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TheBoogieMan
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There are numerous supplements sold that have glutamine added to them, and you can also find free-form L-glutamine. One word of caution though: An excessive intake of free-form L-Glutamine is not recommended if you have kidney or liver dysfunctions, such as cirrhosis or renal insufficiency. This is because supplementation with L-Glutamine under these conditions might lead to the accumulation of urea or ammonia. Also, L-Glutamine is only stable in a solution when heat sterilization techniques have not been employed.Glutamine is the amino acid in its free-form, which means it's in its whole food state, whenever you eat foods such as almonds and peanuts your ingesting glutamine amino acids. L-Glutamine is basically the same thing. Its glutamine in its free-form (whole food). The majority of supplement companies sell L-glutamine and tout it as the best form, which it is not.
Glutamic Acid is familiar if one turns over their container of protein powder and sees "glutamic acid". Why not glutamine instead of glutamic acid? "The reason is that the acid hydrolysis stage of the analysis converts the glutamine into glutamic acid, releasing ammonia. Thus the glutamic acid level actually represents the combined levels of glutamine and glutamic acid." (ref). One can figure out the amount of glutamine in the glutamic acid content fairly easy. In animal proteins such as whey, casein, milk, and egg proteins 50% is actually glutamine. In plant proteins such as soy, 80% is glutamine.
T
his is an excerpt from the Louisiana State University College of Medicine.
It has been suggested that glutamine is a powerful insulin secretagogue, meaning it boosts the output of insulin when consumed. This is both good and bad for the endurance athlete if that is the case. Because insulin is a very powerful anabolic hormone, increasing its levels during meals will ensure the transport of nutrients into muscle and other tissue cells. This may allow more glucose to be stored as glycogen; pump needed amino acids and certain ions into stressed muscle cells; stimulate protein, RNA and DNA synthesis; and inhibit glycogen and protein breakdown.
However, if it is true that glutamine is such a powerful insulin stimulator, consuming it before or during exercise could be problematic. A steep rise in insulin before or during exercise, as most of you know, will cause blood sugar levels to fluctuate substantially. This can cause hypoglycemia and prevent a proper supply of energy to the working muscles.Research has found that there is no rise in insulin after consuming a bolus of glutamine by itself (Varnier). But it has been shown that glutamine along with a carbohydrate meal does increase glycogen storage. For some unknown reason glutamine, much like insulin, triggers cells to take up glucose. It wasn't insulin that got me in trouble during that ride, it was glutamine itself. By some unknown mechanism, glutamine seems to cause an insulin-like shift of blood sugars and other substrates into body tissues. This makes glutamine a potentially valuable supplement for recovery and carbo loading. Glutamine is very safe, and there are no reports of toxic side effects from dietary supplementation of this amino acid. Most glutamine is extracted from beet protein. It doesn't taste bad either; glutamine has a rather bland, tasteless flavor to it. The problem with ingesting glutamine is the fact that it isn't very soluble in water. When you mix the stuff it tends to settle out at the bottom; it kind of looks like fine white sand at the bottom of your glass.One problem with glutamine and the reason why you will not find it in premixed beverages is that it breaks down into pyroglutamic acid and ammonia when it is in contact with moisture for a period of time. That means you shouldn¹t premix glutamine in a drink for later use. You should mix and drink it right away. It was once thought that ingested glutamine was almost completely metabolized by the gastrointestinal tract and very little reached circulation (Elia). However, there is now substantial evidence that food intake can influence plasma glutamine levels, and research has shown up to a 29% increase in plasma glutamine after a meal, especially one with a substantial protein content (Castell). Furthermore, when pure glutamine is ingested, its appearance in the plasma has been reported to be dose-related in nature the more you consume, the more that enters circulation.
However, remember that when a lot of glutamine enters circulation the liver is quick to scoop up those large quantities in an attempt normalize things. The liver then converts that glutamine to glucose and glycogen, alanine, and triglyceridesnot necessarily a bad thing in itself but you can do the same thing a lot more cheaply by simply taking in some carbohydrates. Instead, consume 2-5 grams of glutamine at a time three or four times a day spread out. That will allow the glutamine to go where it¹s supposed to the muscles.
???????
TB
Glutamic Acid is familiar if one turns over their container of protein powder and sees "glutamic acid". Why not glutamine instead of glutamic acid? "The reason is that the acid hydrolysis stage of the analysis converts the glutamine into glutamic acid, releasing ammonia. Thus the glutamic acid level actually represents the combined levels of glutamine and glutamic acid." (ref). One can figure out the amount of glutamine in the glutamic acid content fairly easy. In animal proteins such as whey, casein, milk, and egg proteins 50% is actually glutamine. In plant proteins such as soy, 80% is glutamine.
T
his is an excerpt from the Louisiana State University College of Medicine.
It has been suggested that glutamine is a powerful insulin secretagogue, meaning it boosts the output of insulin when consumed. This is both good and bad for the endurance athlete if that is the case. Because insulin is a very powerful anabolic hormone, increasing its levels during meals will ensure the transport of nutrients into muscle and other tissue cells. This may allow more glucose to be stored as glycogen; pump needed amino acids and certain ions into stressed muscle cells; stimulate protein, RNA and DNA synthesis; and inhibit glycogen and protein breakdown.
However, if it is true that glutamine is such a powerful insulin stimulator, consuming it before or during exercise could be problematic. A steep rise in insulin before or during exercise, as most of you know, will cause blood sugar levels to fluctuate substantially. This can cause hypoglycemia and prevent a proper supply of energy to the working muscles.Research has found that there is no rise in insulin after consuming a bolus of glutamine by itself (Varnier). But it has been shown that glutamine along with a carbohydrate meal does increase glycogen storage. For some unknown reason glutamine, much like insulin, triggers cells to take up glucose. It wasn't insulin that got me in trouble during that ride, it was glutamine itself. By some unknown mechanism, glutamine seems to cause an insulin-like shift of blood sugars and other substrates into body tissues. This makes glutamine a potentially valuable supplement for recovery and carbo loading. Glutamine is very safe, and there are no reports of toxic side effects from dietary supplementation of this amino acid. Most glutamine is extracted from beet protein. It doesn't taste bad either; glutamine has a rather bland, tasteless flavor to it. The problem with ingesting glutamine is the fact that it isn't very soluble in water. When you mix the stuff it tends to settle out at the bottom; it kind of looks like fine white sand at the bottom of your glass.One problem with glutamine and the reason why you will not find it in premixed beverages is that it breaks down into pyroglutamic acid and ammonia when it is in contact with moisture for a period of time. That means you shouldn¹t premix glutamine in a drink for later use. You should mix and drink it right away. It was once thought that ingested glutamine was almost completely metabolized by the gastrointestinal tract and very little reached circulation (Elia). However, there is now substantial evidence that food intake can influence plasma glutamine levels, and research has shown up to a 29% increase in plasma glutamine after a meal, especially one with a substantial protein content (Castell). Furthermore, when pure glutamine is ingested, its appearance in the plasma has been reported to be dose-related in nature the more you consume, the more that enters circulation.
However, remember that when a lot of glutamine enters circulation the liver is quick to scoop up those large quantities in an attempt normalize things. The liver then converts that glutamine to glucose and glycogen, alanine, and triglyceridesnot necessarily a bad thing in itself but you can do the same thing a lot more cheaply by simply taking in some carbohydrates. Instead, consume 2-5 grams of glutamine at a time three or four times a day spread out. That will allow the glutamine to go where it¹s supposed to the muscles.
???????
TB
