Do you know Glutamine, the wonderful amino acid, is unique in itself? Not only it benefits us in dozens of ways, it is called as Conditionally Essential Amino Acid. Our body makes amino acids (called non-essential) and Glutamine is one of them and produced in sufficient quantity. However, when you train in excess (Overtraining Syndrome) or injured deeply, this initially sufficient quantity starts to deplete. Now we need external glutamine supplements. [Usually, essential amino acids are obtained through supplements, but when Glutamine needs to be supplemented, in special cases, it is called Conditionally Essential). We talk about side effects later. Glutamine benefits the body by helping to recover fast from illness and injuries.

This shows that our body just cannot do without Glutamine as almost all its functions are ably supported by it. In fact, once glutamine level is depleted, our body can take up to a week before returning its normal levels. Hence in difficult times, it is best to use glutamine supplements and help our body to bring the levels to an optimum level.

Studies have shown that Glutamine supplementation can minimize breakdown of muscle and improve protein metabolism. It is also said to provide benefits to weight, exercise recovery and bowel disorders.

After surgery or traumatic injury, nitrogen is necessary to repair the wounds and keep the vital organs functioning. About one third of this nitrogen comes from glutamine.

What Glutamine Does for Your Body

Glutamine plays key roles in increasing cell volumes and protein metabolism. It also prevents your muscle from being eaten up so that glutamine can reach other cells in the body. It is also important for providing “fuel” (nitrogen & carbon cells) to many different cells in the body.

Glutamine is needed to make chemicals in the body such as other amino acids and glucose. Further, it also increases your body’s ability to secrete Human Growth Hormone (HGH) by up to 400%, which helps your body to metabolize fat and support building new muscles. This hormonal response leads to an increase in resting metabolic rate and improves the after-burn effect post exercise. This after-burn effect is essential for burning fat, weight loss and building lean muscle mass. For ideal fat burn, glutamine is used more often.

Other Benefits of Glutamine

The long list of benefits of glutamine do not stop here, it is almost unending to say the least. Let us see what the other benefits are:

1. Glutamine benefits you by replenishing declining Glutamine levels during intense workouts.
2. It can cure ulcers and studies have shown that those who consumed 1.7 grams of glutamine daily had a 92% chance of success in 4-5 weeks.
3. Glutamine can repair a leaky intestine as it is one of the most important nutrients for them. The structural integrity of intestines is maintained in top notch condition by Glutamine.
4. Glutamine is an essential brain neurotransmitter and helps with memory, focus and concentration.
5. Improves Irritable Bowel Syndrome and diarrhea by balancing mucus production, which results in healthy bowel movements.
6. Improves athletic performance and recovery from endurance exercise.
7. Curbs cravings for sugar and alcohol and thereby improves diabetes and blood sugar control.
8. It also demonstrated its ability in decreasing intestinal permeability (passing through). A separate study found that L-glutamine benefits ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
9. L-glutamine reduces intestinal inflammation and helps people to recover from severe food sensitivities.
10. Glutamine supplementation helps to recover quicker from intense weight training sessions because it improves muscle hydration. This vital task aids the muscle recovery process and reduces the precious recovery time for wounds & burns.

Glutamine Helps Bodybuilders by Preventing Ammonia Buildup

Weight lifting and heavy endurance exercises start building up of Ammonia which induces lethargy. Glutamine’s main role is to support detoxification by cleansing the body from high levels of ammonia. It acts as a buffer and converts excess ammonia into other amino acids, amino sugars and urea.

After only one hour of heavy exercises, the levels of glutamine can drop down to around 40 percent. This level also suppresses the immune function and has a negative impact on your resistance training and overtraining syndrome results. L-glutamine benefits boosts the immune system in T-helper cells and reduce the ‘stresses’ associated with overtraining syndrome.

Side Effects of Glutamine

The usual dosage recommended is 0.5g/kg of body weight and Glutamine shows no adverse effects. Even when the amount was increased by 10 times, yet there was no adverse reaction. Anything above is not tested yet and it can be safely assumed that within the recommended dosage, Glutamine has no adverse side effects.

Conclusion
Glutamine is the most valuable nutrient beneficial to our body in various needs. It allows you to train hard, resists ammonia buildup, hydrates muscles and tinkles your growth hormone too which helps in fat loss. It also helps you keep focus in adverse conditions. It is one of the few nutrients which are helpful in dozens of useful conditions.

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