**The Known Anti-Vaxxer Is Misinterpreting and Exaggerating the Acetaminophen-Glutathione Connection, Expert Says**
*By Rachael Robertson | September 30, 2025 | MedPage Today*
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Welcome to *Culture Clinic*, MedPage Today’s collaboration with Northwell Health to offer healthcare professionals’ perspectives on the latest viral medical topics.
Actress and longtime anti-vaccine activist Jenny McCarthy recently took to social media to share her concerns about acetaminophen (Tylenol), vaccines, and autism, focusing particularly on glutathione depletion. While some of McCarthy’s claims are rooted in partial truths, experts told MedPage Today that she mischaracterizes the relationship between acetaminophen and glutathione, manipulating information to fit her agenda.
McCarthy, who describes herself as “pro-safe vaccine,” posted an Instagram video to her millions of followers stating that “Tylenol basically depletes your glutathione,” which she described as “your body’s natural antioxidant that helps us detox all the environmental toxins that we’re assaulted with every single day.”
She went on to suggest that if someone were to speak to their doctor about concerns regarding aluminum in vaccines, the doctor might say the body naturally excretes it. McCarthy countered this by asking, “But what if your body is low in glutathione? What if that detox methylation system gets kind of jolted, broken, if you will, lowers so that it cannot detox the adjuvants, the aluminum in the body?”
According to her, in such cases, the aluminum “winds up floating around the body, attaching to brain, gut — you name it.” McCarthy recommended avoiding Tylenol before or after vaccines and suggested getting glutathione levels checked.
However, Lauren Shawn, MD, an emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, New York, told MedPage Today: “I personally have never ordered a glutathione level or checked it in my entire life as a toxicologist. Glutathione level itself is not really clinically relevant to me in my practice.”
Regarding vaccines, Dr. Shawn explained that the advice to avoid taking acetaminophen or other anti-inflammatories before a vaccine shot is intended to prevent blunting the immune response—not due to concerns about glutathione depletion or toxicity. She emphasized that taking acetaminophen after vaccination to manage symptoms is absolutely fine.
Glutathione is a tripeptide composed of three amino acids—cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine—and participates in the metabolism of medications, including acetaminophen. Most acetaminophen binds to glutathione, becomes inactive, and is excreted through urine. A small fraction may be processed by another liver enzyme, forming a toxic metabolite called N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine, which the body can detoxify if acetaminophen is taken as directed.
“If you’re taking Tylenol at recommended doses and not chronically exceeding the maximum, you are not depleting your glutathione,” Dr. Shawn said.
While toxicity from acute or chronic acetaminophen overuse is a legitimate concern, N-acetylcysteine, a precursor that helps the body produce glutathione, is the established antidote. Most healthy individuals consume sufficient glutathione building blocks through their diet. However, some groups—including elderly people, those with renal disease, malnutrition, eating disorders, or certain genetic predispositions—may have lower glutathione and thus increased risk for acetaminophen toxicity.
In her video, McCarthy also revealed that she and her son, who has autism, both have naturally low glutathione levels, despite her not using acetaminophen before or after vaccines. They reportedly receive weekly glutathione IV infusions.
Dr. Shawn noted that glutathione is one of the “hot new treatments” in alternative medicine, despite a lack of supporting evidence. “Best-case scenario you’re giving yourself expensive urine,” she added.
She further criticized anti-vaccine figures like McCarthy and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stating they “use big medical terms and words, and they sort of touch on things that are kind of correct,” but lack the expertise to properly analyze and interpret the data.
“I just think it’s so dangerous that these celebrities and non-healthcare professionals are saying things as the truth without real evidence or understanding of what they’re saying, and they’re convincing other people to follow their lead,” Dr. Shawn said.
This contrasts with informal patient networks, where people share information on managing their health conditions. According to Shawn, individuals like McCarthy and Kennedy tend to promote specific narratives, exaggerate risks, and blur the line between expert opinion and personal belief.
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**About the Author**
Rachael Robertson is a writer on the MedPage Today enterprise and investigative team, also covering OB/GYN news. Her print, data, and audio stories have appeared in Everyday Health, Gizmodo, the Bronx Times, and multiple podcasts.
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**Topics:** Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Science
**Keywords:** Jenny McCarthy; toxicology; Tylenol