Since NAC and GlyNAC are sometimes discussed here, I thought you mind find this interesting. It’s an old article from 2013. Have you heard about this? Maybe it’s been debunked as I’ve read things that say NAC can improve performance.
Personally, I am not a big fan of NAC, mainly because it takes so much to have any effect.
The article you have cited is probably debunked as NAC is probably a good supplement if you take enough of it.
“Overall, most of the trials reported beneficial effects of NAC supplementation and no serious adverse events were reported. Participants supplemented with NAC showed significant improvements in exercise performance, antioxidant capacity, and glutathione homeostasis.”
I suppose it has something to do with hormesis. The idea that just the right amount of stress on the body (in this case exercise or weight lifting which causes micro tears in the muscles) creates a temporary inflammatory response and your body repairs itself a little stronger than it was before. Some mild inflammatory response is a necessary part for the body to repair and heal itself.
We used to avoid the use of corticosteroids in the OR for certain surgeries because it would decrease the inflammatory response too much and delay healing. Because that’s what the text books told us to do based mostly on theory. For the most part we now give corticosteroids and have found it has not delayed healing. Usually the opposite. People tend to have reduced pain and heal just as well if not faster. Sometimes theory in the books don’t translate over into real world practice.
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