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What is Glutamine and How Does it Work?

There has been a lot of publicity, over the years, about the use of the amino acid known as glutamine as an effective aid to muscle gain and endurance training. The numbers are pretty evenly divided between those who use glutamine regularly and believe it to be an effective part of their training regime and those who consider its benefits to be non-existent, limited or, at best, unproven. If you are one of those who have not yet tried glutamine supplements, L-glutamine can be bought online from Nature’s Best.

Before describing what many fans of glutamine supplements consider to be their main benefits, we should give a brief summary of what glutamine actually is, the natural foods that it is contained in and how the human body deals with it.

What is Glutamine?

Glutamine is one of the twenty different amino acids in the human body. Unlike the three branch chained amino acids, leucine, isoleucine and valine, glutamine is considered to be non-essential. However, at certain times, it may become conditionally essential. This can be when you are unwell or recovering from an operation or an injury or, according to its many users, when you are undergoing a strenuous training programme.  It is the most abundantly found amino acid in the human body, circulating in the blood and being stored principally in muscle mass.

What Foods Contain Glutamine?

Glutamine is found naturally in red meat, chicken, milk, eggs, cheese, whey, spinach and beans. These foods often form part of the high protein diet of an athlete, sportsman, weight lifter or body builder during an intensive training programme.

How Does the Body Deal With Glutamine?

Without glutamine, the body will not survive, as it is required for the body to manufacture new cells. Glutamine is also believed to boost the immune system, assist in the process of recovery from illness and injury (particularly burns) and is an alternative source of brain fuel. In the context of assisting in a training programme, glutamine can help with the recovery of the muscle tissue cells that have been broken down, resulting in stronger and larger muscles.

The Main Benefits of Glutamine

As we have already mentioned, glutamine is believed to assist in the process of muscle tissue recovery following an intensive workout. Obviously, the quicker and more efficiently muscle tissue repairs, the sooner you can return to the training programme. Glutamine is thought also to have an anabolic role, allowing the body to burn fat rather than muscle during a workout. Its effectiveness in promoting a general state of well-being, by enhancing the immune system, is essential to your overall health. It is also thought to have certain anti-inflammatory properties.

Summary

Glutamine is an important amino acid. If you are a healthy adult, enough glutamine is contained in the food that you eat meet your body’s needs. However, if you are unwell, recovering from sickness or injury or involved in a strenuous fitness or training programme, you may need to take in additional glutamine in protein form to give your body that little bit of extra help.

 

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