Experts have voiced concerns about TikTok’s newest health trend — an antioxidant IV drip said to pause ageing.
Videos highlighting the seemingly remarkable benefits of glutathione have racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
Users rave about its ‘transformative’ effect, which has helped them boost energy levels and even strengthen the immune system. Some have even nicknamed it a ‘master detoxifier’.
The drips, rumoured to be used by Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Hailey Bieber are marketed at aesthetics clinics for around £75.
But it can also be taken as a jab or bought online easily as a supplement for as little as 55p per pill.
In one TikTok video posted by SheerLuxe and seen 44,000 times, influencer and former Love Island star Olivia Atwood this week confessed she was having glutathione injections. ‘It’s a molecule, something we produce that helps our cells to reproduce themselves,’ she said
Last year, actress turned Wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow also revealed that glutathione drips were her favourite IV drips. She added: ‘Those make me feel so good’
The drips, rumoured to be used by Kim Kardashian (pictured) , Kendall Jenner and even Hailey Bieber are marketed at aesthetics clinics for around £75
Yet experts today warned it was ‘irresponsible’ to label glutathione anti-ageing and raised concerns over the ‘very little evidence’ of its effectiveness.
Some advocates say the compound can also tackle pigmentation in the skin, having a dramatic and positive brightening effect on skin tone and colour.
In one TikTok video posted by SheerLuxe and seen 44,000 times, influencer and former Love Island star Olivia Atwood this week confessed she was having glutathione injections.
‘It’s a molecule, something we produce that helps our cells to reproduce themselves,’ she said.
‘They were testing it and it showed signs that it can actually slow down our cells’ ageing.
‘So Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner allegedly have drips of this stuff weekly.’
Last year, actress turned Wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow also revealed that glutathione drips were her favourite IV drips.
She added: ‘Those make me feel so good.’
In another TikTok, US influencer @claire.elis who boasts more than 190,000 followers, labelled glutathione her ‘hero supplement’.
Taking her followers along to the clinic with her, she said: ‘I am injecting the body’s master detoxifier into my bloodstream weekly because my body needs all the help it can get.
‘Glutathione is the body’s primary way for neutralising free radicals and decreasing oxidative stress which are two things — when they get out of hand — that can make you really sick aka low energy, low immune system.
‘Do your research, it’s worth looking into.’
The theory goes that glutathione helps combat age-related changes by stimulating the repair of damaged tissue and promoting production of new healthy skin cells.
But Professor Edzard Ernst, a world-renowned expert in complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, told MailOnline today: ‘While glutathione is an intriguing molecule with diverse and not well-understood functions, it is irresponsible, in my view, to call is a “fantastic anti-ageing agent”.
‘I know of no convincing evidence that backs up this claim.’
Meanwhile, Dr Andrew Steele, a computational biologist and author of a book on longevity, said: ‘Glutathione is a naturally occurring chemical found in all animal cells.
‘There’s evidence that its levels decrease with age — so, the theory goes, perhaps if we can slow its decline, perhaps we could extend the youth of our cells.
‘Unfortunately, there’s very little evidence for this idea, and more work is needed before we fully understand whether it will affect our skin health, or how long we live.’
He also told MailOnline: ‘Some research suggests that glutathione supplementation can actually shorten lifespan in worms.
Love Island star Olivia Atwood said: ‘So Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner allegedly have drips of this stuff weekly’
‘Glutathione is an antioxidant, but that’s no guarantee it will extend lifespan.
‘An enormous review article examining data from 300,000 people taking five different antioxidant supplements found that they had either no effect, or increased risk of death.
‘While the science here is interesting, I think I’d hold off the glutathione for now.’
Practitioners claim that simply taking the supplement orally will not deliver the ‘same detoxifying results’ as a drip or jab.
The latter is ‘more efficient’, one London clinic alleges, given ‘it bypasses the digestive tract and delivers the antioxidant directly into your bloodstream’.
Other than typical side effects including bruising or soreness, that occur when taking any jabs, aesthetics clinics offering glutathione injections or drips also often warn clients may experience body aches.
Nausea, headaches, chills without fever and mild diarrhoea are other purported symptoms.
But in one 2016 British Medical Journal report, Dr Ophelia Dadzie, consultant dermatologist at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, also warned the jabs — when injected into the face — had caused ‘other adverse reactions’.
Potential side effects include toxicity of the nervous system, kidney and liver, headaches, and rare, but serious skin conditions such as Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS), she said.
SJS is a rare, serious disorder of the skin and mucous membranes.
In another, US influencer @claire.elis who boasts more than 190,000 followers, also labelled glutathione her ‘hero supplement’. Taking her followers along to the clinic with her, she said: ‘I am injecting the body’s master detoxifier into my bloodstream weekly because my body needs all the help it can get
She added: ‘Glutathione is the body’s primary way for neutralising free radicals and decreasing oxidative stress which are two things — when they get out of hand — that can make you really sick aka low energy, low immune system’
It often begins with flu-like symptoms, followed by a painful red-purple rash that spreads and blisters.
Serious ethical concerns have also long been raised over glutathione’s use as a ‘brightening drip’ to lighten skin colour.
Experts have warned the injections are popular in areas of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where some women have reported brighter, whiter, glowier skin.
A 2018 study published in the journal Dermatology Practical & Conceptual, also warned that glutathione has been “hailed for generations as a “magical skin whitening” molecule’.
The ‘unbridled and prodigal use of it, especially as a parenteral formulation, seems unjustified’, researchers said.
In her 2016 report, Dr Dadzie also added: ‘Apart from the ethical issues raised by the practice, there are also concerns about efficacy and potential adverse effects.
‘Clear public health information and advisory warnings in relation to this practice —from governmental agencies such as the Medicines Health Regulatory Agency —are needed in the UK.’
