generally low	Useful for other nutrients, not glutathione
Other processed and preserved foods	Much lower	Processing and preservation caused extensive losses

Source for the table: (Jones and colleagues, 1992). The simplest rule: the closer a food is to fresh, the more glutathione it keeps.

Foods That Help Your Body Make Glutathione

Because your cells build glutathione themselves, the raw materials matter. Cysteine is the key building block, and glycine is the other one that can run short (Sekhar and colleagues, 2011).

• Protein foods with cysteine: in an open-label study of 31 healthy adults, 45 g a day of a pressurized whey protein for two weeks raised immune-cell glutathione by about 24%, while 15 g a day did not change it (Zavorsky and colleagues, 2007).
• Glycine: older adults had much lower glycine and glutathione than younger adults, and two weeks of cysteine plus glycine raised glutathione synthesis and levels and lowered markers of oxidative stress (Sekhar and colleagues, 2011).
• Glycine and NAC together: in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 16 weeks of glycine plus N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a form of cysteine, improved low glutathione in older adults (Kumar and colleagues, 2023). Our guide to NAC vs glutathione compares the two.

For more on glycine itself, including the 3 g dose used in sleep studies, see glycine benefits. For two other compounds people try to get from food, see resveratrol foods and NMN foods. For the trials that gave NAC and glycine together in older adults, see our guide to GlyNAC.

Nutrients That Support Glutathione

• Selenium: selenium is part of the glutathione peroxidase enzymes, which work alongside glutathione (NIH ODS selenium). Brazil nuts, seafood, meat, poultry and organ meats are the richest sources (NIH ODS selenium). Brazil nuts contain 68 to 91 mcg per nut, so a few a week is plenty; eating many regularly can cause selenium toxicity, and the adult upper limit is 400 mcg a day (NIH ODS selenium).
• Vitamin C: in a double-blind study, 500 mg a day of vitamin C raised red blood cell glutathione by nearly 50% compared with baseline; 2,000 mg a day did no better than 500 mg (Johnston and colleagues, 1993). Fresh fruits and vegetables supply vitamin C as well as glutathione.

How to Increase Glutathione Naturally: 5 Steps

1. Eat fresh or frozen produce daily rather than heavily processed foods (Jones and colleagues, 1992).
2. Include fresh protein foods that supply cysteine, such as fresh meat or whey (Jones and colleagues, 1992; Zavorsky and colleagues, 2007).
3. Get enough selenium from seafood, meat or a Brazil nut now and then; adults need 55 mcg a day (NIH ODS selenium).
4. Cover vitamin C through fruit and vegetables (Johnston and colleagues, 1993).
5. Consider precursors if you are older: glycine plus NAC has the strongest trial data in older adults (Kumar and colleagues, 2023). Our NAC ingredient page explains more.

For what glutathione does in the body and what each route was measured to do, see our guide to glutathione benefits.

Glutathione Foods vs Supplements

Food and building blocks support the glutathione your body makes every day. Glutathione products come in several forms, including capsules, liposomal liquids, precursors like NAC, and nasal sprays; our guide to the best glutathione supplement by form compares them, and our guide to glutathione nasal spray vs oral glutathione covers the two most common routes.

Where Our Products Fit

Our Glutathione Nasal Spray contains just glutathione and alkaline water, with 35, 100 or 170 mg of glutathione per two-spray serving depending on strength, used once a day. Our NAC Nasal Spray provides 50 mg of N-acetylcysteine per two-spray serving. The Immunity Stack pairs both with Forage in one daily routine. For a daily routine, see our glutathione nasal spray daily-use guide, and for the bigger picture, our immune system hub. Talk to your doctor before starting a supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or take medication.

When to See a Doctor

Talk with a doctor before taking high doses of any supplement, including selenium, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take medication, or have a long-term health condition such as kidney or liver disease. Too much selenium can be harmful, so do not combine several selenium sources without checking your total intake.

Frequently Asked Questions

What foods are highest in glutathione?

Fresh fruits and vegetables and freshly prepared meats; dairy, cereals and breads are generally low (Jones and colleagues, 1992).

Does cooking or processing destroy glutathione?

Processing and preservation caused extensive losses in one study, while frozen foods kept levels similar to fresh (Jones and colleagues, 1992).

How can I increase glutathione naturally?

Eat fresh produce and protein foods that supply cysteine, get enough selenium and vitamin C, and, if you are older, consider glycine plus NAC (Jones and colleagues, 1992; Johnston and colleagues, 1993; Kumar and colleagues, 2023; NIH ODS selenium).

Does whey protein raise glutathione?

In one study, 45 g a day of pressurized whey protein for two weeks raised immune-cell glutathione by about 24%; 15 g a day did not (Zavorsky and colleagues, 2007).

Does vitamin C raise glutathione?

500 mg a day raised red blood cell glutathione by nearly 50% in healthy adults (Johnston and colleagues, 1993).

What is the best precursor for glutathione?

Cysteine, often taken as NAC, together with glycine; this combination improved low glutathione in older adults (Sekhar and colleagues, 2011; Kumar and colleagues, 2023).

How many Brazil nuts should I eat for selenium?

One nut has 68 to 91 mcg of selenium, more than the 55 mcg adults need in a day, so an occasional nut is enough (NIH ODS selenium).

Is glutamine the same as glutathione?

No; our guide to glutamine vs glutathione explains the difference.

Sources

• Jones DP, Coates RJ, Flagg EW, et al. Glutathione in foods listed in the National Cancer Institute’s Health Habits and History Food Frequency Questionnaire. Nutr Cancer. 1992. PubMed 1574445
• Minich DM, Brown BI. A review of dietary (phyto)nutrients for glutathione support. Nutrients. 2019. PubMed 31484368
• Sekhar RV, Patel SG, Guthikonda AP, et al. Deficient synthesis of glutathione underlies oxidative stress in aging and can be corrected by dietary cysteine and glycine supplementation. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011. PubMed 21795440
• Kumar P, Liu C, Suliburk J, et al. Supplementing glycine and N-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) in older adults improves glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, physical function, and aging hallmarks: a randomized clinical trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2023. PubMed 35975308
• Zavorsky GS, Kubow S, Grey V, et al. An open-label dose-response study of lymphocyte glutathione levels in healthy men and women receiving pressurized whey protein isolate supplements. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2007. PubMed 17710587
• Johnston CS, Meyer CG, Srilakshmi JC. Vitamin C elevates red blood cell glutathione in healthy adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 1993. PubMed 8317379
• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Selenium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. NIH ODS selenium

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is for education and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Talk with a healthcare provider before starting a new supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication.