What is the supplement NAC and why does it help my bronchitis?

Question

I know it is an amino acid but why when I take it my lungs feel so clear? I take 600mg a day and it works great for my COPD and bronchitis.

Answer 1

"N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) is a derivative of the sulfur-containing amino acid, cysteine. It is produced naturally in the body and is found in foods. NAC is an intermediary (along with glutamic acid and glycine) in the conversion of cysteine into glutathione, the body’s primary cellular antioxidant."

Answer 2

I d/k re the NAC, but just had to write re my own experience. I always had bronchitis/pneumonia, colds etc all my life. I was dx'd with GERD and COPD when I was in hospital for 12 days with severe respiratory distress. I was given lots of steroids to dry it up; my lungs vacuumed out of old pflegm; and put on Protonix and Advair disc. Protonix made me lose my memory, so they stopped.

But what REALLY worked, was that my pulmonary specialist told me that I had "silent reflux" (silent, in that I never felt "heartburn"), but that at night, the gastric acids back-washed up my esopagus and leaked into my lungs. He said to get a cinder block under the head of my bed frame and sleep on the INCLINE! I DID and it works WONDERS!! I found that even just 4", with the block laying on its side, works and I'm breathing EASY!

I think the key to dx'ing the silent reflux, is that I was always having to clear my throat, but was never short of breath! In fact I regularly walked 2 miles at a 4mph clip in 30 mins--and never mouth-breathing at all! While the lung-vaccuming was necessary, the key to prevention is the INCLINE!

Good luck!!