NAC: The Greatest Supplement You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

With the state of the supplement industry today and the way big pharma pushes drugs it isn’t surprising to see supplements that have actual benefits gets pushed to the wayside and shunned. 

N-Acetyl Cysteine or NAC is one of these supplements. 

NAC is a glutathione antioxidant precursor and the N-Acetylated form of the amino acid Cysteine originally synthesized in 1961 and the patented by Mead Johnson in 1965.  This patent was only for the acetylation of the amino acid. They did not “discover” cysteine. Cysteine is most abundantly found in Allum species of plants especially onion. Eggs are also a great natural source. 

NAC has been extensively studied over the decades and found to have a powerful profile of positive benefits for the human body. It isn’t surprising once you see the list of benefits that the FDA is trying to ban it as a supplement and make it a “drug”. NAC is cheap and anyone can make it as of right now so big pharma of course wants to put their hand in the pie for profits.

As of today, NAC is most extensively used in hospitals to treat acetaminophen poisoning. With nearly 100% effectiveness if it is given within 8 hours of overdose. 

The internet will tell you to “consult your DR.” before adding this supplement to your daily regimen. However, not only does your Dr. most likely not know anything about NAC other than its use in hospitals, but they have had almost ZERO nutritional training whatsoever.

 A quick caveat to this article, the Hippocratic oath your Dr takes in medical school USED to state that they would hold nutrition above all else to help patients be healthy. The oath was changed in the late 60s and now has nothing about nutrition or diet and mostly just talks about treating symptoms not the root cause of illness… this is an issue for another article though! 

NAC is a safe, effective, powerful, and cheap supplement that everyone should add to their daily routine. Especially if you, like me, enjoy a drink every now and again or exercise hard. 

Now for the fun part. I have put together a list of benefits below and a short description and mechanism of action for each. After I will lay out how to dose for different situations and some good places to buy good quality NAC. 

BENEFITS 

• Increased glutathione levels 
  • The first and most important benefit to talk about is replenishing glutathione levels. Glutathione is our bodies most powerful antioxidant. Glutathione is essential for health and longevity and plays a huge role in most of the items on this list. Many immune system issues and autoimmune diseases are caused my insufficient glutathione levels. 

• Improves liver and kidney function 
  • NAC helps to detoxify the liver and kidneys by replenishing glutathione and in turn the liver and kidneys function better and in turn filter more toxins out of your body efficiently. 

• Prevents alcohol induced liver damage 
  • Because NAC has such a powerful effect on glutathione levels, in turn this creates a perfect storm for your liver cells to fight off ethanol damage and detoxify itself at a much more efficient level. Taking NAC daily can prevent any liver damage from alcohol especially paired with TUDCA. 

• Improves fertility 
  • Daily NAC intake significantly improves sperm count and motility.
  • NAC also improves egg and embryo health in women. Even women with long standing infertility. 

• Helps stabilize blood sugar 
  • By decreasing inflammation in fat cells, NAC has been shown to decrease insulin resistance and improves glucose tolerance. 

• Supports health microbiome 
  • NAC supports a healthy gut by preventing gut tissue damage and reducing inflammation in the intestines. Allowing for a healthy microbiota and improved gut health. 

• Reduces inflammation 
  • This is a common factor in most of these benefits and I think you will see just how big a role inflammation plays in your overall health. Reducing inflammation in your body is integral for longevity and quality of life. NAC reduces inflammation to a massive degree by increasing overall glutathione levels and impacting organ and brain health. 

• Enhances immune function
  • Again, NACs powerful antioxidant effects are clear when it comes to immune health and function. Mainly by way of reducing inflammation and creating a better overall health profile from an organ standpoint. 

• Improves lung health
  • Data shows that NAC protects the lungs against toxic agents by increasing pulmonary defense mechanisms through direct antioxidant properties.

• Reduces psychiatric and addictive disorders 
  • NACs effect on glutamate in the brain makes it a unique supplement for psychiatric disorders and additive disorders. At higher dosages data shows that NAC is effective at treating: 
    • Depression
    • Bipolar disorder 
    • Drug addiction 
    • Obsessive-compulsive disorder 
    • Autism
    • Alzheimer’s
    • Schizophrenia
    • Certain forms of epilepsy 
  • These effects have yet to be completely “proven” by studies however anecdotal evidence and preliminary studies all show the same thing. Massive improvements in all these areas. NACs impact on the brain and mental health is widely unknown by the public but could be a game changer for anyone with the above issues! Cheap, effective, and easy to take. 

• Improves brain health and function 
  • As stated above the effects NAC has on brain health are massive. Especially by modulating glutamate levels in the brain. Excess glutamate and low glutathione levels will cause brain damage.

• Helps prevent heart disease 
  • NAC treats and even reverses nitrate tolerance in the treatment of heart disease. NAC improves ventricular function in the heart and reduces myocardial infarction. 

• Prevents flu and viral infections 
  • NACs antioxidant properties are wide reaching. Research has shown that daily NAC intake will reduce severity and duration of flu ad viral infections by boosting immunity, reducing respiratory mucus, and inhibiting the ability for the virus to replicate. This is a massive benefit and one of the reasons why I never contracted covid. And most likely never will. The virus literally cannot replicate in my body. This is a controversial subject for obvious reasons, but it is well known and documented. It isn’t a coincidence that the FDA wants to control this supplement. 

• Reduces eardrum damage and tinnitus symptoms 
  • NAC helps reduce damage from hearing loss and diminishes symptoms of tinnitus when taken daily. I can personally attest to this. I have hearing damage and tinnitus from my years in the marine corps and with daily use, I can hardly notice any ringing anymore and I rarely ever get dizziness or lose hearing in my ear. 
• Improves sleep and sleep apnea 
  • Due to its positive effect on lung and airway function, NAC has been shown to diminish side effects of sleep apnea and help you breath more normally when you sleep. 

• Treats acne and skin related issues 
  • Used topically, NAC treats acne and other skin related issues to a varying degree. Acne Vulgaris specifically, NAC has a huge effect on healing and getting rid of acne. 

• Improves physical performance 
  • NAC improves performance by reducing the effects of fatigue. Making you able to go harder for longer. Especially paired with Creatine monohydrate. 

• Improves muscle recovery 
  • By reducing inflammation and improving performance, NAC has an amazing impact on muscle recovery and delayed onset muscle soreness.

• Reduces symptoms of TBI 
  • NAC has been shown in numerous studies to have significant neuroprotective effects, particularly in ameliorating effects of secondary neuronal injury as a result of TBI. 

• Gum Health 
  • Due to its antioxidant effects, NAC can treat gum disease and help heal gums and protect enamel. 

• Prevents DNA damage 
  • N-Acetylcysteine has an impressive array of mechanisms and protective effects towards DNA damage and carcinogenesis, which are related to its nucleophilicity, antioxidant activity, modulation of metabolism, effects in mitochondria, decrease of the biologically effective dose of carcinogens, modulation of DNA repair, inhibition of genotoxicity and cell transformation, modulation of gene expression and signal transduction pathways, regulation of cell survival and apoptosis, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-angiogenetic activity, immunological effects, inhibition of progression to malignancy, influence on cell cycle progression, inhibition of pre-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions, inhibition of invasion and metastasis, and protection towards adverse effects of other chemo preventive agents or chemotherapeutical agents

• Helps to rebalance hormone levels 
  • NAC helps to regulate a normal menstrual cycle in women and also helps to increase testosterone effectivity in men. 

• Helps expel heavy metals from the body 
  • NAC helps to chelate (Bind) to heavy metals and expel them from the body. 

• Reduces pain 
  • NAC greatly reduces neuropathic pain and nerve related pain by regulating and improving brain function

• Enhances bone growth 
  • By inhibiting oxidative stress NAC can help prevent bone loss and also help the body to more efficiently create and solidify new bone growth.

As you can see NAC has a whole host of positive benefits! With little to no known side effects. The only purported side effects of NAC use were 

• Diarrhea 
• Eye irritation 
• Vomiting 
• Nausea

These side effects were always mild and very rare. 

DOSING

Dosing of NAC is extremely simple. 

Most of the positive benefits of NAC can be seen and experience through 500-1500mg per day. 

Most NAC supplements come in either capsule or powder form and it is very easy to take and mix with a smoothie or add to your daily vitamin/supplement regimen. 

IN CONCLUSION

NAC is an amazing and powerful supplement that has a whole host of positive benefits. If you are interested in health, longevity, and overall, just want to live a better life, I highly suggest adding this to your daily routine. Any further questions you can email me directly at Adam@earnitall.com or check out my IG @socalstrongman. I will list all of the research links below if you are curious where to find more information or if you are a nerd like me and just like reading research! 

Stay healthy all! 

-Adam 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4540061/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3270338/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12512991/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306416/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5040673/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19732754/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3044191/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30653365/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4082467/