I was talking with one of the guys at the gym today, and he recommended to me to start taking some glutamine (he said l-glutamine specifically). He also told me at what store he buys this, so I went there, and I was about to buy just a real basic form of L-Glutamine with nothing added. The company that made this product is called Solgar. I went with my mom, and she got real worried because she didn’t understand what it was, so she started asking the people who work there what it does exactly, so they told her that it’s mainly used by athletes and that it helps in recovery and building muscle mass. They also told her that they recommend a different sort of Glutamine, “Twinlab’s Glutamine Fuel”, but they didn’t have it at the moment. Now, this is a health food store which also carries vitamins and supplements, so I don’t know just how much these guys understand about sports supplementation. Should I buy just the basic l-glutamine, or wait for the Glutamine Fuel to arrive? I would like to add that I have never taken any sort of supplements before, so this would be my first. I would greatly appreciate any advice.
Personally, I use Champion powdered Glutamine mixed in with an MRP. If you have never used any supplements before, you might want to start with an MRP such as Myoplex Deluxe which has glutamine in it or Advanced Protein and add some glutamine. Protein is the building block for growth and glutamine is just the mortar. Good Luck.
Is there any benefit of taking glutamine peptides over plain L-glutamine?? Was reading a companies advertisement on glutamine peptides and said it was better than L-glutamine. It’s suppose to be absorbed better, ad said something like you only absorb about 1/3 of L-glutamine and the your body absorbs almost all of the peptide form.
I believe that L-glutamine is the best especially when combined with “Lysophosphatidyl choline” Apparently, it helps the glutamine absorb through your stomach lining rather than being almostly completely used within the intestines. Natures Best is a brand that has the Lpc added.
Glutamine absorbs about the same whether free or protein bound. Here is a study on the absorption of free versus protein bound glutamine.
Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2001 Jul;281(1):G267-74
Free and protein-bound glutamine have identical splanchnic extraction in healthy human volunteers.
Boza JJ, Dangin M, Moennoz D, Montigon F, Vuichoud J, Jarret A, Pouteau E, Gremaud G, Oguey-Araymon S, Courtois D, Woupeyi A, Finot PA, Ballevre O.
Nestle Research Center, Vers-Chez-Les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland.
The objectives of the present study were to determine the splanchnic extraction of glutamine after ingestion of glutamine-rich protein ((15)N-labeled oat proteins) and to compare it with that of free glutamine and to determine de novo glutamine synthesis before and after glutamine consumption. Eight healthy adults were infused intravenously in the postabsorptive state with L-[1-(13)C]glutamine (3 micromol x kg(-1) x h(-1)) and L-[1-(13)C]lysine (1.5 micromol x kg(-1) x h(-1)) for 8 h. Four hours after the beginning of the infusion, subjects consumed (every 20 min) a liquid formula providing either 2.5 g of protein from (15)N-labeled oat proteins or a mixture of free amino acids that mimicked the oat-amino acid profile and contained L-[2,5-(15)N(2)]glutamine and L-[2-(15)N]lysine. Splanchnic extraction of glutamine reached 62.5 +/- 5.0% and 66.7 +/- 3.9% after administration of (15)N-labeled oat proteins and the mixture of free amino acids, respectively. Lysine splanchnic extraction was also not different (40.9 +/- 11.9% and 34.9 +/- 10.6% for (15)N-labeled oat proteins and free amino acids, respectively). The main conclusion of the present study is that glutamine is equally bioavailable when given enterally as a free amino acid and when protein bound. Therefore, and taking into consideration the drawbacks of free glutamine supplementation of ready-to-use formulas for enteral nutrition, protein sources naturally rich in this amino acid are the best option for providing stable glutamine.