Does L-Glutamine work?

[Androgenic]

Nice.

I like how you associated my Layne comment with a.... "steady stream of hate."

No, I didn't I mentioned it. Mostly because he's not a God. Actually, he's a friend. He's just a guy and I have very high self-esteem with my accomplishments and I am my own person. I respect Layne, mostly as a friend. He's a really good guy. Ironically, the last time we attended that meeting in Vegas we all thought (Dana, Layne and I) that Jordan (the unlikely toad) is much more of a "hero" or "inspiration" than any of us for accomplishements in the field of science, sport, or supplementation. He doesn't have a choice with his condition, but he does choose to make the most of it.

The steady strea of hate was not you specifically its a collective bout of negativity, attacking me for taking time to explore something. Instead I get..."glutamine's crap...I do this...I tried that...its crap." Great. That was informative. Especially with no specifics of type, timing, dose, training parameters, body type, other supplements, nutrition, rest, hydration, etc. It doesn't help to advance the conversation AT ALL. I have ZERO vested interest in any of this. Lets work from that perspective. Clearly, this supplement is not a clear winner...hence it being worth the discussion of why. Why it MAY have not worked. I never have written off HMB, Phosphatidyl Serine, ribose, etc. either...I think many of those have good science and the dose, timing, other supplements with it, and the quality may play a role in it. Also, giving it enough time. Creatine wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is if it didn't bloat you up in a few uses. Look at beta-alanine...more strength from it than that, just as cheap and yet...no instant visual effects. This is why people use glycerol, creatine, arginine, and stims...pump, bloat, and shakes...great. I am interested in more than that. I never intended to single you out. It just gets tiresome reading some of these posts.

[NO HYPE]

No, I didn't I mentioned it. Mostly because he's not a God. Actually, he's a friend. He's just a guy and I have very high self-esteem with my accomplishments and I am my own person. I respect Layne, mostly as a friend. He's a really good guy. Ironically, the last time we attended that meeting in Vegas we all thought (Dana, Layne and I) that Jordan (the unlikely toad) is much more of a "hero" or "inspiration" than any of us for accomplishements in the field of science, sport, or supplementation. He doesn't have a choice with his condition, but he does choose to make the most of it.

The steady strea of hate was not you specifically its a collective bout of negativity, attacking me for taking time to explore something. Instead I get..."glutamine's crap...I do this...I tried that...its crap." Great. That was informative. Especially with no specifics of type, timing, dose, training parameters, body type, other supplements, nutrition, rest, hydration, etc. It doesn't help to advance the conversation AT ALL. I have ZERO vested interest in any of this. Lets work from that perspective. Clearly, this supplement is not a clear winner...hence it being worth the discussion of why. Why it MAY have not worked. I never have written off HMB, Phosphatidyl Serine, ribose, etc. either...I think many of those have good science and the dose, timing, other supplements with it, and the quality may play a role in it. Also, giving it enough time. Creatine wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is if it didn't bloat you up in a few uses. Look at beta-alanine...more strength from it than that, just as cheap and yet...no instant visual effects. This is why people use glycerol, creatine, arginine, and stims...pump, bloat, and shakes...great. I am interested in more than that. I never intended to single you out. It just gets tiresome reading some of these posts.

Please take note:

I AM A SH!T STIRRER


With that aside.... I completely understand your frustrations, and appreciate your comments (hence the rep I left you prior to my last smart-ass remark).

[polinutrigirl]

Is it better to take a BCAA supplement, instead of glutamine alone?

[NO HYPE]

Is it better to take a BCAA supplement, instead of glutamine alone?

Most definitely.

[FlyingV]

Is it better to take a BCAA supplement, instead of glutamine alone?

Depends upon what purposes you have in mind IMO.

[NaturalMsO]

Hi everyone,
My First post here. I am 29 been lifting weights since 18 on and off. I am 172lbs, have been up to 195lbs and getting back into it as I was more into fitness these last few years. So I do know how to train.

I take protein, on and off creatine and have always tried to use about 10g of glutamine a day, it's really cheap nowadays.

Reading a lot of threads on all types of products and I have heaps of questions. So here is the first....

Some people have said L-Glutamine is a scam.. why is that? Like many supps, it is difficult to say what's worked in a stack especially if you are taking like 3 or 4 different things at the same time.

For me I have felt that it has worked with high protein and some creatine. So can anyone tell me what the "real" deal is here?

Cheers

I apologize if this has already been stated (I didn't read all 60-something posts), but I just wanted to toss in my two cents...

Sure, L-glutamine works. It's the most abundant free-form amino acid in the muscle and plays a role in promoting protein synthesis and prevents muscle tissue breakdown (anti-catabolic effect). However, I don't see it as necessary to supplement with pure L-glutamine because if you're already supplementing with protein powder (and I'm assuming you are), it already has the entire amino acid profile in it (assuming, again, that's it a good quality protein powder).

Sure, you can add additional L-glutamine with pills, powder, etc., but again, I just don't think it's necessary if your diet and supplement regimen is in check.

Just my two cents.

[NO HYPE]

Is it better to take a BCAA supplement, instead of glutamine alone?

Most definitely.

Depends upon what purposes you have in mind IMO.

In terms of my comment (and skeletal muscle).... intracellular glutamine must first be in a depleted state before any supplemental glutamine is utilized for this purpose.

FlyingV has a good point though, since supplemental glutamine can sometimes be useful for various situations.

[polinutrigirl]

What if your goal is building muscle mass (in regards to BCAA)?

[NaturalMsO]

What if your goal is building muscle mass (in regards to BCAA)?

Again, you can supplement with extra BCAAs, but a good-quality protein powder (and proper diet) will already have a complete profile of BCAAs in it. So, as long as you're getting enough protein from the right sources, I see no reason to supplement with BCAA pills.

[AJM1613]

That seems about right. Customizer told me about this a while back coming from Poliquin and had thought originally this might be good for TKD/CKD. I never ended up trying it as it forces glucogenesis but I know Poliquin suggests this PWO for those over a certain % bodyfat.

Isn't the reason for low carbohydrate dieting to force gluconeogensis (glucogenesis??)?

So this is conjecture?

[GBLynden]

Hi everyone,
My First post here. I am 29 been lifting weights since 18 on and off. I am 172lbs, have been up to 195lbs and getting back into it as I was more into fitness these last few years. So I do know how to train.

I take protein, on and off creatine and have always tried to use about 10g of glutamine a day, it's really cheap nowadays.

Reading a lot of threads on all types of products and I have heaps of questions. So here is the first....

Some people have said L-Glutamine is a scam.. why is that? Like many supps, it is difficult to say what's worked in a stack especially if you are taking like 3 or 4 different things at the same time.

For me I have felt that it has worked with high protein and some creatine. So can anyone tell me what the "real" deal is here?

Cheers

I strongly disagree with those that say L-Glutamine is useless. It very important across the board. Is it going to make you gain pounds of muscle in a couple of weeks? No! Will it help you over the course of a few months and years. Yes! When I gained 15 pounds of muscle during my last quarter of college, I simply added Glutamine to my diet and I firmly believe it played a huge role in that weight gain. I have always been a hard gainer, so my recommendation is, if you are a hard gainer, then by all means give it a try. It's cheap and easy to use. It also helps my your creatine stack that much stronger. However, if you are fat, I don't think you will find as useful as a lean person will.

[TheUnlikelyToad]

Isn't the reason for low carbohydrate dieting to force gluconeogensis (glucogenesis??)?

So this is conjecture?

No, that's generally a bad thing unless you eating enough extra protein to offset muscle breakdown. You want to burn fat for fuel, not aminos.

[Anssi Manninen]

Sure, L-glutamine works. It's the most abundant free-form amino acid in the muscle and plays a role in promoting protein synthesis and prevents muscle tissue breakdown (anti-catabolic effect).

Glutamine is not anabolic.

[Androgenic]

Glutamine is not anabolic.

Not sure where she said it was directly anabolic. I am looking at the statement she made and I am wondering how its wrong or could be misconstrued.

[Cable Curling CincoUno]

I really enjoyed the first two pages of this thread. very informative! thanks to all that contributed

[labradarep]

You are correct. I forgot to included muscles into my statement, that's what I intended.

Yeah, some Rolaids or Tums can do tha trick too if you are so inclined. I just prefer to add to shakes and/or BCAA solutions thoughout my day.

Here is a qoute from Advanced Nutrition & Human Metabolism:
"Glutamine is used extensively by intestinal cells as a primary source of energy." (p. 176)

" In addition to dietary Glutamine, skeletal muscles produce much of the body's Glutamine." (p. 176) .....

"Glutamine is only partially catabolized within the intestinal cells and generates both ammonia & glutamate. Ammonia enters the portal blood for uptake by the liver. Glutamate may be used for glutathione production,...alinine synthesis,... or Proline synthesis. ." (p. 176)

I think too many people are overlooking the importance of Glutamine in keeping our immune system healthy!

Just a thought?

[NaturalMsO]

Glutamine is not anabolic.

Yeah? So?

[NaturalMsO]

Not sure where she said it was directly anabolic. I am looking at the statement she made and I am wondering how its wrong or could be misconstrued.

Glad someone is paying attention.

[ElHombre]

Chemically, levorotary-glutamine is a levorotary-glutamic acid with its hydroxyl group replaced by an amine group, thereby the -amine suffix.

It is a naturally produced molecule in the beta globin chain of the hemoglobin.

So, chemically speaking, it is essential for proper hemoglobin function. A healthy hemoglobin carries 4 oxygen to and from vital organs. Therefore, unless you have anemia, glutamine supplement is unecessary.

reps on recharge from a fellow chemist.

[NaturalMsO]

:

Chemically, levorotary-glutamine is a levorotary-glutamic acid with its hydroxyl group replaced by an amine group, thereby the -amine suffix.

It is a naturally produced molecule in the beta globin chain of the hemoglobin.

So, chemically speaking, it is essential for proper hemoglobin function. A healthy hemoglobin carries 4 oxygen to and from vital organs. Therefore, unless you have anemia, glutamine supplement is unecessary.

reps on recharge from a fellow chemist.

Ha! I'm lovin' it!

[Fitnesskid44]

yeah I bought pure L Glutamine powder, had to take with spoon and water it was gross, and I felt no recovry out of it, it was 5 grams per serving, I think its more mental.

[johnny1979]

how did you use your glutamine? If you take glutamine then a few minutes later you eat your lunch, then like 2 hours later, does it give you diarrhea?
it happens to me, i heard you have to take your glutamine at least 1 hours before eating food? is that for real?

I strongly disagree with those that say L-Glutamine is useless. It very important across the board. Is it going to make you gain pounds of muscle in a couple of weeks? No! Will it help you over the course of a few months and years. Yes! When I gained 15 pounds of muscle during my last quarter of college, I simply added Glutamine to my diet and I firmly believe it played a huge role in that weight gain. I have always been a hard gainer, so my recommendation is, if you are a hard gainer, then by all means give it a try. It's cheap and easy to use. It also helps my your creatine stack that much stronger. However, if you are fat, I don't think you will find as useful as a lean person will.

[MetZleRmaN]

If L-Glutamine does nothing why do so many pro bodybuilders take it? I've seen some of their nutrition articles, and almost always, they have L-Glutamine in their stack.

[ncummings86]

Ok, thanks guys.

I did use the search function, and found 15 pages of threads talking about glutamine.

The consense appears to be that it does not promote hypertrophy in regards to bodybuilding, but it must add to protein count so I don't think this is an entirely sound argument.

Although this may indeed be the case, it certainly does not appear to be harmful in my current dosage, so that's a good thing.
I buy the stuff cheaply anyway, it costs me less than the majority of commercial range of protein powders. I figure it just adds to the protein count for the day.

For me personally I think it does work, although relatively speaking my strength and size are not as closely correlated as most people. I get very strong and can sustain it without putting on tons of LBM even when I was at my heaviest. Glutamine with protein and creatine have done the most for me, even if the glutamine was useless.

I think I'll finish this kg and move on. I don't think that it will stop "DOMS/PEMS" soreness from workouts. You are creating cumulative microtrauma, so you will have a minor inflammatory cycle I assume, rest blood to the area ie stretching/massage/light swimming and proper nutrition is the way to go.

As far the studies go, they are isolationist, the people probably had a protein deficiency and that's why they only responded to large doses that are comparable to what we are doing with Whey. And these things take time too with specific people and variables, not of which I am truly satisfied with.

But I am satisfied that it appears not to work for the vast majority of people and money is best spent elsewhere.

Hey I started using l glutamine about mid way through my deployment in iraq we moved to a very isolated location and could no longer work out... specific diets werent possible, and the gym didnt exist. l glutamine keeps things like stress from wasting. My muscles stayed hard, and experienced very little muscle loss, even with a very bad diet. It is not supposed to increase mass, it is for recovery and maintaining the muscle you have built. NOTHING short of steroids is going to give you any kind of incredible muscle gains in a short amount of time. Only working hard and eating right will work, YOU WONT GET ANY KIND OF IMMIDIATE RESULTS FROM ANY NATURAL PRODUCTS! People should stop looking for a quick fix, because there arent any that dont cause MANY other problems.

[RoadToSexy]

Well you guys seem to generally not approve of L glutamine. But I have heard that working out depletes your amino acids levels as they aid in the muscle recovery process. This leaves your immune system temporarily weaker, so supplementing L glutamine which is the bodies most abundant amino acid can help you from getting sick. Saw that somewhere on the E net. You cant work out when your sick!

[Steve3735]

L-glutamine - track.moreniche.com/hit.php?w=168081&s=219
the order arrived last week no problems, the effect well

[Seemedsafe]

Geez man what are you a chemist or something.

High school biology yo

[muscleshakes]

Glutimine is very important I don't care what people say in here. I can tell a big difference in recovery when I take it. It is also great for the digestive sys and helps with heartburn etc. helps keep the body nitro balance. It's a staple supp for me

[muscleshakes]

Again, you can supplement with extra BCAAs, but a good-quality protein powder (and proper diet) will already have a complete profile of BCAAs in it. So, as long as you're getting enough protein from the right sources, I see no reason to supplement with BCAA pills.

That's good marketing ...

[ZBody]

it only works if you wan it to work

sr

NO.