Below we delve deeper into the amino acid glutamine. If you were to believe the stories in the gym, this amino acid would be important for the recovery of your muscles, but what is the exact function of glutamine and how does glutamine work in the human body?
Table of Contents
If you have read a number of articles on FITsociety, you know that proteins are also called protein and that they consist of different types of amino acids. These amino acids form the building blocks of proteins. The proteins you consume daily are broken down in the stomach into short chains of amino acids that can then be used by the body for energy or for the recovery and formation of, among other things, muscle tissue. We can divide the amino acids into 2 categories, namely the essential and non-essential amino acids. Non-essential means that the body is able to produce these amino acids itself. For the essential amino acids, the body depends on protein-rich food.
Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid, which means that the body is able to produce this amino acid itself. It is the amino acid that is most common in the human body and constitutes about 60 percent of the amino acids found in the muscles of our body. An adult man weighing 70 kilograms has about 80 grams in his body. So glutamine is the most common non-essential amino acid in the human body and is synthesized by glutamic acid and ammonia. It circulates in the blood and is mainly stored in skeletal muscles. The production of glutamine in the body takes place in the brain, lungs, and liver.
When you engage in strength training, your body uses large amounts of glutamine during these intensive workouts. The amounts that the body requires are often too large for the body to provide with its own production. If no glutamine is administered in the form of food, the body will obtain the necessary glutamine by breaking down protein from muscle tissue. In this situation, glutamine then becomes an essential amino acid. Because of this, it is also called a semi-essential amino acid, which essentially means that the body normally can produce this amino acid itself, but in exceptional situations of metabolic stress, which is the case with intensive strength training, the body relies on external sources due to the increased demand.
What is the function of glutamine?
Glutamine contributes to the production of glutamic acid (another non-essential amino acid) and this contributes to the proper functioning of the brain. It also regulates the acid-base balance in the kidneys and transports ammonia in the blood. Glutamine also aids in the recovery of glycogen reserves in the muscles. Additionally, it boosts growth hormone (somatotropin) levels, which is important after intense workouts, as it promotes an anabolic effect and faster recovery. Finally, it plays an important role in the immune system and is said to have a positive effect on the stomach and intestines.
The importance of glutamine for athletes
When your body is exposed to physical activities, it has consequences for the amount of glutamine in our body. When a workout becomes heavier, the amount in the muscle cells decreases by over 50 percent. This varies by sport and by individual, as cyclists generally have a higher amount of glutamine in their muscle cells than, for example, athletes who engage in strength training.
Various studies have shown that glutamine in our body can contribute to the ability of our muscles to recover faster and better. When the amount of glutamine in the human body decreases, this can lead to a decrease in muscle protein synthesis, something that is very important when you want to recover after a heavy workout and want your muscles to grow.
In addition, glutamine has a positive contribution to the hydration level of the muscle cells. A higher hydration level in the muscle cells helps promote muscle recovery, making the anabolic effect greater. Conversely, the catabolic effect is greater if there is less fluid in the muscle cells. So glutamine helps promote muscle growth by improving fluid balance in the muscle cells.
Finally, glutamine can help with lactic acid excretion, allowing for a higher degree of acidification and endurance during heavy training. This higher degree of acid ification comes with a disadvantageous side effect, as it seems that glutamine seems to reduce fat consumption, thus reducing the available energy quantity.
Benefits of Glutamine
Glutamine is found in both plant and animal proteins such as beef, pork, chicken, turkey, cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, cheese, eggs, soy, tuna, salmon, and also in tofu.
Does glutamine really work
In addition to the main source of glutamine, namely your daily diet, supplements are also available. These supplements can be purchased in various forms such as; powder, tablets, but also in a liquid form. Certain medical conditions such as injuries, surgeries, infections, and longer periods of stress can lead to lower levels. In these cases, a supplement could be chosen. To convert glutamic acid to glutamine, the body needs vitamin B3 (niacin). To make glutamic acid, the body also needs vitamin B6. A surplus is actually never reached through food alone. Only a high intake of supplements may lead to high levels. Although little is known about the side effects for the body.
There is a lot of uncertainty about the effectiveness of these supplements. Several studies have been conducted showing that supplementation with glutamine provides virtually no significant added value for strength training purposes. The study that appeals to us the most was conducted among 31 young men aged 18 to 24 years. These were divided into 2 groups, with 1 group receiving 0.9 grams of glutamine per kg of lean body mass daily and the other group receiving a placebo. The glutamine was administered orally, which in some cases amounted to 45 grams per day.
After a period of 6 weeks, during which both groups were exposed to strength training activities such as 1RM bench press and 1RM squat, the differences between the two groups were measured. It turned out that there was no significant difference between the group that received glutamine and the placebo group. There was a slight improvement in 1RM squat and in lean body mass in the group that received glutamine, but the differences were so low that they could not be classified as significant.
Conclusion
Glutamine is an amino acid that can fall under both essential and non-essential classification, depending on the activities of the athletic individual. The daily required amount can mainly be obtained from protein-rich food, but glutamine supplements are also available. There is still much uncertainty about the effectiveness of these supplements. The studies conducted for strength training purposes show little or no added value from administration with glutamine supplements. If there are medical situations where a deficiency of glutamine has occurred, it can have consequences and administration with glutamine supplements can have an effect. In this article, we have not addressed medical situations as they are not relevant to our visitors. The functioning and added value of glutamine per se have been proven by various studies for athletes and we can also endorse this. Thus, glutamine can make valuable contributions to a better and stronger immune system, less breakdown of muscle tissue, higher levels of growth hormone, less significant catabolic effects, increased anabolic effects through better fluid balance in the muscle cells, higher protein synthesis, and higher endurance through better removal of lactic acid.
