What is glutamine - functions, benefits and effects on the body

Bodybuilding and "iron" sports in the 60s of the last century were very different from modern versions. And it's not just about improved training complexes. The chemical industry and sports nutrition of the new century have leaped forward. Today's athletes know exactly what their muscles need and how it works. However, even the most advanced athletes cannot always tell what glutamine, creatine and other sports supplements are.

Bridging the gap: Glutamine is an amino acid found exclusively in proteins from meat origin. It is present in small amounts in dairy products.

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What is it for

Glutamine is one of the three essential amino acids that directly affect muscle building. A reasonable question may arise - why consider it separately from proteins? Let's figure it out in order. Protein is broken down into dozens of different amino acids when it is broken down, including even such rare compounds as arginine.

At the same time, the amino acids that make up the protein play essential roles in the body:

• are responsible for the thyroid gland;
• regulate the functions of the digestive tract;
• transport polyunsaturated fatty acids;
• regulate metabolism.

The abundance of protein in your own diet does not mean a rapid increase in muscle mass.

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Effects on muscle protein synthesis

What is glutamine for? Unlike other amino acids, it not only affects muscle protein synthesis, but also affects other functions that directly affect athletic performance. In particular, he is responsible for the opening of a transport depot. When insulin is released, carbohydrates that enter the muscles are converted into glycogen, but few people know that the glycogen depots themselves are made up of protein cells. Glutamine can significantly expand the number of transport cells.

In turn, an increase in the number of glycogen cells allows you to accumulate more glycogen. The result will be as follows:

• less energy is stored in fat cells;
• endurance increases;
• increases in muscle volume;
• there are reserve reserves of glycogen.

In addition, glutamine directly affects the synthesis of the protein muscle fibers themselves. So, the body is able to independently convert protein into muscle in an amount of no more than 500 g per month. This fact significantly slows down power progress. And that is why many athletes, seeking to get a quick effect, resort to the use of anabolic steroids. Glutamine solves this problem in a safer way.

A significant increase in glutamine amino acids in the body allows a huge number of new cells to be synthesized during insulin discovery. Initially, this does not lead to a significant improvement in results. But when an athlete hits a plateau of strength, glutamine can provoke hyperplasia, leading to overcoming stagnation and further growth.

What foods contain amino acid

Not everyone likes to use sports nutrition in their training complexes. For this reason, athletes suffer from a deficiency of the necessary amino acids. Plus, BCAAs and protein isolate are quite expensive. Therefore, you should pay attention to foods that contain large quantities of glutamic acid.

Note: the table does not take into account the bioavailability of glutamic acid and many other features, due to which the actual absorption of glutamine from the product will be significantly less than that indicated in the table.

An important point: almost 20% of beef consists of fat, which must be taken into account when calculating and consuming glutamic acid.

Another important aspect concerns heat treatment. Glutamine is only found in a complex protein. Therefore, with strong frying or prolonged cooking, it can curl up into simpler amino acid chains, which will not be so useful.

The benefits of glutamine in sports

The sports benefits of glutamine are obvious to every bodybuilder. However, for other athletes with tight weight control, its benefits are far from clear, since an increase in glycogen stores affects weight.

In general, glycogen affects the athlete's body as follows:

• increases maximum strength;
• reduces daytime fatigue;
• increases the endurance of the athlete;
• allows you to overcome power stagnation;
• preserves the muscles during drying.

The latter is especially important. If you take glutamine directly (at a recommended dose of 4-10 g per day), then during each opening of the depot with the help of insulin, the amino acid will go directly into the muscle and compensate for the catabolic effects associated with the fact that the body will try to get rid of excess energy consumer (muscles).

In particular, glutamine is effective for carbohydrate alternation and a rigid carbohydrate-free diet, as it does not slow down the metabolism. It is best to take the amino acid separately from food within 5-12 minutes after the end of the workout - that is, before the protein and carbohydrate window opens. In addition, it is recommended to consume foods containing glutamine at night to reduce the effect of catabolism.

Potential harm

Like any other iron sports related product, glutamine has been linked to various myths. Does glutamine have side effects? Given the fact that this amino acid is constantly supplied to the body in small quantities, glutamine does not pose any harm to the body.

The only harm that athletes can experience from glutamine comes from overdose. If you consume more than 15 g of it at a time of the amino acid, you can get indigestion and acute diarrhea, which will end immediately after the excess amino acid is eliminated from the body.

The product slightly alters the pH of the gastric environment, irritating the intestines. Otherwise, even with increased doses of glutamine, no effect on the liver and kidneys was found, since the acid dissolves even at the stage of food digestion in the stomach, from where it directly enters the bloodstream, bypassing the liver filtrate.

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Top Glutamine Supplements

Glutamine is found in many sports supplements. The cheapest source of it is whey protein, which contains about 20% of the essential amino acid. Those looking to buy good whey protein should pay attention to the CBR 80%. Despite the fact that its benefits are over-publicized and in fact a regular whey protein, it still remains one of the cheapest products in its class, especially when purchased directly from the manufacturer.

Those who are used to drowning their bodies with dollar bills should pay attention to BCAA and a separate supplement glutamine. L

The best BCAAs containing glutamine are:

1. Optimum nutrition capsules. The most expensive on the market, but with the largest number of quality certificates.
   
2. Weider company bcaa - have an enriched glutamine composition and have a 4-2-1 structure, versus the standard 2-1-1.
   
3. Ultimate nutrition standalone glutamine - suitable for those who are accustomed to using soy protein in their nutritional formula.
   
4. BCAA from San.
   
5. BCAA from Gaspari Nutrition.
   

Outcome

It doesn't matter if you stick to sports nutrition in bodybuilding, CrossFit and other iron sports or you are a supporter of exclusively natural products, remember that it is from amino acids, not protein, that your muscles are built. Protein in any case breaks down into amino acids, which become those small building blocks needed to build an ideal figure.

Glutamine is not produced in the body, so adjust your diet in such a way as to enrich it not only with simple protein, but also with essential amino acids.

Watch the video: Should You Avoid Glutamine If It Can Feed Cancer? (May 2025).