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Ivan's Newsletter
October 06, 2008 -- Issue 044
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In this issue...
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** Glutamine - one of the most frequently taken supps... And it doesn't work?
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Do you take Glutamine as a part of a basic supplement plan?

If you do, I have to share with you what I found...

Why do we - athletes - take supplemental Glutamine?

* To increase athletic performance

* To restore glycogen after a strenuous workout

* To increase muscle performance in general

* To decrease muscle catabolism (breakdown)

* To enhance the immune system

* To counteract ammonia buildup

I personally have been taking L-glutamine and Acetyl L-Glutamine (tastes horrible :( ) mainly pre- and post-workout with no noticeable results in terms of faster recovery and increased muscle anabolism.

Well, I found a place on the net where the guys have been talking about this and have been posting their findings:

The highlights:

Study 1: "Addition of glutamine to essential amino acids and carbohydrate does not enhance anabolism in young human males following exercise." - Wilkinson SB, Kim PL, Armstrong D, Phillips SM. Exercise Metabolism Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.

Conclusion: "...The addition of glutamine to a CHO + EAA beverage had no effect on post-exercise muscle glycogen resynthesis or muscle protein synthesis, but may suppress a rise in whole-body proteolysis during the later stages of recovery..."

The entire text here

Study 2: "Effect of glutamine supplementation combined with resistance training in young adults." - Candow DG, Chilibeck PD, Burke DG, Davison KS, Smith-Palmer T. College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Conclusion: "We conclude that glutamine supplementation during resistance training has no significant effect on muscle performance, body composition or muscle protein degradation in young healthy adults."

The entire text here

Study 3: "Facts and fallacies of purported ergogenic amino acid supplements." - Williams MH.Department of Exercise Science, Physical Education, and Recreation, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

Conclusion: "Although glutamine supplementation may increase plasma glutamine levels, its effect on enhancement of the immune system and prevention of adverse effects of the overtraining syndrome are equivocal."

The entire text here

Study 4: "Amino acids and endurance exercise." - Hargreaves MH, Snow R. School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, 3125, Australia.

Conclusion: "...although glutamine stimulates muscle glycogen synthesis, its addition to carbohydrate supplements provides no additional benefit over ingestion of carbohydrate alone."

The entire text here

Study 5: "The Effects of High-Dose Glutamine Ingestion on Weightlifting Performance" - Antonio J, Sanders MS, Kalman D, Woodgate D, Street C. Sports Science Laboratory, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.

Conclusion: "There were no differences in the average number of maximal repetitions performed in the leg press or bench press exercises among the 3 groups. These data indicate that the short-term ingestion of glutamine does not enhance weightlifting performance in resistance-trained men."

The entire text here

Enough about the overall athletic performance enhancing properties of glutamine...

How about the ammonia buffering abilities of this non-essential amino acid? Read on...

Study 6: "Hyperammonaemia does not impair brain function in the absence of net glutamine synthesis." - R A Hawkins and J Jessy, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, IL 60064.

Conclusion: "...The present experiments address the question whether ammonia, in the absence of net glutamine synthesis, induces any of the metabolic symptoms of cerebral dysfunction associated with hyperammonaemia...", and "The data suggest that ammonia is without effect at concentrations less than 1 mumol/ml if it is not converted into glutamine. The deleterious effect of chronic hyperammonaemia seems to begin with the synthesis of glutamine."

The entire text here.

Honestly, I really suggest that you head over to where all the postings and research on glutamine are - it's a huge thread with very informative posts.

True, you may need a few hours to go through all of them, but at the end you may even gain a better prospective as to whether glutamine should belong to your supplements arsenal or you could spare the m0ney.

The thread is here.

Me personally... I will continue taking glutamine for general intestinal and overall immune support only when I need it for that reason, and also for when I get ready for a contest and I'm dieting down.

I still think that glutamine is a great source of easily utilized energy, and it may also act to decrease insulin sensitivity of fat cells and increase the insulin sensitivity of muscle cells.

This simply means in the presence of insulin - like right after a workout when you take your carb/protein shake - your fat cells don't respond well to the insulin in your blood and don't deposit the sugars as fat, while the muscle cells do, and may deposit the sugars as glycogen.

This makes glutamine a good candidate for your fat loss season, but only if the study is later backed up by more similar studies, proving its validity.

Until then I consider glutamine to be too expensive for every day use. Like I said, it will still keep its place among my supplements when I diet down or when I need a boos in my intestinal and overall immune health.

You decide for yourself... You've got the literature and the science to do so..

 

 

DISCLAIMER The techniques, ideas, and suggestions in
this document are not intended as a substitute for proper
medical advice. Always consult your physician or health
care professional before performing any new exercise,
exercise technique or beginning any new diet. Any use of
the techniques, ideas, and suggestions in this document
is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.