Glutamine

Glutamine

Glutamine is an amino acid produced by the body and found in food. It supports your body’s immune and digestive systems.

Glutamine is an important amino acid with many functions in the body.

It is a building block of protein and critical part of the immune system.

What’s more, glutamine has a special role in intestinal health.

Your body naturally produces this amino acid, and it is also found in many foods. Yet, you may be unsure if you need extra glutamine from supplements for optimal health.

This article explains why glutamine is important and discusses the benefits and safety of glutamine supplements.

What Is Glutamine?

Glutamine is an amino acid. Amino acids are molecules that play many roles in the body.

Their main purpose is to serve as building blocks for proteins.

Proteins are crucial to the organs. They also serve other functions, such as transporting substances in the blood and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria.

Like many other amino acids, it exists in two different forms: L-glutamine and D-glutamine.

They are almost identical but have a slightly different molecular arrangement.

The form found in foods and supplements is L-glutamine. Some supplements list it as L-glutamine, but others simply use the broader term glutamine.

While L-glutamine is used to make proteins and perform other functions, D-glutamine appears to be relatively unimportant in living organisms.

L-glutamine can be produced naturally in your body. In fact, it is the most abundant amino acid in the blood and other body fluids.

However, there are times when the glutamine needs of your body are greater than its ability to produce it.

Therefore, it’s considered a conditionally essential amino acid, meaning that it must be obtained from the diet under certain conditions, such as injury or illness.

Also, glutamine is an important molecule for the immune system and intestinal health.

Effects on Muscle Gain and Exercise Performance

Due to its role as a building block of protein, some researchers have tested whether taking glutamine as a supplement improves muscle gain or exercise performance.

In one study, 31 people took either glutamine or a placebo during six weeks of weight training.

By the end of the study, both groups showed improved muscle mass and strength. However, there were no differences between the two groups.

Additional studies have also shown that it has no effects on muscle mass or performance.

However, some research has reported that glutamine supplements may decrease muscle soreness and improve recovery after intense exercise.

In fact, one study found that glutamine or glutamine plus carbohydrates can help reduce a blood marker of fatigue during two hours of running.

It has also been used to try to boost the immune function of athletes, but results vary.

Other research has found that it did not improve the recovery of carbohydrate stores (glycogen) in muscle when added to carbohydrates and certain amino acids.

In the end, there is no evidence that these supplements provide benefits for muscle gain or strength. There is some limited support for other effects, but more research is needed.

It’s also important to note that many athletes have high protein intakes in their regular diets, meaning they may be consuming large amounts of glutamine even without supplements