Why We Added Two Minerals to Our NAC: The Research Behind NAC+

June 17, 2026

We did not plan to change our NAC. The research changed our minds.

When we launched, our NAC was deliberately simple: 600mg of N-Acetyl Cysteine, a little rice flour, a plant-based capsule, nothing else. It did its job. But we read a lot, and over time two things kept turning up in the literature that we could not unsee.

What kept showing up

The first was selenium. NAC is best known as the form of cysteine the body uses to make glutathione. But glutathione does not act alone. A family of enzymes called the glutathione peroxidases is what actually puts glutathione to work against peroxides, and every one of those enzymes is built around selenium, delivered through the body's selenoproteins. Reviews of the antioxidant system put selenium and glutathione side by side as parts of one machine, and some studies looked at selenium and NAC together as a pair. The pattern was hard to ignore: you can supply all the raw material for glutathione you like, but the enzymes that use it still depend on selenium to function.

The second was molybdenum, and it came from a different direction: sulphur. NAC is a sulphur compound, because cysteine is one of the body's two sulphur-bearing amino acids. When the body breaks sulphur amino acids down, it produces sulfite, and the enzyme that clears sulfite, sulfite oxidase, runs on molybdenum. It sits at the very end of cysteine's breakdown pathway. In other words, NAC and molybdenum are both part of the same sulphur chemistry. Once we saw that, it felt odd to build a sulphur-based supplement and leave out the sulphur-handling mineral.

The connection

Selenium sat at the glutathione end. Molybdenum sat at the sulphur end. Both connected back to NAC, at different points, through chemistry that was already well described in the literature. That was the moment NAC+ stopped being NAC with some extras bolted on and became a formula with a reason: three ingredients that share the same biochemistry, rather than a longer label.

What we added, and why

NAC, 600mg, unchanged. The dose used across most of the research, in the form the body can actually use.

Selenium, 25mcg as L-selenomethionine, the organic, bioavailable form found naturally in foods like Brazil nuts. Selenium contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress and to the normal function of the immune system.*

Molybdenum, 45mcg, the mineral most NAC formulas skip. Molybdenum contributes to normal sulphur amino acid metabolism, the body's way of handling sulphur compounds.*

*Authorised GB/EU health claims.

What we did not change

Everything that made the original worth taking is still here. The NAC is still derived from fermented non-GMO corn, not chemical synthesis. It is still five ingredients, with no artificial fillers, binders, colours or flavours, no magnesium stearate and no titanium dioxide. Still vegan certified, still one capsule a day, still made in the UK to GMP standards. We added to the formula. We did not add to the label.

Try it

NAC+ is available now. The same daily capsule, a more complete formula. Shop NAC+.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Food supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or under medical care, speak to your GP before starting any supplement.