L-glutamine - the amino acid for muscle building

L-Glutamine is one of the most important dietary supplements in the sports sector. However, L-glutamine is not only beneficial for athletes; sick and weak people also benefit from taking glutamine. You can find out all about this important amino acid in this blog post.

table-of-contents

1. L-Glutamine
2. L-Glutamine: Functions
3. L-Glutamine in sports
4. The most important functions of glutamine at a glance
5. L-Glutamine for diseases
6. L-Glutamine: intake and side effects
7. Summary
8. Nutri-Plus L-Glutamine Ultrapure

L-Glutamine

L-Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid. The body normally produces sufficient amounts of glutamine itself. However, the body's own production is reduced under high levels of stress, such as stress or intensive training, and in the case of various illnesses. In this case, supplementation with glutamine makes sense.

In the organism, L-glutamine has many important functions and is essential for maintaining our health. Glutamine is used by the human body to build proteins , so it has  anabolic abilities and thus ensures muscle building and. the muscle maintenance.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the blood and in the amino acid pool of skeletal muscles. Around 60% of the total glutamine stores are in the skeletal muscles. Glutamine is also found in the liver, lungs and brain. L-glutamine is therefore an important source of energy . In addition to the skeletal muscles, the immune cells and intestinal cells also use glutamine as an energy source.

Glutamine is produced in our body by transferring a nitrogen group to glutamate  under energy consumption. Like glutamine, glutamate is a natural amino acid. It plays an important role as a neurotransmitter. It should be noted that glutamate should not be confused with the flavour enhancers used in food production. These are isolated glutamate, which is chemically combined with various salts. These enhance the flavour of food and therefore belong to the food additives.

L-Glutamine: features

In the human organism, glutamine has a variety of functions.

The most important tasks of glutamine are maintaining and building muscle mass and providing energy. Physical exercise depletes glucose reserves. However, in order to supply the body with new energy, the cells need glucose. L-glutamine can ultimately be converted into glucose during gluconeogenesis. This makes energy available to the body again. It also prevents valuable muscle mass from being used for energy production. However, it is not only the muscles that rely on glutamine as an energy supplier; T cells, lymphocytes and macrophages also obtain energy from L-glutamine. Glutamine is therefore particularly important for a well-functioning immune system .

L-glutamine is also an important component of glutathione. Together with the two amino acids cysteine and glycine it is involved in its formation. Glutathione is also an important antioxidant in the human body, which protects cells from oxidative stress and traps free radicals. As athletes have an increased need for antioxidants, supplementation with L-glutamine is always helpful.

Furthermore, glutamine is important for the provision of nitrogen in the body. It is particularly important for nitrogen transport via the blood and is therefore involved in many metabolic processes.

However, our brain and our  also benefit from a sufficient supply of glutamine; Acid-base balance, because glutamine helps to detoxify ammonia. This ensures a balance in the acid-base balance and protects the brain from the harmful effects of ammonia. Glutamine also serves the brain as a starting point for various neurotransmitters.

L-Glutamine in Sport

The need for glutamine is increased during physical training. Supplementation with L-glutamine is therefore beneficial for every athlete.

As described above, after intensive training, both glutamine and carbohydrate stores are depleted. As a result, L-glutamine plays an important role in providing energy . By relying on glucose as an energy supplier, valuable muscle mass is preserved, preventing muscle breakdown.

By providing glucose, the glycogen stores are replenished more quickly. Glycogen is also the storage form of carbohydrates. The high quantities of glycogen stores thus available provide energy and also help to promote regeneration after sport.

Studies also show that glutamine supplementation leads to less fatigue,  more strength and to more endurance .

An overview of the most important functions of glutamine:

• Prevention of muscle breakdown
• Promotion of muscle building
• Strengthened immune system
• Increased storage of glycogen
• Maintenance of muscle tissue
• Improved regeneration
• Less fatigue
• More strength and endurance

 L-Glutamine bei Erkrankungen

Diverse studies show that glutamine can have a positive effect on diseases. L-glutamine is beneficial for gastrointestinal problems, injuries, cancer, heart disease and a weakened immune system. It can also reduce symptoms of overtraining.

It can also improve the healing process and shorten hospital stays.

As the immune and intestinal cells are just as dependent on an energy supply of L-glutamine, supplementation is beneficial. This is because stress, intensive training and infections lead to glutamine being broken down from the immune cells. A low glutamine level therefore reduces the production of T cells. Macrophages also lose their ability to fight viruses and bacteria.

Intestinal cells also use glutamine as a fuel source. Glutamine reduces both diarrhoea and indigestion in the intestine. In inflammatory intestinal diseases such as Crohn's disease, for example, L-glutamine can unfold its healing powers. It can also help to rebuild the intestinal mucosa and thus improve nutrient absorption.

A glutamine deficiency therefore leads to an increased susceptibility to infection and also to intestinal dysfunction.

You can also read more about this topic in the blog post Glutamine - for a healthy gut.

L-Glutamine: intake and side effects

L-Glutamine is completely risk-free. It is a safe food supplement. Even an intake of over 21 g did not lead to any toxic side effects in studies. However, headaches or stomach upsets can occur. Nevertheless, pregnant and breastfeeding women and people with diabetes or epilepsy should take care. Supplementation for these groups of people should be clarified with their doctor beforehand.

During high levels of physical training, glutamine levels decrease by almost 50 %. If glutamine levels are too low, the organs draw L-glutamine from the skeletal muscles. This can then favour muscle breakdown.

We therefore recommend taking 5 g powder (1 scoop) Glutamine 2 times a day. Favourable times are before and after sport. In the case of intensive training, 2 scoops can also be taken before and after training. Before exercise, the supply of energy is guaranteed and protects the body from the breakdown of endogenous substances. After exercise, glutamine promotes regeneration.  

Summary

Supplementation with L-glutamine thus leads to a reduced muscle breakdown and to an improvement in protein metabolism. For athletes, it promotes regeneration and ensures more energy and strength during training.

Glutamine is not only beneficial for athletes, however, but people with illnesses or an increased susceptibility to infection also benefit from glutamine supplementation. Supplementing with L-glutamine is also beneficial after surgery.

Nutri-Plus L-Glutamine Ultrapure

Our Nutri-Plus L-Glutamine consists of over 99.9% pure, fermented and fine  L-Glutamine powder. It therefore has a significantly higher bioavailability than normal, conventional L-glutamine.

Our product is developed in Germany under the strictest quality standards by our nutritionists. It is 100% vegan and therefore free from lactose, cholesterol or other animal ingredients.

L-Glutamine is suitable for every sports enthusiast.

Sources:

• Lacey, J. M., Wilmore, D. W. Is glutamine a conditionally essential amine acid? Nutritional review. 1990; 48:297-309.

• Greenwell, Ivy. Glutamine: the essential "non-essential" amino acid. LE Magazine. 1999.

• Antonio, J., Street, C. Glutamine: a potentially useful supplement for athletes. Canadian journal of applied physiology. 1999; 24(1): 1-14.

• Newsholme, E. A. Biochemical mechanisms to explain immuno-suppression in well-trained and over trained athletes. International journal of sports medicine. 1994; 15: 142-147.

• Hack, V., Weiss, C., Friedmann, B., Suttner, S., Schoykowski, M., Erge, N., Benner, A., Barlsch, P., Droge, W. Decreased plasma glutamine level and CD4+ T-cell number in response to 8 weeks of anaerobic training. American journal of physiology. 1997; 272: 788-795.

• Garcia, A., Zarazaga, A, et al. Clinical evidence for enteral nutritional support with glutamine: a systemic review. Nutrition. 2003; 19: 805-811.

• Den Hond, E., Hiele, M., Peeters, M., et al. Effect of long-term oral glutamine supplementation on small intestinal permeability in patients with Crohn's disease. JPEN journal of parenteral nutrition. 1999; 23: 7-11.