What It Is?
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your body. It’s a part of the non-essential group of about 20 amino acids that are found naturally throughout your body. This means that your body can produce glutamine on its own from other available compounds whenever necessary. For the most part, your need for glutamine can be met with a healthy diet rich in quality protein, such as steak, poultry, fish, dairy products and beans. But glutamine’s non-essential status doesn’t mean you should snub its supplement form, because here’s the rub: Glutamine is the primary fuel source for your immune system and much of it is stored in your muscles. Evidence shows that during intense exercise, your muscles release glutamine into the bloodstream, which can deplete glutamine reserves by as much as half. Such a shortfall can promote the breakdown and wasting of muscle tissue. Shawn Talbott, PhD, a nutritional biochemist and research director for Supplement Watch, a health education company explains: “The depletion of glutamine is very much dependent on the overall intensity of the challenge. Extremely intense catabolic conditions (such as burn patients) might deplete glutamine levels by 90 percent, while the casual exerciser would have little to no glutamine depletion. A hard-training athlete would be someplace in between 30 to 50 percent.” So the more intense your workout effort, the greater the glutamine depletion is likely to be, which is why many experts consider glutamine to be a “conditional non-essential” amino acid.
How Glutamine Works
In many ways, glutamine can be seen as a virtual jack-of-all-trades: It aids in muscle metabolism and recovery, and plays an essential role in supporting the immune system.
Glutamine is able to multi-task because it is not stored in the same way fat is stored as adipose or carbs as glycogen; rather, it becomes what is needed, and mostly it is needed to build and maintain muscles. “Glutamine is constantly being used and its form changes all the time. It can be a part of a cell membrane or an enzyme or a hormone – whatever the body needs – and your level of glutamine will go up and down on a daily basis according to your body’s demands.”
As mentioned earlier, postworkout glutamine depletion may hinder your results since it directly affects immune and muscle response. Research reveals that glutamine helps optimize recovery in the following four ways:
Readily available glutamine can prevent muscle breakdown and prevent your body from using your muscle tissue as fuel when your body is depleted, a concept known in bodybuilding lingo as protein sparing.
Glutamine spares protein by stimulating formation of glycogen, which comes from the breakdown of carbohydrates and is your body’s preferred energy source for exercise. When your body’s glycogen stores are depleted, your body may dip into your muscles to steal energy from protein – you don’t want that. In cases of extreme glycogen depletion, “Glutamine directly increases the activity of an enzyme that creates glycogen in muscle and liver cells,” says Talbott. In a study done on cyclists, glutamine was given to subjects during a two-hour workout, which resulted in doubling the concentration of glycogen in the muscles.
What’s more, glutamine is important for cellular hydration, which helps maintain cell volume and in effect, enhances protein synthesis, the process of rebuilding and repairing muscle tissues. Tom Bilella, CCN, CNS, head nutritionist for the New York Jets explains: “Glutamine gets into the cell then draws in water to volumize it. And since a hydrated cell is less likely to break down, this helps you maintain mass.”
Lastly, glutamine protects your immune system since it is the top fuel source for immune cells – and that in effect can help you build muscle. “If the immune cells don’t have enough available glutamine to do the necessary repairs, they will steal it from somewhere else,” says Talbott. “And since your body’s store of glutamine basically is your muscle, that will be the first thing broken down when the immune system needs some fuel.” A strong immune system will help your body fend off infections that can sideline training. It’s also worth noting that because of its close relationship with the immune system, glutamine supplementation has been shown to be effective when treating burn patients, cancer patients, and those with HIV/AIDS.
Page 2: Glutamine's Grey Area
Page 3: How To Use It
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