update: Found a pubmed (#2409763) titled "Histamine secretion induced by NAC" so that must explain my reaction to it. I started taking NAC again this year and worked up to two pills a day gradually on an empty stomach (1 AM, 1 PM) only to experience worsening breathing again like last time. I have been trying out some other amino acids including histidine, which I just started. Histidine is supposed to be a precursor to histamine, but antagonistic to it at the same time. So if you are lacking histidine, you will have too much histamine and vice versa. Also, I have read that people who suffer from asthma/eczema problems could be genetically deficient in filaggrin FLG gene which has shown to be helped with histidine supplementation. So I am trying to fix my histamine problem first with histidine before again continuing with the NAC. I am also taking glycine and glutamine to help boost whatever glutathione production that I can though lacking the cysteine supplementation for now.
original review: I think this is an excellent product but heads up - be careful using NAC if your methylation pathways are not working properly, if you have MTHFR genes, things like that. I found out the hard way.
Taking one a day or one every few days, worked pretty good for me. If my sinuses were stuffed up, taking one of these almost immediately opened them up and mucous would start draining all over the place and it's lovely to be able to breathe through your nose.
I decided to take 3 one day to try and boost my glutathione levels. I took one before breakfast and then two before lunch, and then had a terrible reaction: almost a full-blown asthma attack and two cold sores showed up on my lips like that (snaps fingers). It was pretty shocking and my rescue inhalers were doing nothing to calm it down and I even contemplated going to the hospital. It went on for at least half the day.
I looked it up and found a few articles discussing some patients having severe anaphylactic reactions to NAC at hospitals and being treated extremely successfully with antihistamines. So I popped a cytirizine, and thankfully it worked like magic within half an hour all the badness went away, even my cold sores disappeared that night (which never happens, usually they explode into works of art on my face).
Then I dug into more research and found out that bad reactions to NAC are usually indicative of problems with your methylation pathways. Supplementing with folate/folinic acid and betaine TMG seems to be the way to fix that, so that's what I'm trying now. I might try and reincorporate the NAC down the road but I wanted to tell other people about my experience just in case.
I made sure to take this for a few months before posting a review to be sure that it was the supplement that was helping me. I’ve had weird autoimmune symptoms for years now that reached their all time worst this year. I was having chronic hives, bad sleep, sweats, joint pain, bloating, eye floaters, itching, tingling ,HORRIBLE heart palpitations etc. my doctors couldn’t figure it out. My thyroid was a little off but nothing major and I had estrogen dominance but not severely. They tried to treat those issues and my symptoms only worsened. I found someone who was having similar symptoms to mine and she said her doctor thought she had something called MCAS - mast cell activation syndrome. NAC is recommended along with Quercetin to help treat MCAS. The first week of taking NAC, I only had to take my heart medicine (atenolol) once that week when I usually take it 1-2x a day. I didn’t want to get excited only to get let down so I continued taking it and monitoring my condition. It has now been three months and I have not taken a single heart medicine since. My palpitations are now few and far between. I used to wake up every night sweating with my heart racing through the roof and that hasn’t happened since supplementing with NAC. My hives are not as chronic and my sleep quality has improved and I have more energy. I am so thankful I found out about this supplement and I hope my experience can help anyone going through something similar.
Best NAC out there. Easy on stomach. Helps my mood and sleep a lot. I think it helped relieve a lot of my depression symptoms. Immediate release NAC is difficult for me to tolerate, but Jarrow’s NAC sustained release is pretty easy to tolerate. Best sustained release form. Highly recommend this product. It improved my quality of life.
I was interested in N-A-C for its properties of liver support and was surprised to read that it could be helpful for "impulse control disorders." I've had two itchy places on my scalp for years; it never occurred to me that scratching might be some sort of obsessive behavior. But what if it was? I thought, and decided to look for any changes.
Much to my surprise, once I started taking it (usually 1 tablet, twice a day), the itching stopped, the scratching stopped, and my hair has grown back. It's hard to say whether it was a nervous behavior or something purely physical affecting skin, but whatever it was, it stopped. Color me amazed.
A miracle worker for me. I had lupus like symptoms (a positive ANA test) and an autoimmune attack on my stomach/gall bladder. Along with many other natural remedies (like juicing cabbage and raw potato, taking zinc, digestive enzymes, probiotics, etc), I started taking two of these in the am and two at night. My extreme muscle weakness in my girdle improved dramatically. I depend on these now when I am feeling weak. I know everyone is different, but for me, this was a true answer to prayer. I had read a study about N-A-C improving lupus, which is what made me try it. Conventional medicine had failed. I was prescribed Zofran, an acid-reducer, etc, and was able to avoid those. Hope this review helps someone. Thanks!
Feature Product
- SUSTAIN Bilayer Release Technology
Description
Product Profile
Jarrow Formulas N-A-C (N-acetyl-L-cysteine) is a stable form of the amino acid L-cysteine. N-A-C is cysteine that has been modified with an acetyl group are stabilized and made more bioavailable. It is essentially a combination of cysteine and acetic acid, which is a primary component of vinegar. L-cysteine, like cystine and taurine, is a sulfur-containing amino acid that can be produced by the body from the essential amino acid methionine. It is considered a non-essential amino acid for this reason, but is conditionally essential in infants and in the case of certain nutrient deficiencies or debilitating conditions. Inadequate methionine in the diet, low selenium intake, chronic disease, and advancing age reduce the body’s ability to convert methionine to cysteine. Likewise, stress and environmental toxins may increase the need for cysteine beyond the body’s capacity for conversion. N-A-C is preferred to cysteine, or cystine, as a supplement because of its stability, solubility, and greater ability to donate sulfur.
Distinguishing Features:
- Bilayer release technology: 1/3 quick, 2/3 sustained release
- Antioxidant support both inside cells and in cell membranes*
- Patented formula
Glutathione: Building Your Own Antioxidant*
N-A-C supplies readily available L-cysteine, which acts as an antioxidant itself or as a precursor to glutathione.* Glutathione is one of the body’s most important and abundant antioxidants inside of cells. The primary antioxidant mechanism involves the donation of an electron from the sulfhydryl (-SH) group of the cysteine molecule. Sulfhydryl-containing substances like N-A-C, cysteine, glutathione, and alpha-lipoic acid are referred to as reducing agents. This is opposed to oxidizing agents. Since reducing agents have opposing chemical functionality to oxidizing agents, reducing agents are also anti-oxidizing agents - or antioxidants. Antioxidants guard against the production and propagation of free radicals caused by oxidation. Antioxidants like cysteine act as electron donors and receptors to neutralize uncontrolled free radicals without becoming reactive or toxic themselves.* Glutathione, which contains cysteine, donates its own electrons to free radicals to reduce them to stable compounds. One example is the transformation of superoxide or peroxide to water. In the process, glutathione becomes oxidized. It is then reactivated by the donation of electrons and protons to become reduced glutathione, thereby making it electron-rich again and ready to scavenge yet more free radicals. Making cysteine more available to the body encourages the production of glutathione. Cysteine is also an antioxidant in its own right by virtue of its sulfhydryl group, and plays a vital role in the stability and functioning of proteins.* Cysteine, in proteins, also interacts with iron and zinc in the body to form enzymes that help coordinate respiration, energy production, immune surveillance, and repair functions in all tissues.* In hospital practice, N-A-C, rather than reduced glutathione, is given to support blood levels of glutathione.*
Liver Support*
Cysteine can neutralize chemicals known as aldehydes produced by air pollutants (i. e., smoke), some drugs, and by the liver as a byproduct of alcohol metabolism.* N-A-C is therefore important for maintaining the body’s antioxidant defenses in the face of everyday assaults.* N-A-C may be beneficial in reducing side effects of the pain reliever acetaminophen, particularly when ingested with alcohol, or taken in excessive amounts. Acetaminophen poisoning is the most common cause of calls to poison control centers in the United States. It causes severe damage to the liver. N-A-C supports the health of liver tissue by replenishing liver glutathione levels and also by enhancing the delivery of oxygen to liver cells.*
Advantages Of N-A-C Sustain
N-A-C Sustain is a bilayer quick release/sustained release N-A-C formulation. One third of the N-A-C releases rapidly and two thirds releases slowly over time. This raises blood levels quickly while also sustaining them.* N-A-C SUSTAIN releases in the small intestine over a longer period, which greatly assists in N-A-C antioxidant effect beyond the typical biological half-life (1. 5 hours) of N-A-C in the bloodstream.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I bought this to help my daughter, who compulsively picks her skin, causing real harm to herself. Since she started to take this, one pill twice a day, she has not engaged in this behavior nearly as much (probably a 75% improvement).
I was prescribed Metformin for PCOS but couldn't stand the side effects. I switched to this NAC and get no stomach upset or nausea... plus I'm suddenly not thinking about my next meal! It's pretty amazing forgetting to eat, and it's much easier to stick to my calorie limit. I know studies have shown it's pretty close to Metformin with improving PCOS symptoms and fertility issues. I've been taking this for over a month.
For me this is a life saver. I use it to get rid of brain fog and brain fatigue, including brain fog related to SAD (season affective disorder), but I use NAC year round now even when I don't have SAD.
I have a tendency towards anxiety and depression. After reading about how NAC can help with those, and even other psychiatric conditions, I thought why not try it? I feel like I can be myself now and be my normal functioning self. NAC helps my brain to be clear and responsive in a normal way and not feel like I'm dragging myself through 2 feet of snow in a blizzard, if you know what I mean about brain fog. For me it doesn't get rid of the depression associated with SAD, but that's what I use my light box for. The light box doesn't get rid of brain fog so I take NAC. I guess I just have the kind of brain that needs a little help with oxidative stress and NAC allows my brain to get the anti-oxidants it needs. I tried stopping NAC for a few days on two different occasions spaced months apart and I immediately became foggy each time. It was hard to get my thoughts out during a normal conversation and my brain was so fatigued that I felt like it might not even be safe for me to drive my car. That's when I knew for sure NAC was helping. For me it's a game changer.
Seeing positive improvements in my son who is on the autism spectrum in regards to OCD behaviors.
It took about 2 months but I did notice a dramatic improvement on my skin. It significantly cleared up. I also noticed that my energy last longer throughout the day. For me, the results were better than expected. I took twice a day for better results.
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