Glutamine plays numerous important roles in the body. In fact, glutamine has such a variety of potential benefits that it can be a supplement cupboard staple for many. Glutamine can play a role in supporting muscle growth, achieving fat loss and supporting immune function and muscle recovery. Although glutamine is not actually considered to be one of the “essential” amino acids, when you undertake any intense training the Glutamine levels reduce significantly. This means it can be beneficial for anyone – especially those engaged in regular intense exercise in general.
Benefits of Glutamine for Muscle Growth
Glutamine is distributed throughout the body and plays an important role in protein metabolism. In the eyes of someone that is trying to gain muscle, the strength of glutamine is its ability to reduce the amount of muscle deterioration that occurs as a result of intense physical training. Not being able to replace the high levels of glutamine used up during intense exercise could result in greater status to illness due to a weakening of the immune system. In addition, glutamine ‘stolen’ from the muscles to maintain the immune system must be replaced to keep those muscles in ‘building’ mode. Research suggests that Glutamine promotes anabolism and increases the rate of protein synthesis. Glutamine has also been demonstrated to play a fundamental role in protein metabolism, cell volumisation and in the prevention of the Catabolic State.
Benefits of Glutamine for Immune Function
Glutamine plays a crucial role in proper immune functioning. This is particularly important for anyone engaged in regular intense training which can significantly reduce the body’s the glutamine stores. Consuming sufficient glutamine to counteract this can therefore be crucial to maintaining optimal functioning and for recovery from training. Glutamine is essential as it removes waste products like ammonia from the bloodstream, and participates in the proper function of your brain, digestive system and immune system. Your body stores glutamine for when it’s needed, but people who regularly stress their bodies with heavy or prolonged exercise may deplete their glutamine reserves. The body can’t produce this level of glutamine fast enough to meet the demand, so supplementing with glutamine can be crucial.
Benefits of Glutamine for Weight Loss
Glutamine has been found to be an excellent supplement for those looking to lower their body fat percentage and keep muscle mass at the same time. This is because not only does glutamine help to regulate blood sugar levels and therefore help you when dieting, but also it can help promote muscle development and prevent muscle breakdown. This is the main reason most bodybuilders will supplement their diets with glutamine when ‘cutting’ for a competition, since it enables them to reach very low body fat levels whilst at the same time maintaining the muscle mass they’ve built ‘off season’.
Benefits of Glutamine for Recovery
There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that glutamine plays a role in reducing post-exercise soreness (DOMS). Glutamine helps prevent the negative effects of cortisol on the body (muscle breakdown). Research indicates that adding glutamine to a post-workout shake that includes both protein and carbohydrate speeds up the recovery process.
Summary of Glutamine Benefits
As you can see from the above points, there are a lot of very important benefits of supplementing with Glutamine. If you are undertaking any form of regular strenuous exercise or intense workouts it is a good suggestion that you consider taking Glutamine as a supplement to support immune function, recovery and muscle growth and fat loss.
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