# N-ACETYL-CYSTEINE (NAC) - The best heavy metal oral chelator!



## Times Roman (Oct 31, 2012)

Some of you are probably already aware of the wonderful properties of NAC.  It is a liver protectant, and more importantly, probably the only oral heavy metal chelator.  It removes heavy metals like mercury and lead from the body.  The source of this article can be found here:

http://www.futurescience.com/nac.html

Enjoy!

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) is an important life extension supplement.  It is an acetylated form of the amino acid cysteine.  NAC is a potent antioxidant. 


NAC is used by the body to make glutathione peroxidase, one of the body's most important naturally occurring antioxidants.  NAC raises glutathione levels better than taking supplemental glutathione. 

NAC is an excellent mucolytic agent.  It keeps the membranes of the respiratory system moist, thereby lessening the irritation of dry air, dust, and pollutants.  It also helps the immune system to do its job properly in the respiratory tract.  NAC is available as a prescription drug for this purpose, but you can buy NAC in a health food store for far less money. 

The cysteine in NAC is an essential component in hair and nails.  Some people find that it enhances nail growth and makes nails less brittle. 

NAC helps to prevent damage by aldehydes, which are breakdown products of alcohol [and of the small, but potentially harmful, amounts of methanol produced by aspartame (Nutrasweet)]. 

NAC can help to prevent damage to the liver caused from overuse of acetaminophen (Tylenol).  NAC is the standard treatment for acetaminophen overdose.  It is prudent to take NAC whenever one uses acetaminophen.  (Acetaminophen is known as paracetamol outside the United States.) 

NAC is a chelator of heavy metals.  In other words, NAC binds to toxic heavy metals such as mercury and lead, and removes them from the body.  This is a slow process, but most chelating agents, such as EDTA, must be given intravenously.  NAC is one of the most effective oral chelating agents.  Taken regularly over a period of time, NAC will remove many toxic heavy metals from the body.  Toxic metals can accumulate in the body over time from many sources such as drinking water and possibly even from tooth fillings made of silver-mercury amalgam.  These heavy metals catalyze free-radical reactions.  (Free-radical reactions are the dangerous chemical reactions that are prevented by antioxidants.)  When certain heavy metals catalyze these free-radical reactions, they initiate free-radical reactions without being used up during the reaction.  So these heavy metals continue to cause free radical damage as long as they are present in the body. 
It is recommended that persons taking the amino acid cysteine take at least three times as much vitamin C as cysteine to prevent the possibility of oxidized cysteine forming kidney stones.  N-Acetyl-Cysteine is much more stable and resistant to being oxidized to an insoluble form.  Nevertheless, it is wise to take at least as much vitamin C as N-Acetyl-Cysteine.  (Diabetics should consult their physician before using N-Acetyl-Cysteine, since it may have an insulin-blocking effect.) 

Typical supplemental doses of N-Acetyl-Cysteine are 500-1500 mg. per day.


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## NbleSavage (Oct 31, 2012)

Big fan, here. 500 Mg per day when cruising, 1000 mg when blasting.


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## Times Roman (Oct 31, 2012)

I purchased a kilo of NAC several years ago.  About every other year, I'll run NAC for six (6) months, at one (1) gram per day.


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## Christosterone (Nov 1, 2012)

Give this in er for tyelenol overdose..


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## Rip (Nov 1, 2012)

this is really valuable info. 
I'm glad I learned about this. I'm going out and buying some tomorrow. 
Thanks.


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## BeauBody38 (Jan 17, 2015)

Christosterone said:


> Give this in er for tyelenol overdose..



Yeah, I learned that in school


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## Rip (Jan 17, 2015)

I've been using it ever since. Thanks for turning us on to this.


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## fiinal (Feb 3, 2015)

I didn't see any studies in the original article on using NAC as a chelator, so for anyone interested, here are a few interesting ones that I found. They're all in mice and rats (presumably it's considered unrighteous to give people heavy metal poisoning so you can test out your chemicals on them).

Methylmercury: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1533084/
Chromium, Lead, and Boron (More effective than DMSA for chromium and boron): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0041008X86903315
Lead: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300483X98000742
Mercury, Cadmium, Lead, Gold (High doses of NAC for 6 days- 100 mg/kg): http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00295763
In conjunction w/ DMSA for Lead: http://www.researchgate.net/profile..._male_rats/links/53e000020cf2a768e49e68a6.pdf

While DMSA may be more effective for treatment of acute toxicity, I would think that the low toxicity of NAC would be much better tolerated for long-term use to keep heavy metal levels low. Additionally, while DMSA does not extensively cross the cell membrane (esp. in hepatic cells) or blood-brain barrier and is primarily effective only for extracellular chelation, NAC is apparently able to do so, which would possibly allow for intracellular chelation of metals, and of those in the nervous system and brain.

Also of note is the development of an amide derivate of NAC called N-Acetylcysteine amide, often referred to as NACA or AD4. It apparently has better bioavailability, allowing for better penetration through the cell membrane and blood-brain barrier. Unfortunately, it appears to be pretty expensive/unavailable at the moment, but it might be worth keeping an eye on for future use.

General description of NACA - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23472882
Chelation of Copper and potential use for treatment of MS- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2004.02428.x/full


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