Welcome to Straight Talk on Health. I’m your host Dr. Chet Zelasko. Straight Talk on Health is a joint production with WGVU in Grand Rapids MI. I examine the practical application of health information. Nutrition. Exercise. Diet. Supplementation. I look at the science behind them, and let you know whether it’s something to consider or not. You can check out other things that I do on my website Drchet.com and sign up for my free emails.
Did you know that there is a dietary supplement that is also an FDA-approved pharmaceutical? In fact, there are more than one but I want to focus on just one for this podcast. It’s NAC. Not ‘You have a knack for design.’ The NAC stands for N-Acetyl Cysteine. I’ll talk about the uses for the different forms but let’s describe what it is.
N-Acetyl-cysteine is a sulfur-containing compound that is produced in living organisms from the amino acid cysteine. It can also be made synthetically as extracting from plants or made via bacteria is a more expensive process. NAC is a critical chemical because it is used to make the major antioxidant glutathione when combined with glycine and glutamate inside cells. Various cells, especially liver cells, use glutathione in the Phase 1 detoxification process. That allows fat soluble chemicals to become water soluble and therefore easier to excrete from the body. NAC is also a powerful antioxidant in and of itself. NAC all by itself can scavenge free radicals, especially in the mitochondria. More about that later. When it comes to helping the body detoxify, NAC is one of the best, if not the best, promoters of detoxification we have.
I guess the most important question is why NAC transcends both the supplement and medication categories. It’s an interesting yet puzzling story. NAC is used as a pharmaceutical to treat acetaminophen overdose by the process I just described as a Phase one detoxification promoter. That’s the important statement—as a treatment prescribed by physicians, usually in the ER, after a suspected acetaminophen overdose. That means it has been tested at the proper doses in clinical trials and found to be effective.
The FDA rule was that to be considered a dietary supplement, in must have been available as a supplement before the FDA approved NAC as a drug. The FDA found that there was no evidence it was manufactured or produced as a dietary supplement before 1963 therefore it is considered a drug. But wait. They have determined that for now, they will not pursue any manufacturer’s or distributors of supplement NAC unless they violate labeling laws. In other words, don’t say it can be used as a treatment. That means the availability as a supplement can taken away at any time.
But sure enough, that almost happened in 2020. Several companies put together mixtures of supplements that were being used for the day after. Day after what? The heavy consumption of alcohol. It was supposed to bring back energy levels quickly. That was flagged as a treatment and the FDA threatened to pull the supplement from the marketplace. The companies ceased and desisted with the claims they were making about the nutrient blend and the threat subsided. But that was not before large companies like Amazon pulled the product from being sold on its website. As of this recording, it is available everywhere again and there appear to be no issues in sight so let’s stick to what NAC can do in both arenas.
In addition to acetaminophen poisoning, med NAC can be used for a variety of conditions, especially because there are no issues with pregnancy and children. The med NAC is approved as a mucolytic. That means it can help break up mucus in the lungs for people with asthma, pneumonia, and even with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It’s good to keep in mind that med NAC may be a secondary treatment option, not the first treatment in the regimen.
Beyond that, there are a variety of conditions that med NAC has been used with varying results based on the MedlinePlus of the NIH. Remember, these are the potential uses of med NAC.
Chest pain (angina). when used with the drug nitroglycerin.
Autism. N-acetyl cysteine by mouth might improve irritability in children and adolescents with autism.
Chronic bronchitis.
High levels of homocysteine in the blood, a possible risk factor for heart disease.
High levels of cholesterol or other fats (lipids) in the blood.
Flu (influenza).
Let me be clear: these are the potential uses for med NAC as treatments for diseases and conditions that may be prescribed by a physician. I know what some of you are thinking. “I can just purchase it as a supplement and use it the same way.” That would be a mistake because, while there are no safety data to indicate it’s in any way harmful, we don’t practice medicine on ourselves because we would have unqualified doctors treating us. What you should do is talk to your physician about whether you should use it or not.
Let’s turn to the way that I think is the best way to use supplement NAC. Based on what I’ve read in the literature, the most important use is its role in mitophagy. Simply stated, mitophagy is the process of housekeeping inside the mitochondria. Removing remnants of damaged or failing mitochondria and recycling the components. The process stimulates the production of new mitochondria. The by-products of the electron transport system, that uses oxygen, as well as iron ions to make ATP, are toxic to the cells creating free radicals, Whether as NAC or in making glutathione, the clean-up process makes the cells function again.
Think about it for a second. Your brain and your heart function 24/7. They have a constant need for ATP and most comes from the aerobic ETS. If your brain cells or heart cells can’t make enough energy to keep things operating at peak efficiency, you’re going to suffer consequences that can range from fatigue, to foggy thinking, to heart disease of one form or another. By making sure the mitochondria are fresh with no residue build-ups, that means the energy supply will keep flowing.
NAC can also be used to support liver health in the normal detoxification process. Environmental toxins and medications have to be processed before they can be eliminated and providing a powerful detoxing nutrient can help keep your liver healthy. Just by focusing on those two traits attributed to NAC, they can impact other organs in a positive way as well.
I’ve taken NAC for a couple of years now. I take it together with another amino acid called glycine. Taking them together contributes to the production of glutathione and many other biochemicals critical to bodily functions.
I hope that gives you a clearer understanding about a supplement that is also used as a medication. Just remember, talk with your physician if you want to take it as something for a condition you may have. But for more energy and potentially a healthier liver and mitochondria, you can use it as a supplement.
That’s all the time I have for this episode. If you like this podcast, please hit the share button and tell your friends and colleagues about it. Until next time, this is Dr. Chet Zelasko saying health is a choice. Choose wisely today and every day.
Cell J. 2017 Apr-Jun; 19(1): 11–17.
https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/natural/1018.html
Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017; 2017: 1716701.
Published online 2017 Mar 1. doi: 10.1155/2017/1716701
