Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Nutrient That Lowers Your Chance of Sickness

19 Feb 2025 · 1 min

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0:59

YouTube video (speaker: Aaron Hartman, MD) describing N‑acetylcysteine (NAC) as a nutrient/supplement that may reduce influenza incidence by up to ~80% in a cited Swiss study; explains NAC converts to glutathione, has antiviral and mucolytic properties, supports lung surfactant, and is used clinically (e.g., mucomist for cystic fibrosis and in chronic lung conditions).

Chapters

Do you want to know a nutrient that by itself can lower your chance of getting the flu? Like illnesses in the wintertime up to maybe 80% enel acetyl cysteine. Your NAC NAC is this product. An acetylcystine in your neck actually turns into glutathione in your body. There's an interesting study over in Switzerland, I believe, looking at people during flu season. Looking at you get exposed to flu, how many people convert will actually get antibodies for positive exposure with or without symptoms. And people who are taking NAC who got exposed but did not get flu, they were able to show that 80%. They were able to lower the incidence of people getting flu versus getting flu beginning antibodies by 80% just by doing a simple nacetyl cyst in your NAC. It's really interesting because this N acetyl cyst in your NAC also has antiviral properties to it, but it actually helps with respiratory mucus production as well. NAC helps with surfactant in your lungs. An interesting variant of NAC called mucor mist is actually used in the hospitals for patients with cystic fibrosis. I actually use it with some of my patients with bronchiectasis, which is a really bad chronic lung infection, pulmonary fibrosis, to help keep their lungs healthy, to keep the antiviral properties of their lungs up.