[Below is my transcript of my video about using glutamine powder supplements, along with additional information on the topic.]
Have you heard about the benefits of L-glutamine powder? L-glutamine is an amino acid that is abundant in the human body, especially in your musculoskeletal tissue. L-glutamine was first used mostly by people, who were looking to preserve muscle tissue, in the fitness industry — and that remains the case.
The most common uses of glutamine powder were to meet the following goals: to lose weight fast, burn fat and build muscle. L-glutamine resembles a sort of white powder, but it’s just an amino acid that is a building block of protein.
Beyond Fitness Benefits, Glutamine Helps Leaky Gut
It turns out that glutamine power not only helps build muscle fast, lose weight and burn fat, it can also help heal and repair your gut. There are millions of people today struggling with a condition called leaky gut syndrome, which is essentially the main cause of autoimmune disease today. Leaky gut is the main cause of thyroid issues like Hashimoto’s disease, and also contributes to arthritis, skin issues like psoriasis and other serious health issues.
If you’re unsure if you suffer from leaky gut, take my leaky gut test. If, indeed, you appear to have leaky gut, L-glutamine is the number one amino acid you need to help heal and repair it. In fact, if you have any type of digestive issue whatsoever — such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), an inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis, diverticulitis, leaky gut or any of the issues associated with leaky gut, like joint pain, rosacea or any type of autoimmune response — what I believe by far is the most important amino acid you need in your diet is L-glutamine on a regular basis.
For example, if you have Hashimoto’s or an underactive thyroid, glutamine powder should be a part of your hypothyroidism diet. If you suffer from IBS symptoms like constant diarrhea or ulcerations, glutamine needs to be part of your IBS diet.
With 70 million american’s now suffering from digestive diseases, it’s apparent that our diets are severely lacking certain nutrients that support the digestive tract. While L-glutamine is synthesized by the body from glutamic acid or glutamate, if the body is unable to produce enough, it needs to get it directly from your diet — L-glutamine can be found in animal proteins such as meats and dairy, but the majority of people don’t get enough of this amino acid from their food alone.
Because glutamine is the major fuel source for cells of the small intestine, it has been shown to heal leaky gut in clinical studies. A study published in the medical journal Lancet examined 20 hospitable patients and found that supplementing with L-glutamine decreased intestinal permeability.
Another study published in the British Journal of Surgery found that l-glutamine benefits ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Types of Glutamine & How Much to Use
There are two forms of L-glutamine. You can get regular L-glutamine in what’s called its free form, and it should be taken with food ideally for proper absorption by the body. The other type of L-glutamine is called Trans-Alanyl or Alanyl-L-Glutamine — it’s an amino acid attached to another amino acid, which basically means you’re going to digest it much better. Unlike free-form glutamine powder, you can take it on an empty stomach.
But both forms of glutamine powder are best taken right after or right before workouts — with your small meals right before or after workouts for it to support your metabolism and weight loss as well as for muscle building, recovery and preservation.
One of its key benefits is keeping you from losing muscle. Let’s say, for instance, you have an elderly person who is starting to waste away from kikexia, which is low blood glucose from cancer. L-glutamine is the number one supplement they should be taking to keep them from having muscle wasting. If you’re an athlete and working out really hard, you probably know that though all your training you’re also burning up some muscle — well, L-glutamine keeps that from happening.
Typically, the best dosage is between 2 to 5 grams twice daily, and up to 10 grams daily for serious power athletes. Although the effects of excess glutamine rarely causes problems, if you are taking glutamine long-term, it’s a good idea to also supplement with B vitamins.
Although the effects of excess glutamine rarely causes problems, if you are taking glutamine long term it is a good idea to also supplement with B vitamins especially vitamin B12, as this controls glutamine buildup in the body.