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L-glutamine acts as a major metabolic fuel for the small intestine.
If the intestine loses its integrity (that is, its ability
to absorb nutrients selectively) the bacteria present there
may translocate. That means bacteria that normally provide
a beneficial function when they reside in the intestine suddenly
travel through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream and
throughout the body, causing serious infection. L-glutamine prevents this from happening. That’s why researchers
in hospitals began supplementing some of their oral and tube-feeding
formulas with this substance to keep the small intestines
of seriously ill patients from breaking down.
What does this have to do with bodybuilding? Along
with maintaining the intestines of patients, researchers
found that L-glutamine also bolstered the immune system
and regulated the rate of protein turnover in the muscle.
Bodybuilding researchers quickly took note of this, and
it wasn’t long before protein powders and supplements
were being fortified with L-glutamine.
There are additional benefits as well. From a recent study
it appears that L-glutamine can stimulate the release
of growth hormone, results that were achieved with a relatively
low dose of only two grams. That’s great news for
natural bodybuilders and maybe even greater news for men
over 40, the age at which normal growth hormone levels
start to decline.
The functions of growth hormone include accelerated protein
synthesis and positive nitrogen balance. For bodybuilders
this translates into muscle growth. |
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For men over the age of 40, whether or not they’re
bodybuilders, growth hormone can translate into improved health.
One study found that some individuals over 40 release very
little growth hormone during sleep, whereas growth hormone
levels in children and young adults increase significantly
during the first four hours of sleep. Since decreased levels
of growth hormone are related to increased fat stores, decreased
bone formation, decreased renal blood flow and decreased lean
body mass, a natural method of increasing growth hormone to
levels similar to those found in young adults would certainly
provide health benefits.
The key is to take just enough glutamine to increase growth
hormone to desirable levels. The more-is-better doctrine doesn’t
apply here. Taking larger amounts of L-Glutamine would be
counterproductive, overloading your liver. The two grams used
in the above-described study provided enough to raise serum
glutamine levels without activating liver involvement, and
the increase in growth hormone release that followed wasn’t
enough to cause liver stress but was enough to supply the
benefits associated with growth hormone.
If you need another reason to take L-glutamine, consider that
after ingesting it, the subjects’ plasma bicarbonate
levels increased. According to the researchers of this study,
“The rise in plasma bicarbonate (and plasma glutamine)
would be expected to drive up muscle cellular glutamine content,
thereby slowing protein breakdown.” This is because
protein breakdown is accelerated under acidic conditions.
When should you take L-glutamine? The subjects in the study
took it 45 minutes after a light breakfast. Eight of the nine
subjects registered elevated blood glutamine levels at 30
and 60 minutes after ingestion. At 90 minutes after ingestion
blood glutamine levels returned to normal, which was followed
by an increase in circulating growth hormone levels and an
elevation in blood bicarbonate levels.
Don’t waste your money on unproven supplements. Try
those that have proven effective in medical studies like L-glutamine.
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