Today we talk about l-glutamine and try to understand whether it is a dangerous supplement or not.
What it is.
Glutamine (abbreviation Gln) is a conditionally essential amino acid, found in abundance within our body compared to other amino acids, which is concentrated particularly in muscle tissue.
In a healthy 70 kg man there are about 80 g of glutamine, and the concentration in the blood is 500-700 μmol/L.
Precisely because of its high availability, l-glutamine has multiple uses, and oftentimes our body uses it as needed, transforming it into another amino acid, for example, as needed.
Under normal conditions, glutamine is synthesized by our body mainly in skeletal muscle and, in smaller amounts, in the liver, brain, and lungs.
There are dozens of studies on glutamine in the literature that go into the effects in both sports and clinical settings.
Glutamine and physical activity
Glutamine has several functions: it helps prevent muscle catabolism, promotes nutrient absorption in the gut when our bodies are under intense stress, or is used as an alternative energy source.
Glutamine appears to play a role in delaying fatigue by promoting glycogen synthesis and reducing ammonia 'buildup.
It promotes muscle recovery particularly in men.
Glutamine, immune defense and health
Glutamine helps boost immune defenses.
In fact, this amino acid promotes an increase in white blood cells and in two groups in particular:
neutrophils, which promote the destruction of foreign bodies inside cells, such as bacteria and fungi, by specific enzymes; they also play a positive role in inflammatory reactions.
lymphocytes, cells that make up our immune system and immunological memory, which fight a specific antigen they have learned to recognize, viruses and cancer cells.
Some studies claim that glutamine deficiency is a predictor of mortality in ICU patients.
In particular, one published study (Prevalence of glutamine deficiency in ICU patients: a cross-sectional analytical study) found that about one-third of the patients examined in the study (38 percent) were glutamine deficient at the time of ICU admission.
Many of these studies are related to patients suffering from acute fulminant hepatic failure in particular.
Glutamine is also a key precursor of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant.
Glutamine and weight loss
Some recent studies, on the other hand, have highlighted the effectiveness of glutamine in promoting weight loss as well.
Glutamine and the gut
One of the areas of the body where there is the highest concentration of glutamine is the 'gut.
The cells of the intestinal mucosa act as a barrier in the 'entry of bacteria and toxins directly into the bloodstream, and any deficiency of l-glutamine can impair its regular functioning.
Foods rich in glutamine
What are the foods in the normal diet that contain glutamine in abundance?
We can generally identify all those foods of animal origin, so meat, fish, cheese, yogurt, milk and eggs. Even those on a vegetarian diet can get glutamine particularly from cabbage, beans, spinach or beets.
Glutamine as written above is a conditionally essential amino acid. Under normal conditions, therefore, it is a nonessential amino acid, that is, our body is able to produce it on its own.
Under special conditions, however, such as sepsis or septicemia, or under conditions of severe physical stress, supplementation may be necessary.
Glutamine Dosage.
The recommended daily dosage of glutamine is 2.5 to 5 grams per day, taken with meals. In sports, it is recommended to take glutamine in the same doses before or immediately after training.
Is Glutamine a dangerous supplement ?
After what has been said in the previous lines, we can answer the question that we often read on the web negatively... there is currently no specific scientific evidence stating that glutamine taken as a supplement is dangerous. There are possibly some conflicting opinions on the 'effectiveness in some specific areas but that have nothing to do with a' possible dangerousness to our body.