It doesn’t matter if you’re a competitive athlete, a fitness enthusiast, or simply a weekend warrior; nutrition is of the utmost importance for anyone looking to achieve optimum health. Consuming a healthy diet rich in essential vitamins and minerals is crucial to performing and feeling your best.
That being said, the average American diet today is lacking quite a bit in the nutrition department, which is why many people turn to supplementation. And one supplement that’s been getting a lot of hype these days is none other than glutamine. Chances are you’ve probably heard a thing or two about the powerful amino acid (the most abundant amino acid in your blood and body fluids).
First used in powder form by bodybuilders looking to preserve muscle tissue, glutamine is extremely versatile and can provide incredible health benefits for everyone —not just fitness fanatics. From stimulating protein synthesis to building muscle mass and decreasing muscle soreness, there's a lot glutamine can do.
Interested in learning more? BioHealth has your back. Read on as we explore the exciting world of glutamine and uncover its top five benefits.
Glutamine 101: Everything You Need To Know
First things first. What exactly is glutamine? There are two forms of glutamine, including L-glutamine and D-glutamine. Their only difference is their molecular structure.
Simply put, glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the human body, making up around 50 to 60 percent of the skeletal muscle amino acid pool.
It works to support many vital functions, including:
- Fueling cells that protect our intestines
- Providing support to detoxify the liver of foreign substances
- Making proteins for muscle tissue
- Normalizing growth hormone
- Supporting immune system cells
Your body naturally makes this nutrient, but we also consume it in foods like dairy products, chicken, peanuts, beans, cabbage, beets, and spinach. Having a glutamine deficiency is pretty rare and not necessarily caused by inadequate intake but by a genetic disorder.
However, there are times when the glutamine needs of your body are much greater than its ability to produce it. Not to mention recent research suggests that supplementing with the powerful amino acid may offer a long list of benefits. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why so many people are turning to glutamine supplements like our unflavored Glutamine Powder!
Masterfully crafted with clean ingredients that are backed by science without the icky artificial fillers or nasty aftertaste, our Glutamine is also GMO-free, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly — what’s not to love?
What Are The Benefits of Glutamine?
So, what are the benefits of glutamine, you ask? Here are 5 of them:
Benefit #1: Improves Digestive and Gastrointestinal Health
Specifically, L-glutamine benefits your overall health by supporting gut function and digestive processes. It can be especially beneficial if you happen to have a digestive health condition.
Glutamine directly influences intracellular signaling pathways that regulate cell cycle regulation and regeneration. This means that the essential amino acid can help the cells in your gut regenerate quicker, ultimately helping to seal any perforations to restore the gut lining into a healthy and happy state.
By protecting and helping to heal your delicate gut lining, glutamine helps to reduce inflammation in the body while keeping your intestines in tip-top shape and reducing your chance of painful ulcers.
Whatsmore, glutamine also offers aid in mucus protection in your gut, leading to healthier bowel movements and better intestinal health.
Benefit #2: Supports Recovery and Immune Health
Because amino acids are the building blocks of muscles, glutamine is an extremely popular supplement among athletes looking to hasten recovery. Plus, research shows that glutamine may also support endurance during aerobic exercise.
That being said, strenuous exercise can quickly wear down a healthy immune system. In fact, just one hour of hitting it hard at the gym can cause a 30 to 40 percent reduction in glutamine levels in your body. And a decrease in glutamine availability ultimately reduces your body’s ability to fight off infection.
Thankfully, glutamine supplements — like our unflavored fermented glutamine powder — have been proven time and again to regulate the body’s defenses against icky pathogens and other harmful viruses to help you feel your best — even after a challenging workout!
Benefit #3: Promotes Brain Health
Did you know that certain parts of your noggin tend to shrink over time as you age? Yep, it’s true — your blood flow to the brain can also decrease, discomfort can increase, and the all-important communication barriers between your neurons can break down. This is why many older individuals struggle to learn new things or have trouble multitasking.
Glutamine is a precursor to glutamate — a key neurotransmitter present in 80 percent of the brain’s cells. It’s a critical regulator of learning and memory processes and is greatly involved in healthy mood management.
A healthy lifestyle and adequate glutamine intake can do wonders to provide your brain the support it needs to combat brain atrophy and maintain optimum health.
Benefit #4: Combats Sugar Cravings
A less commonly known benefit to supplementing the powerful amino acid is its ability to help your body’s cravings for the sweet stuff! Glutamine assists in regulating your body’s metabolism so that you’re less likely to indulge by suppressing insulin levels and stabilizing blood glucose — which is the main catalyst for hunger cues and fat cell storage. When your glucose levels are regulated, your body is less likely to store excess calories as fat and more likely to use them as energy.
Benefit #5: Protects Against Stress
Last but certainly not least, supplementing with glutamine can protect against stress.
While a little stress from time to time is perfectly normal, chronic stress can have negative ramifications on your overall well-being, affecting both your mental and physical health. In addition, chronic stress can have long-lasting effects. Common symptoms of stress include:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Digestive issues
- Restlessness
- Social withdrawal
Whatsmore, chronic stress can reduce how responsive your immune system is to infections — which is exactly why those who are constantly stressed seem to get sick more often than those with low-stress levels. However, glutamine can help!
Glutamine is used by your brain, in part, to create and balance the neurotransmitter GABA. GABA is known to have incredible stress-reducing benefits, which is why it’s affected by many prescription medications that produce these anxiolytic effects.
Increasing glutamine levels may also help reduce some of the uncomfortable symptoms of stress-related IBS. This benefit is due to the body releasing the hormone cortisol when it’s stressed, which can lower the levels of glutamine stored in the muscle tissue.
By bringing balance back to your body with a good-quality glutamine supplement, you can protect yourself against stress. When it comes to dosage, it depends on the individual. Doses can vary based on the severity of the issue you're dealing with.
A Final Word
And there you have it — the top five benefits of taking glutamine! Thankfully, there are rarely any side effects reported from using a supplement such as L-glutamine powder.
While there are many glutamine supplements on the market, the truth is that they are all not created equal. When searching for supplementation, be sure to purchase from an honest and reputable company — like BioHealth.
An innovative supplement brand focused on high-performance products that aren’t only effective but taste great, we’ve created a new standard for clean, nutritious products with a focus on innovation. And as the original pioneers of the Grass Fed/Pasture-Fed movement, we take pride in not only creating some of the cleanest products on the market but also having some of the most advanced flavors in the industry.
Here at BioHealth, we combine premium quality ingredients with high-performance formulas that we deliver straight to the marketplace. You’ll never find any junk, questionable ingredients, or icky fillers in our supplements. With us, your choice is simple, your nutrition is second-to-none, and your body is better than it was yesterday!
Don’t settle for anything less than the best of the best — check BioHealth out today and experience the cleanest products on earth tomorrow.
Sources:
Roles of glutamine in neurotransmission
Glutamine as an Anti-Fatigue Amino Acid in Sports Nutrition
Glutamine supplements show promise in treating stomach ulcers
L-glutamine for IBS: Benefits, side effects, and research
Glutamine: Metabolism and Immune Function, Supplementation and Clinical Translation