How important is L Glutamine and should you supplement it ?

Resolve10 said:
You haven't seen Bob post on this before? 😋

For muscle building research would say it is probably not very beneficial (rather we get enough through diet relatively easily).

During times of really high stress it may be beneficial.

Some notice beneficial gut benefits with it, some (during highly stressful periods as mentioned) may notice immune benefits, and paired with Alanine (like Sustamine, but also isn't very economical) can help increase hydration status during intense training.

For myself it isn't a deal breaker or something I go out of the way to add, but I don't mind the 5-10g I often find in my intra-workout mix. 😉
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@Resolve10 Thank you for your response !
 
Haven't really researched it in a loooong time, but my opinion is that, for bodybuilding, it really isn't worth spending money on. Get a good quality protein with the essential amino acids and you should be covered (and food can be that quality protein, not talking just supplements).

From a gut health perspective, particularly under stress, there may be a small benefit.

But that isn't super well researched by me so I would love to hear what others have to say and learn some of the more recent research. @Resolve10 @jswain34 @Ricky10 @SweetLou321
 
Damn, too slow.
 
@HIT4ME always appreciate your opinion !! Thank you!
 
Rocket3015 said:
@HIT4ME always appreciate your opinion !! Thank you!
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Haha, I think it is a good question since it is pretty heavily promoted in supplements. I should have refreshed after I got distracted from posting my response though haha.

I should have also tagged @Whisky and I know I am forgetting others who teach me things.

The Solution should probably have his own sub-forum with stickies for all the answers he has.
 
HIT4ME said:
Haha, I think it is a good question since it is pretty heavily promoted in supplements. I should have refreshed after I got distracted from posting my response though haha.

I should have also tagged @Whisky and I know I am forgetting others who teach me things.

The Solution should probably have his own sub-forum with stickies for all the answers he has.
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to be honest I would mirror your thoughts on this one. Gut health is the main benefit and I recall leaky gut and gut issues caused by running to be those especially well served by 5-10g a day.

the body does struggle to synthesise enough of it but it’s pretty abundant in a decent diet.

I personally don’t bother with it but I do use eaa’s during a workout (milos sarcev is a massive proponent of this).
 
I know many people think this is a waste of a supplement but I think during really stressful periods of high volume and nearly everyday lengthy training it is highly useful for recovery and general health benefits. That’s when I have used it. Do you need it everyday? No probably not if just doing a normal routine and diet is in check but like anything it’s very individual.
 
My sleep has been really lousy lately, so I started supplementing with 10 grams glutamine and 3 to 4 grams glycine pre-bed. The last two nights have been a huge improvement, but I cannot say it was the glutamine. But whatever is was, I am thankful.
 
I use it instaed if intra workout carbs. Its glucogenic, and whatever isn't used in the gut can be used to raise insulin and lower cortisol. I count every bit of it as carbs gram for gram.

Just my take.
 
Glutamine is a total waste for bodybuilding purposes, as it is entirely take up by the gut and doesn't reach the muscle tissue. This has been shown in many studies. Also, whey protein is loaded with glutamine, so you should be getting enough from it.

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There is a form of glutamine called L-alanyl-L-glutamine, brand name: Sustamine which might have some potential for bbing purposes. But, so far, there has only been one study on it.

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I couldn't find an article by him, but Layne Norton (str8flexed) is ALWAYS debunking glutamine for hypertrophy. I can't seem to find an article by him where he lays it all out though

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HIT4ME said:
Haven't really researched it in a loooong time, but my opinion is that, for bodybuilding, it really isn't worth spending money on. Get a good quality protein with the essential amino acids and you should be covered (and food can be that quality protein, not talking just supplements).

From a gut health perspective, particularly under stress, there may be a small benefit.

But that isn't super well researched by me so I would love to hear what others have to say and learn some of the more recent research. @Resolve10 @jswain34 @Ricky10 @SweetLou321
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It’s never been a supplement I have thoroughly reasearched or placed much stock in myself, but I think everyone (including yourself) seems to have summarized it well.

Gut Health benefits seem to be a recurring potential benefit mentioned by others, and I actually bought some bulk L-glutamine in recent months with the intent of improving my inestinal health and supporting the lining of the small intestine. I have been having some issues down there for months so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Unfortunately, I have not been consistent with dosing it by any means but I should make the effort to prioritize it more to see if I do notice a difference. Though I must say it never gets old to blame my farts on dying or already deceased people at work.
 
Thank you all for the info!
 
Research doesn't show much support for either intestinal permeability or bodybuilding purposes. There is good mechanistic data for helping with tight junction function and if one does have "leaky gut" it is worth a try at least. Most likely need 15+ grams per day for the gut effects.

Using glutamine as a source of glucose is pretty inefficient, it may raise insulin in this case, but EAAs at a high enough dosage do this too. Raising insulin does NOT lower training induced cortisol in trained people so I see no merit in it for this purpose.

Glutamine is a precursor to glutamate (stimulatory) and glutamate is precursor to gaba (inhibitory). Since glutamine is poorly absorbed I doubt much would even cross the blood brain barrier and affect ones neurology, the previous post talking about sleep, the benefits they are mentioning are related to glycine.

I just wanted to give my thoughts and clear up some other information by other posters for the OP.
 
I have used 20g daily for over 40 years with a couple of months off each 6 months. After a couple of months off, I definitely notice a decline in gut health / digestion, cognition and recuperation.
 
Wow, way back when I first signed up here the use of glutamine was constantly up for debate. I think Bobo used to shoot these posts down every other week.
 
It is interesting to read everyone's point of view ................
 
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