L-Glutamine – 2275mg
Glutamine is an conditionally essential amino acid that takes on several roles in the body — it’s most notably involved in muscle protein synthesis, the immune system, and the gastrointestinal system.[1] Not only does the body naturally produce glutamine, it also acquires glutamine from various sources of food.
Glutamine is known as the most abundant free form amino acid in the blood, but research shows that you can develop glutamine deficiency during periods of metabolic stress, such as injury, illness, or intense exercise.[1,2] Preliminary studies have found that glutamine can preserve skeletal muscle mass, maintain nitrogen balance, and may enhance barrier function within the gut, which is key for preventing illness.[1] Since the research on L-glutamine supplementation focuses on three key areas: recovery, the immune system, and gut health, that’s what we will do as well.
Promoting Recovery
Even though glutamine contributes to muscle protein synthesis, there’s very little evidence showing that supplementation of L-glutamine increases muscle mass.[3] However, research has reported that oral L-glutamine supplementation enhances recovery and reduces soreness.[4]
In a study from 2015, researchers recruited 16 healthy men and women to participate in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study.[4] Half of the subjects received 0.3g/kg of L-glutamine along with 0.3g/kg of maltodextrin, once per day.[4] The other half served as the placebo, thus they were given 0.6g/kg of just maltodextrin, once per day over a three day period.[4]
All participants performed an eccentric exercise protocol consisting of unilateral knee extension. At the end of the study, the researchers concluded that the participants who supplemented with L-Glutamine had significantly less soreness and greater knee extension peak torque after the eccentric exercise protocol than the placebo group.[4]
Another study from 2011 was conducted to determine if L-glutamine supplementation could positivity impact muscle recovery after eccentric exercise.[5] The researchers utilized a randomized single-blind placebo controlled design, recruited 15 physically active males and gave them either 0.3g/kg of L-glutamine or 0.3g/kg of maltodextrin, 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours post exercise.[5]
Each participant performed 100 drop jumps in order to induce muscular damage from eccentric exercise.[5] In the end, they found that L-glutamine supplementation resulted in greater preservation of strength (as measured by peak torque knee extension) and significantly lower muscle soreness over 96 hours.[5]
In addition, glutamine can be very beneficial for promoting healing following an injury, since the research shows that injuries can be a major cause of glutamine deficiency.[2] If you train for long enough, injuries are bound to come up, thus keep in mind that it may be a good idea to add in some extra glutamine in order to facilitate healing and get back in the gym faster!
Although the research on glutamine’s ability to enhance muscle growth and body composition is lacking, there’s definitely evidence that shows it may promote recovery, preserve strength, and reduce muscle soreness.[4,5] It’s also important to note that many athletes get plenty of glutamine from their diet, especially if they eat meat. Thus, if you adopt a more plant-based diet, then supplementing with glutamine will likely be even more beneficial.
Promoting recovery is not all glutamine can do — it’s also crucial for the immune and gastrointestinal systems!
Immune System
It turns out that glutamine is a major fuel source for both intestinal and immune system cells.[2] Studies show that glutamine is rapidly used by immune cells, and is deemed crucial for optimal lymphocyte proliferation, phagocytic activity, and cytokine production.[6]
Glutamine is used in many key metabolic pathways
Furthermore, glutamine is a precursor to one of the most powerful antioxidants within the body — glutathione. Thus. it helps protect against oxidative stress induced by free radicals.[2] Glutamine has also been shown to express strong immunomodulatory properties and can stimulate the proliferation of lymphocytes, also known as white blood cells, which play a key role in defending against foreign pathogens.[2]
Research suggests that individuals with the following conditions could benefit the most from supplementing with L-glutamine: overtrained athletes, endurance athletes, individuals with burns, injuries, sepsis, or following surgery.[6]
The researchers speculate that glutamine deficiency occurs from the increased utilization by the liver, kidneys, gut, and immune system during these conditions.[6] In addition, lowered levels of plasma glutamine contribute to decreased immune system function — significantly increasing your risk of getting sick.[6]
It’s fair to say that glutamine may be even more important for the immune system then muscle growth or recovery.
Gut Health
The last major benefit of glutamine we’re going to highlight is its ability to improve gut health!
Your gut is closely related to your immune system, thus it makes sense that glutamine would support both systems. Not only is glutamine a major energy source for enterocytes and epithelial cells within the intestines, it helps maintain proper gut barrier function.[7] This barrier is crucial for optimal health, because it keeps foreign invaders from entering circulation and prevents chronic gastrointestinal conditions from developing, such as leaky gut syndrome.
Furthermore, glutamine contributes to mucus formation and integrity of the intestinal surface.[7] Intestinal mucosa is important for trapping bacteria and inhibiting it from entering the body.
A meta-analysis from 2012 reported that glutamine can prevent gastrointestinal injury induced by radiation in cancer patients, decrease mucosa atrophy, improves barrier function and morphology, reduces oxidative stress, enhances mucosal lymphocyte count, lowers intestinal permeability, and inflammation.[8]
It seems like gut health issues are becoming more and more common and if you suffer from some type of gastrointestinal disorder, then we highly recommend seeing a health care professional and discussing what they think about adding in glutamine as part of the treatment.
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