Glutamine has gained a lot of popularity as effective sport supplements but still its effects are somewhat unknown to the masses and new generation of atheletes are finding it difficult to imbrace them without knowing the actual sciencce behind them.
This blog aims to combat the same.
What is Glutamine?
Glutamine just like BCAAs [LINK TO THE BCAA METTLE BLOG], an amino acid which are the building units for proteins.
Glutamine is essential in the maintenance and promotion of cell functioning, strengthening of our immune response, and intestinal health.
Though glutamine is also called the most abundant amino acid of our body, it should be noted that our body cannot hold unused glutamine for very long and it is removed from the body shortly after.
Role of Glutamine as a Sports Supplement.
Glutamine has an important role in the protein synthesis process and helps in maintaing the muscle mass of the body, thereby increasing the athletic performance of the athelete.
Multiple scientific studies have shown that glutamine can boosts up muscle recovery as well as reducing the muscle soreness commonly experienced after an intensive workout.
Athletes performing high-intensity workouts can enter a state where they need for glutamine is higher than the body can produce, in such a condition body starts to eat away the glutamine build-up stored in the muscles and destroy the muscle fibers in the process.
In order to replenish the lost glutamine in such a scenario, it will take a lot of time for the body to do so and maximum muscle mass will be gone by that time. This is why glutamine supplement is highly recommended for athletes engaged in high-intensity workouts.
Glutamine as Post-Workout supplement.
Glutamine helps with the resynthesize of carbohydrates after the workout session. After a prolonged workout session, the muscles are left without glycogen reserves, which is why taking glutamine in the post-workout meal is ever so important.
The faster we can replenish those glycogen reserves, the faster our muscles will be able to recover from the post-workout trauma.
Therefore, by adding a dose of glutamine into our post-workout drink, we will be able to recover faster, which makes us feel less worn-out and tired after a workout but also helps our body regrow more muscles fibers over time.
What is the recommended dosage for Glutamine?
Dosage for glutamine is highly dependent on the diet one follows, as glutamine is available in most edibles coupled with the body’s natural ability to produce a large amount of glutamine. There recommended dosage is very difficult.
We can receive arround 3-6g of glutamine from our daily food intake. When supplementing with 5-15g of glutamine, it is pretty safe and no side effect will be shown. Even supplementing with as high as 45g is considered safe for short period of time with minimum side effect and no ill-effects. Glutamine can be considered one of the most safe supplements as excess amount of glutamine is naturally removed from the body before it can cause any longer term side effects to the body.
