“Glutathione supplements detox your body.”
Glutathione pills have not been shown to detox the body; no trial has found that they remove any toxin.
You do not need glutathione pills to clear toxins. Your body makes its own glutathione, and no trial shows that the pills help remove anything harmful.
Skip glutathione sold for detox, and if you are worried about a specific exposure, ask a doctor which test fits it.
Safety note: IV glutathione carries real risks that pills do not. In August 2026, FDA reported at least 30 people who had fever, chills, pain, dizziness or shock-like symptoms, some needing hospital care, after IV glutathione made from supplement-grade glutathione that was not fit for injection. FDA reported a similar problem in 2019.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you think you have been exposed to a poison, heavy metal or other toxic substance, or a clinic or spa offers you glutathione by IV.
The few trials of glutathione pills measured glutathione and stress markers in the blood, and none showed that the pills remove any toxin from the body. Confidence is Limited because only a handful of small trials exist.
Glutathione pills have not been shown to detox the body; no trial has found that they remove any toxin. In a 4-week trial of 40 healthy adults, 1,000 mg a day did not change glutathione levels in red blood cells or urine markers of cell stress. In a 6-month trial of 54 adults, glutathione levels in the blood rose about 30% to 35% at 1,000 mg a day, then fell back to where they started within a month of stopping. A higher blood level is not the same as clearing toxins.
Glutathione is an antioxidant that the body makes on its own. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says only a small number of low-quality studies have tested detox programs in people, and a 2015 review found no compelling research that detox diets remove toxins from the body. Real poisoning is different: for some serious cases of toxic metal exposure, the CDC recommends a medical treatment called chelation. Glutathione given by IV drip at clinics and spas is a different product from pills, with its own risks.
- Allen J, Bradley RD. Effects of oral glutathione supplementation on systemic oxidative stress biomarkers in human volunteers. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2011;17(9):827-833. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2010.0716. PMID: 21875351. PMCID: PMC3162377
- Richie JP Jr, Nichenametla S, Neidig W, Calcagnotto A, Haley JS, Schell TD, Muscat JE. Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione. European Journal of Nutrition. 2015;54(2):251-263. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-014-0706-z. PMID: 24791752
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. "Detoxes" and "Cleanses": What You Need To Know. Last updated March 2025
- US Food and Drug Administration. FDA reminds compounders not to use dietary supplement grade glutathione for injectables. August 27, 2026