I don’t use a lot of supplements. This isn’t because I have anything against them, but because I work on a relatively tight budget and can’t afford to spend a lot of money down at the local GNC. But other than a good protein powder and creatine, there’s one supplement I swear by, and that’s Glutamine.
What is Glutamine? Simply put, it’s a recovery supplement, meaning it helps your body quickly recoup from working out. More specifically, the harder you work out the more your body uses up it’s stores of naturally occurring Glutamine.
Since Glutamine is a key component of muscle growth, you need to make sure you don’t run out, or you’re not going to be reaping all the benefits of the hard work you’ve done in the gym!
In fact, lower levels of Glutamine will result in catabolism, which is anabolism’s evil brother. Where anabolism is the process of building muscle tissue, catabolism is the breaking down of muscle tissue … which we obviously don’t want!
But that’s not all it prevents. Here’s 7 extra pluses of taking Glutamine:
1. No horrific taste!
Glutamine is a powder, but it’s practically tasteless. This is a big plus compared to other supplements I’ve taken which taste like chalk, mud, or chalky mud. Originally I just mixed the stuff in with water but later I started adding it to a protein shake or a half glass of juice.
2. It raises the levels of human growth hormones
If that sounds a bit scary, don’t worry … there are many natural and healthy ways to increase the amount of hGH your body produces. Glutamine is one of them.
3. Glutamine helps keep you healthy.
Glutamine has been shown to aid the immune system in many ways. It doesn’t just help with white blood cell reproduction, it makes the cells stronger as well.
4. Glutamine will help you get better.
When you’re sick, your immune system ’steals’ Glutamine from your muscles. We’ve already gone over what happens when your body is running on low glutamine. So extra Glutamine when you’re not feeling well will help you get better without hindering your muscle tissue.
5. Your digestive system loves Glutamine!
It firms up the mucous membrane in your bowels and prevents leaky gut syndrome, which is when food, bacteria and toxins are allowed to escape into the bloodstream. The general positive properties of glutamine in regards to the intestines are so impressive that many studies are testing it’s effect on more serious diseases that affect the digestive system.
6. It helps cure and prevent ulcers.
You might have heard that cabbage juice helps as well … this is because the stuff contains Glutamine. If you were looking forward to a few weeks of delicious cabbage juice in order to shake that ulcer, I won’t stop you. But if you want to skip the cabbage and go straight for the cure, then Glutamine is the answer.
7. Glutamine is completely safe.
It isn’t one of those sketchy supplements being investigated for causing athletes to keel over and die for no apparent reason. It causes no serious side effects and is not on any sports panel’s list of banned substances. You can’t even overdose on it … downing a whole bottle might result in a sore stomach, but that’s about it.
This just scratches the surface of the positive aspects of Glutamine. I have read claims that it aids in maintaining blood sugar levels, increases endurance, and even enhances brain and nerve functions.
I haven’t been able to verify conclusively that it will make you smarter, but I will say that taking this supplement makes me feel smarter just knowing I’m benefiting from all the other advantages Glutamine provides.
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