Glutamine (often called l-glutamine or I-glut) was first used in powder form by people in the fitness industry who were looking to preserve muscle tissue. Today, glutamine is used for a variety of reasons among people from all walks of life, from professional athletes to the medical community.  If you are considering using glutamine in your health and fitness plan, you should first consult with a health professional who knows your medical history. Read on to get an overview of informational topics related to glutamine, and educate yourself. Then, when you visit your doctor you can bring a list of any questions you may have about adding a glutamine supplement to your diet.

What is Glutamine?

Glutamine is an amino acid, meaning it is a building block of protein and is particularly important for muscle growth and recovery following exercise. Glutamine is the most abundant naturally occurring nonessential amino acid in the human body and one of the few amino acids that can directly cross the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a protective mechanism in your body. Blood vessels such as veins and arteries move nutrients to all of the tissues and organs throughout the body. The blood vessels of the central nervous system have some pretty unique properties that make them more selective about what gets through. This protective mechanism is called the blood-brain barrier. Exactly how these different cell populations interact to regulate the barrier properties is still being studied, but scientists agree that the blood-brain barrier is essential for how the brain functions during times of optimum health and when the body is challenged by disease.  The way that you obtain glutamine is primarily through proteins. When tissue is being built or repaired, like the growth of babies, or healing from wounds or severe illness, glutamine becomes even more important.

How Glutamine Works in Fitness Programs

Exercise and training are hard on the body and reduces glutamine levels. Glutamine, along with other related products, is meant to be used as a supplement, not as a replacement for a healthy diet.  In combination with protein, some sources report that glutamine assists an increase of muscle protein synthesis by 8.3 percent as compared to protein alone. More research is needed to determine the exact amounts and combinations of glutamine with protein for optimum benefits, but some reports say that glutamine can reduce fatigue and soreness after a workout, increase body mass as muscles recover faster, and improve performance.  When you exercise, your body needs fuel. That’s when your body calls on glucose, which is sugar. Glucose can come from a variety of sources in your diet or from a store in the body. Your body stores excess sugar in the liver in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is then broken down and used for energy in the body for processes such as the muscle contractions needed during workouts.  Your body also calls on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during exercise, but typically the body only has small stores of both glucose and ATP. Glutamine and other supplements are used to boost the available energy that your body needs and uses when you exercise. 

What Happens When You Use up All the Available Sugars in Your Stored Resources?

The body requires extra oxygen to create more ATP, and more blood is pumped to the exercising muscles. Without enough oxygen, lactic acid will form instead. Lactic acid is typically flushed from the body within 30 to 60 minutes after finishing up a workout.  The most amazing thing about this whole process may be the fact that exercise actually creates tiny tears in the muscles that help them grow bigger and stronger as they heal. The old saying “no pain, no gain” has truth in it. Soreness only means there are changes occurring in those muscles, and typically lasts a couple of days. Glutamine is used to not only give the body what it needs during a workout but also afterward, as it heals.  These improvements in performance are thought to be due to the fact that glutamine (used with protein supplements) are replacing what is naturally lost during exercise. They provide the body with extra nourishment that ordinarily would not have been available through diet and previous exercise alone.

Medical Uses for Glutamine

Glutamine is marketed as an important medical supplement and can be prescribed when a medical professional believes a person in their care needs supplementary glutamine due to metabolic demands beyond what can be met by diet.

Sickle Cell Treatments

People with sickle cell anemia may benefit from glutamine supplements. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited form of anemia. It is a condition in which there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout your body.  Normally your red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.

Sickle cell anemia is caused by a mutation in the gene that tells your body to make the red, iron-rich compound that gives blood it is red color (hemoglobin). Hemoglobin allows red blood cells to carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body.  This sickness is inherited. The sickle cell gene is passed from generation to generation. Both the mother and the father must pass on the defective form of the gene for a child to be affected. The disease is found more frequently in persons of Middle Eastern, Indian, Mediterranean and African heritage because those geographic regions are most prone to malaria. The gene variant for sickle cell disease is related to malaria, not skin color.  In 2017 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved glutamine to reduce severe complications of sickle cell disease in people aged 5 years and older with the sickle cell anemia.  According to the FDA, the success of this medical trial is demonstrated by a reduction in the number of sickle cell crises among patients who received glutamine compared to those receiving placebo.

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Glutamine for Cancer Patients

Glutamine mouthwash (marketed under a variety of names and brands) may be useful to prevent oral mucositis in people undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments. Oral mucositis is probably the most common, debilitating complication of cancer treatments.  According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, mucositis occurs when cancer treatments break down the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. It is the lining of your digestive system, and starts with your mouth and ends at the anus. Sometimes cancer treatments cause ulcers inside this lining, leading to other problems including the possibility of internal infections.

Mucosal tissue, also known as mucosa or the mucous membrane, lines all body passages that communicate with the air, such as the respiratory and alimentary tracts. This tissue also has cells and associated glands that secrete mucus. The part of this lining that covers the mouth, called the oral mucosa, is one of the most sensitive parts of the body and is particularly vulnerable to chemotherapy and radiation. The oral cavity is the most common location for mucositis.  Oral mucositis can lead to several problems, including pain, nutritional problems as a result of the inability to eat, and increased risk of infection due to open sores in the mucosa. It has a significant effect on the patient’s quality of life and can be so severe that the chemo or radiation treatments must be reduced to give time to the patient to recover.

How Glutamine Works During Exercise

Increased blood flow during exercise benefits the brain. Immediately, the brain cells will start functioning at a higher level, making you feel more alert and awake during exercise and afterward.  When you work out regularly, the brain gets used to this frequent surge of blood and adapts by turning certain genes on or off. Many of these changes boost brain cell function and protection from diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or even stroke, and helps ward off age-related decline.

Exercise also triggers a surge of chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters, which include endorphins, resulting in the “runner’s high.” This feeling is produced by naturally occurring painkillers in your body.  The brain also releases dopamine and glutamate to get those arms and legs moving. As well as gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a prohibitive neurotransmitter that actually slows things down, to keep you moving in a smooth and controlled manner.

Possible Side Effects of Glutamine

The rate at which the kidneys filter blood can change when you work out, depending on your level of exertion. After intense exercise, the kidneys allow greater levels of protein to be filtered into the urine. They also trigger better water reabsorption, resulting in less urine, in what is likely an attempt to help keep you as hydrated as possible.  Because of the way exercise places demands on the liver and kidneys following a workout, anyone who already has a medical history of kidney or liver problems should not use glutamine (or any kind of protein supplement) as part of their health and fitness plans. Your doctor might recommend staying with reasonable portions of healthy sources of glutamine that are found in foods.

Glutamine-rich Food Sources

Yes, there are many dietary sources of glutamine, because this same nutrient that occurs naturally in your body also occurs naturally in products consumed for food. Some of these sources include beef, chicken, fish, eggs, beans; in dairy products including cottage cheese; in grains such as wheat, and in vegetables including cabbage, spinach, cabbage, asparagus, carrots, parsley, and beets. However, many of us may also like to supplement glutamine in powder or tablet forms, as consuming sufficient foodstuffs may be impractical.

Supplemental Glutamine

If you and your physician agree that additional glutamine is needed, there are two forms you can find in the marketplace. Glutamine in its free form should be taken with food ideally for proper absorption by the body. The other type of glutamine is called Trans-Alanyl or Alanyl-L-Glutamine. This is an amino acid attached to another amino acid, which basically means you’re going to digest it much better. Unlike free-form glutamine powder, you can take it on an empty stomach.

Healthcare professionals, as well as fitness experts, agree that both forms of glutamine powder are best taken right after or right before your workout. This can be combined with your small meal right before or after your workout to support metabolism, weight loss, and muscle building.  Typically, the best dosage is between 2 to 5 grams twice daily. If you are taking glutamine long-term, it’s a good idea to also supplement with B vitamins. This especially applies to vitamin B-12, which controls glutamine buildup in the body.

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Vitamin B-12 and Glutamine

Vitamin B-12 is a water-soluble vitamin that plays essential roles in red blood cell formation, cell metabolism, nerve function and the production of DNA. B vitamins are often added to glutamine supplements because they work together. Vitamins from the B complex are necessary for proper glucose metabolism and blood formation.  Food sources of vitamin B-12 include poultry, meat, fish and dairy products. Vitamin B-12 is also added to some foods and is available as an oral supplement. Because your body is capable of storing vitamin B-12, deficiency is rare. However, if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, you might be prone to deficiency because plant foods don’t contain vitamin B-12.

According to the Mayo Clinic, persons with digestive tract conditions that affect absorption of nutrients might also have a vitamin B-12 deficiency. Left untreated, a vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to anemia.  Vitamin B-12 deficiency is associated with dementia and low cognitive function, but more research is needed to determine whether vitamin B-12 supplements help prevent or treat dementia. Most people get enough vitamin B-12 from a balanced diet. However, senior adults, vegetarians, and vegans, might benefit from the use of oral supplements in addition to glutamine supplements.

Make sure that you read all the ingredients listed on any glutamine product you consider and ask your health professional any questions you may have on how glutamine may work with vitamins or any medications you may be already taking.

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