Should we Invest in L-Glutamine to Improve Muscle Recovery?

So you just getting into working out, you've got some cash to spend and you figure why not visit the local supplement store or to buy it online? when you check out the labels of the glutamine then you will see that all of the labels are making bold promises, then there's a salesman on a store or over the online platform who always seems to suggest the most expensive thing, but they say you should trust him because he benches 225kg and he used to play high school football.

What Do You Understand By Supplementation Whether It's L-Glutamine Or Any Other Supplements

Here's the thing, in their most simple form, supplements are a single compound that has been demonstrated to yield some type of benefit when you will take it.

Just like food, fruits, or dairy products. There isn't a lot of money to be made selling them because the price will be set by whoever is willing to sell it the cheapest.

If I created my own brand of vitamin C, I can't really sell it for much more than the standard price that everyone else is paying, or else who would really want to buy it?

So in order to make the most money, these supplement companies need something which is harder for others to simply copy, like with vitamin C.

So what do these supplement companies do?

Well, they take several of these inexpensive compounds, blend them together in a proprietary blend, and then sell it as the number one way to achieve everything you after, while charging more than it would cost to buy these ingredients separately.

This is why I feel very few people are talking about L-glutamine.

Since any company can make it, no supplement company spends much to advertise it, meaning you never really hear much about it.

What Is L-Glutamine And Its Use?

L-glutamine is an amino acid.

Amino acids can exist on their own or they can join together to form protein strands.

It basically helps in your sugar cravings when you consume it.

Why should you care?

Well, L-glutamine is the most common amino acid found in your muscles.

Over 61% of skeletal muscle is made of L-glutamine.

That 60% figure is something you'll see in basically every bodybuilding article, along with the same recycled list of benefits.

But almost never anyone explanation of actually why it works.

I did some deeper research and I found something pretty incredible that not only your muscles are made of glutamine, but glutamine also circulates the blood in the body and there are several types of cells in the body that rely on that same glutamine for the unique energy source.

Glutamine is a preferred respiratory fuel for lymphocytes, hepatocytes, and intestinal mucosal cells.

It also plays a big role in transporting nitrogen throughout the body.

So not only is your muscle largely comprised of glutamine, but other cells, essential cells in the body also rely on it, in order to create energy so that they can function properly.

I took special note that the lymphocytes, which are crucial to the immune system, need glutamine for fuel.

L-glutamine is also used by our brains to create neurotransmitters, glutamic acid, and gamma-aminobutyric acid.

Now glutamine is what many in the medical community call a non-essential amino acid. it doesn't mean that you don't need it though.

When an amino acid is non-essential, it means that it isn't essential to include it in your diet since the body has a mechanism to create it on its own.

The body has two ways of meeting its glutamine needs.

Some of its needs are met by the intake of glutamine containing foods.

Most proteins contain glutamine as one of their building blocks.

In the small intestine, these proteins are broken down and the glutamine is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Additionally, the body contains an enzyme called glutamine synthetase.

This enzyme is present in skeletal muscle, the brain, kidneys, and liver.

Glutamine synthetase catalyzes the condensation of glutamate and ammonia to form L-glutamine.

This process of L-glutamine creation within the body is why it can be classified as non-essential.

Should You Invest In L-Glutamine Or Not?

Under normal conditions, this production process is able to supply the body with all the glutamine it needs.

Cells that depend on glutamine for energy to get enough. There's plenty circulating in the blood and the muscles are full of it.

But what happens when the body increases the number of cells which use L-glutamine for energy?

For example, producing more of those white blood cells when you sick.

In these kinds of times, the body's demand for L-glutamine outpaces the supply.

This is why a paper I found published in the Journal of Nutrition argues that L-glutamine should be reclassified as conditionally essential, meaning there will be times where it is essential to get it in your diet because, in these times, the body's demand is outstripping its supply.

Supplementing it in these cases has proven to be beneficial.

So what are some times that the demand for glutamine outpaces the body's ability to create it? Well, during times of severe stress, the body becomes determined to ensure that the glutamine energy-dependent cells including those immune cells we talked about have all the energy they need.

The body begins depleting its glutamine stores, which means, the body will destroy muscle to access this glutamine.

This is called catabolism and can be brought on by everything from a severe injury to illness, to being in a state of starvation. (cough) Aggressive dieting.

There is evidence that suggests that even the effects of an intense workout can lower the body's glutamine levels.

Studies confirmed this, demonstrating levels of blood glutamine following an intense workout is reduced.

So what happens if you supplement?

Well, other studies have found that after Intense exercise, athletes supplementing L-glutamine had a reduced an instance of infection because remember L-glutamine is both with the body uses to fuel the immune system and a major component of repairing muscle.

So my personal verdict, if you train hard, approaching a threshold of overtraining, you put significant stress on your body.

Based on the studies, L-glutamine will be beneficial to boost your immune system and to reduce the muscle loss of your body going catabolic if it is deficient.

This also explains why L-glutamine supplementation is often used by people who are cutting down and eating at a caloric deficit, to help reduce the muscle loss of the body turning to muscle as a source of L-glutamine.

Side Effects Of Supplementing L-Glutamine In Your Diet -

There are no such side effects of using the L-glutamine in your diet as it basically helps to recover your muscles faster when you are done with an intense workout.

But as you know if you overdose anything more than its recommended dosage then you can see the demerits of using the glutamine.

side effects which you will see if you overdose it - change in skin colour, cold hands and feet, frequent and painful urination, skin rash, hives and much more.

Dosage Of L-Glutamine -

It safe it is taken in the recommended dosage up to 0.7g/kg body weight on a daily basis or given by IV then its 400mg/kg weight daily.

And in Bodybuilding, It is basically 5-10gm on daily basis do not increase the recommended dosage for muscle recovery.

Buy in powder form not in the tablets form.

Conclusion-

If you have any diseases or some surgery first you always recommend with your doctor before taking it.

It is an absolutely very safe supplement and you can use in your muscle recovery and after any surgery also.