Diet

Glutamine

definition

Glutamine or glutamic acid (Glutamine peptide) is a non-essential amino acid, i.e. it can be produced by the body itself. The synthesis takes place mainly in the liver, kidneys, brain and lungs. Other amino acids are required for the formation of glutamine, especially the two essential amino acids valine and isoleucine. Glutamine is used by the human body to build proteins, so the amino acid is proteinogenic.

Assessment by dr.gumpert.de, whether the intake of glutamine makes sense

In principle, nothing speaks against taking glutamine. While the recommended intake is 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, no side effects have been observed even with ingestion of up to five times the amount over two weeks. Corresponding long-term studies on the long-term use of glutamine are not yet available. From a medical point of view, there seem to be no arguments against glutamine supplementation so far.
Normally, the daily glutamine requirement is covered by a balanced diet. However, if you are on a vegetarian or vegan diet, it may be advisable to take additional glutamine, as it is particularly found in meat and dairy products.
The effect of glutamine cannot be dismissed out of hand. Compared to taking protein shakes alone, a combination of protein shakes and glutamine achieved a relative muscle gain of around 10% more. However, it is important to question these results critically, as the group of test persons in this study was quite small.
In our opinion, the use of additional glutamine for amateur athletes is not worthwhile, but rather belongs in competitive or professional sports due to its cost-benefit ratio. Ultimately, however, every athlete has to decide for himself whether the costs of glutamine supplementation are fair to the benefits he can get from it.

Effects of Glutamine

Glutamine is mainly found in the muscle cells of the human body and controls the water retention in the cells.
Glutamine has the highest proportion of amino acids in the blood plasma with around 20 percent. In general, one can say about glutamine that it keeps the metabolic processes in the human body in balance.
In relation to sport, glutamine causes an increase in cell volume during a training session, which has a positive effect on fat burning and muscle building.
By increasing the cell volume, the body receives the signal to produce proteins and glycogen in order to stimulate anabolism (muscle building).
This protein-building effect also protects the body from unwanted muscle breakdown and the accumulation of glycogen also has a positive effect, because the increase in cell volume also increases the energy reserves.
If you do a lot of sport and want to maintain the load for a longer period of time, you can consider taking glutamine as a dietary supplement. In this way, fat burning can be optimized, muscle building can be boosted and the subsequent regeneration improved.
Other positive effects of glutamine are, in addition to muscle building, increased fat burning and optimized regeneration, a stabilization of the immune system, the breakdown of ammonia, which protects the liver and a well-functioning gastrointestinal mucosa.

Function of glutamine

Glutamine has the highest concentration of all amino acids in the blood because it is used as a nitrogen transporter in our body. When amino acids are broken down, ammonia is toxic to our body. However, this can be transferred to a so-called alpha-keto acid, so that glutamine is produced. This is able to transport the ammonia bound in this way in the blood to the kidneys, where it can be excreted. It is used to compensate for fluctuations in the acid-base balance of the body and prevents ammonia poisoning of the human body.
In addition, glutamine is the amino acid that makes up the bulk of human muscle protein. So it also serves to build muscle.
Glutamine also serves as a nitrogen donor in a number of the body's metabolic pathways. In addition, glutamine can be used to generate energy, but the body no longer has carbohydrates for metabolism.

Read more on this topic at: Function of glutamine

Glutamine side effects

Glutamine has hardly any side effects when taken normally and is therefore also used in medicine to strengthen the immune system in patients.
In most cases, side effects occur when an overdose has occurred. Usually, the body reacts to an overdose and tries to excrete the excess amount of glutamine directly.
If this does not succeed, side effects such as diarrhea or a slight tingling sensation on the skin can occur. People with epilepsy may get worse from taking glutamine. Therefore, one should always consult a doctor before taking supplements such as glutamine.
The so-called China Restaurant Syndrome (Chinese restaurant syndrome) is a known side effect of glutamate (glutamic acid). This syndrome can occur after consuming foods containing L-monosodium glutamate. It is a flavor enhancer that is particularly used in Chinese cuisine.
People react with a feeling of heat and / or tightness, combined with a tingling sensation in the neck area. Headache and stomach pain combined with nausea are also side effects of glutamine supplementation.
Intense training situations promote muscle building, the so-called anabolic process. At the same time, intense training also stimulates a catabolic process (see glutamine function). An increase in muscle mass can consequently only occur if protein synthesis as an anabolic process exceeds muscle breakdown (= catabolic process).
Since scientific studies show that glutamine increases protein synthesis and - as already described - can counteract catabolic processes, glutamine plays a particularly important role in muscle building. Glutamine promotes muscle building by retaining water in the muscle cells. The increase in cell volume produces an anabolic effect.
The facts described allow the conclusion that, in the context of intensive training, supplementation with glutamate would definitely make sense. However, it appears problematic that different studies that have been carried out in this regard sometimes showed different results. Although the effects of glutamine on anabolism are considered certain, it is questionable whether supplementation for muscle building can achieve the same effectiveness that the body's own glutamine triggers.

Dosage instructions

To avoid overdosing, you should always follow the dosage instructions of the manufacturer or your doctor.
When supplementing with glutamine, it is important that you distribute the income evenly over the day.
In general, the dosage should always be based on the physical activity and, above all, the duration of this activity.
General recommendations for intake are between 10 and 20 grams per day.
Good times to take it are after the training session and before going to bed: after training, taking it prevents muscle mass loss and before going to sleep, supplementation ensures that muscle growth is boosted overnight.
Other recommendations are for up to 30 grams of glutamine on training days, divided into three intake times of 10 grams each, and on non-training days only 10 grams of glutamine are taken in the morning and evening.
But before you reach for higher doses, you should approach slowly and take low doses first to avoid direct side effects. After a little practice and an adjustment effect of the body, the dose can be increased slightly.
If you start taking glutamine as a beginner, you should definitely seek medical advice beforehand and, above all, adhere to the manufacturer's dosage recommendations.

Taking glutamine

Glutamine can be taken, for example, when memory is declining. Tablets or dragees are common forms of administration. These are popular because of the ease with which they can be taken. A tablet is usually swallowed with a glass of water during meals. In the fitness sector, glutamine is popular as a muscle building preparation. Again, it is taken as a tablet. However, it is also available as a powder, as capsules and as a fitness drink.
The effectiveness of the different dosage forms is similar in the sporting area for the different preparations depending on the dosage. It is recommended to take the product, regardless of whether you prefer tablets or another form, with meals or shortly after training. In addition to the area of dietary supplements, glutamine is also used in medicine. One study showed that cancer patients who received glutamine had fewer infections and spent less time in hospital. This is attributed to the many effects glutamine has on the immune system.
In the medical field, glutamine can also be given by infusion in addition to the oral dosage form. This reduces the rate of loss, since after taking tablets or drinks a certain proportion of the glutamine is always not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and is therefore excreted again without any effect. If you want to increase your glutamine intake, but refrain from taking supplements, you can do this through targeted nutrition. Glutamine is particularly found in wheat protein and casein, but corn, lentils and soy also contain glutamine. When taking glutamine in the form of supplements, it should always be noted that hypersensitivity or allergies can be triggered by a substance contained in the preparation, in this case a doctor should be consulted, who will advise you whether you should continue to take the respective agent or whether it should be discontinued.

Use to build muscle

Glutamine supplementation is most likely to be found in sports these days. It is very popular with both strength and endurance athletes. Since more than half of the body's own muscles and muscle proteins consist of glutamine, the importance of this amino acid in muscle building should be conclusive for everyone. Studies have shown that hard strength training can lower blood plasma levels of glutamine by up to 20%.
A sufficient glutamine level is important to enable the body to regenerate more quickly. In this way, the glutamine used up by the training can be replaced again without having to break down muscles. In addition, glutamine is said to prevent the branched-chain amino acid leucine from being oxidized by stress and thus losing its effectiveness. Leucine is an important stimulus for muscle building; can only fulfill this function in a non-oxidized state.
Glutamine therefore serves to increase muscle protein, which is ultimately responsible for the enlargement (hypertrophy) of the muscles. In addition, it also causes the passive flow of water and creatine into the muscle cells, which the athlete perceives as a so-called pump, i.e. the swelling of the muscles during training.

Read more on this topic at: Glutamine to build muscle

Glutamine as a powder

Glutamine is used almost exclusively in powder form as a dietary supplement.
You should pay attention to the composition before buying, so that 10 grams of powder contain at least 5 grams of glutamine. The less glutamine there is in a dietary supplement, the cheaper it can be purchased in stores. However, cheap is not always good here.
A glutamine powder pack with 200 grams of glutamine powder can be used as an example. The measuring spoon included in this pack contains 6.5 grams of pure glutamine. Such a variant costs around 20 euros.
The size of the packaging can reach up to 1000 grams and the prices vary depending on the size of the pack between 15 and 35 euros per 200 grams of glutamine powder.
The composition of the powder also plays a role in the price. Depending on which and how many additional nutrients are mixed in, the price can be higher or lower.
Glutamine powder is ideal because you can simply stir it into a protein shake and it can be easily dissolved in water or milk.
Alternatively, there is the possibility to take glutamine in capsule form.

Glutamine Verla

Glutamine Verla® is a drug that can be obtained from pharmacies without a prescription. It belongs to the tonic medicinal product group, i.e. strengthening agents. As the name suggests, Glutamine Verla® contains glutamine as the main ingredient. It is a traditionally used drug, the areas of application result from years of experience. Glutamine is, among other things, an important messenger substance in the brain that the brain cells need to be efficient. A smooth brain metabolism is the prerequisite for a good memory. Certain amounts of glutamine are necessary for this.

Glutamine is also important for the processes of learning and memory to function properly. This is where Glutamine Verla® is used. Glutamine Verla® can be taken if you suffer from poor concentration due to symptoms of mental fatigue or if your general memory performance deteriorates. The brain is optimally supplied with the ingredient glutamine and improvements can occur again. If necessary, Glutamine Verla® can also be taken over a long period of time. One coated tablet of Glutamine Verla® contains 330 milligrams of glutamine. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice from a doctor or pharmacist before taking Glutamine Verla®. Here it should be discussed when and how often you should take Glutamine Verla®. In addition, you should read the package insert carefully before taking Glutamine Verla® and discuss any ambiguities with your doctor.
The drug contains glutamic acid, which is obtained from herbal products. You must not take Glutamine Verla® if you are hypersensitive to an active ingredient contained in the drug or to another component of the preparation. If you belong to a risk group, special care is required when taking medicinal products. Any medication intake should be discussed with the attending physician, especially for children and the elderly. You should also be cautious about pregnant and breastfeeding women. Furthermore, patients with diseases of the heart, circulatory system, kidneys, liver or pancreas (diabetes mellitus) should seek advice from a doctor beforehand.

Compared to BCAA

The abbreviation BCAA stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids. This means branched chain amino acids and describes a mixture of three essential amino acids. The BCAA mixture contains the amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine. These three amino acids perform many different tasks in the human body. Valine is used in protein synthesis to build many different enzymes. Leucine is involved in the synthesis of proteins in the liver. It also plays a role in the body's healing processes.

You can also read our article on the Effect and function of BCAAs!

Leucine is also important for building and maintaining muscles. The third amino acid of the BCAA preparations is isoleucine, this is important for the supply of energy to the muscles, isoleucine is particularly important during long-term exertion. With these efforts and generally in phases of undersupply of the body, for example in periods of starvation, the organism begins to break down the body's own material in order to gain energy. Here isoleucine serves as an energy donor, it is broken down with the muscle mass.
All three of the BCAA amino acids are essential amino acids, which means that they must be obtained with the diet. Leucine, isoleucine and valine are found in all protein-containing foods; they make up about fifty percent of all amino acids in normal food. Some amino acids are only transported to the liver after their absorption in the intestine and metabolized there. The BCAA amino acids have the advantage that, due to their nature, they can be transported directly from the intestine to the muscles and absorbed there. So the BCAA have important functions in building muscle and supplying energy to the muscles. They also have a supportive effect on wound healing and the metabolism, for these reasons the BCAA are taken by athletes as a supplement. The BCAA supplements are expected to accelerate muscle building and reduce muscle loss. Furthermore, it is assumed that the consumption of these essential amino acids suppresses the symptoms of fatigue or only sets in later. According to the current state of studies, it is not clear whether these effects really occur to the extent hoped for, as there are mutually contradicting studies on this topic. It has therefore not been proven that taking BCAA supplements has advantages for competitive and endurance athletes.
In comparison, the study situation for preparations containing the amino acid glutamine looks similar. Glutamine also has some hoped-for effects. Glutamine is not an essential amino acid, but the body needs other essential amino acids to produce glutamine. Free amino acids are present in the blood plasma; glutamine has the largest share in the total number. Glutamine is also the amino acid that is most concentrated in the muscles. This suggests a role in the metabolism of the muscles. In fact, glutamine causes increased water retention in the myocytes (muscle cells). During sport or other muscular activity, an increase in cell volume is achieved through water retention. According to current knowledge, the increase in the volume of the muscle cells is absorbed by the body as an anabolic signal. The protein formation and the build-up of glycogen are then increased. The muscles become more efficient by building up muscle proteins. In addition, through the increased build-up of glycogen, the energy supply to the muscles is more favorable, which also increases performance. These effects of glutamine have been proven in studies. However, the evidence only relates to the body's own protein, which means that it is not certain that the effect also applies to glutamine that was supplied from the outside and that was logically obtained artificially beforehand. In addition, there are no long-term studies on the tolerance of glutamine.

Summary

Ultimately, neither the effects of glutamine preparations nor those of preparations with the BCAA amino acids have really been proven. What is certain is that such preparations cannot in any way replace regular sporting activity for muscle building. It is also evident that taking nutritional supplements never eliminates the need for a healthy diet.
Therefore, if you want to build muscle effectively, you should eat healthy. You should coordinate your nutrition plan with sport, for example you should eat a high protein diet. If you control your diet accordingly, you should see results in muscle building. It also covers both your glutamine and BCAA needs. If you want to take supplements in the form of BCAA preparations or glutamine concentrates, you should consult a sports doctor or other specialist beforehand. They can provide advice and also provide information about which preparation, from an expert's point of view, makes the most sense for the respective training situation.
Read more on this topic at: BCAA amino acids