Glutamine2
Glutamine Powder
The Anti-Catabolic Nutrient
Glutamine has an important
structural role, comprising 5-10% of amino acid residues in various proteins.
Glutamine is a major vehicle for the transfer of nitrogen between tissues.
Maximum growth and proliferation of most cell types occur with adequate
glutamine stores. Dependence on glutamine for cellular growth and function
has been clearly demonstrated for intestinal mucosal cells and cells of
the immune system.1
Glutamine plays a key part with the branched chain amino acids (BCAA) in
muscle energy metabolism and the over training syndrome of athletes. Approximately,
55% of glutamine taken up is oxidized via alpha-ketogluterate and the Krebs
cycle to form CO2 and a further 20% is incorporated into citrate, lactate,
organic acids, and glucose. Most glutamine is partly metabolized to form
alanine and lactate. During fever, surgery, and trauma muscle free glutamine
concentrations fall. Adequate circulating glutamine is needed for mucosal
healing and muscle protein synthesis; therefore glutamine may be considered
conditionally essential. Studies suggest that providing increased
oral protein intake can replete muscle glutamine concentrations.2
The relative mild stress of weight training can result in a significant
decline in skeletal muscle free glutamine.3 Over training is associated
with even greater decreases in muscle glutamine and to somewhat lesser extent
plasma glutamine concentrations.4 There is a higher rate of glutamine synthesis
and release in skeletal muscle in catabolic or weight loss states. Extensive
animal studies have demonstrated that declining glutamine levels are correlated
with negative nitrogen balance, decreased rates of protein synthesis and
increased protein degradation. Therefore, the provision of glutamine might
have anabolic effects leading to improved tissue function. The potential
therapeutic use of glutamine as a nutrient in human beings has been investigated
in several recent studies. All of these studies compared nitrogen balance
and all found that the groups that received glutamine via TPN had greatly
improved nitrogen balance.
A large body of data in experimental animals and increasing data in human
beings indicate that glutamine supplemented nutrition can have significant
therapeutic benefit in the management of catabolic disease states.
What we have established is that glutamine is an anti-catabolic nutrient
and secondly that glutamine should be one of the essential or indispensable
amino acids. Glutamine is anti-catabolic because it may spare muscle tissue
during stress. This means if youre a natural body builder, subjecting
yourself to a certain amount of stress, the body responds by producing cortisol.
The cortisol then proceeds to breakdown muscle tissue. This is one of the
reasons why natural body builders have a difficult time making muscular
gains. So supplementing with glutamine would then impart muscle sparing.
In time the muscle that would have been lost is still there and eventually
will add up to muscular gains.
Another aspect of glutamine would be during the contest phase of bodybuilding.
This phase includes the stress of training coupled by the stress of the
pre-contest diet i.e. hypocaloric intake. The dieting bodybuilder is similar
in comparison to the malnourished or hypermetabolic patient. The main difference
is that the bodybuilder is performing heavy resistance type training in
order to spare muscle mass. Glutamine is more important to the dieting bodybuilder
due to its anti-catabolic and muscle sparing properties. Glutamine supplements
during a dieting phase may cause muscle sparing and fullness due to cellular
volumizing.
Eclipse offers a pure free form L-glutamine powder and an advanced glutamine
preservation capsule referred to as Glutamine2. The exact amount of glutamine
needed by bodybuilders has not been scientifically established. The current
data indicates ingesting 5-10 grams per day. It would also make sense to
load on glutamine with 20 grams or 4 tsp. divided throughout the day for
5 days then maintain glutamine stores with 5-10 grams per day. The Glutamine2
cap offers a unique glutamine preserving action. This capsule adds the glutamine
precursor alpha ketoglutaric acid and glutamine cofactors RNA and maganese.
These substances enable the body to utilize glutamine more efficiently.
Glutamine should not only be considered a conditionally essential amino
acid but also a conditionally essential bodybuilding supplement.
REFERENCES
1. Wagenmakers, AJ. 1998. Muscle amino acid metabolism at rest and
during exercise: role in human physiology and metabolism. Exer Sport
Sci Rev; 26:p. 287-314.
2. Kingsbury, KJ. et al. 1998. Contrasting plasma free amino acid
patterns in elite athletes: association with fatigue and infection.
Br J Sports Med. Mar; 32(1):p. 25-32.
3. Mero, A. et al. 1997.Leucine supplementation and serum amino acids,
testosterone, cortisol and growth hormone in male power athletes during
training. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. June; 37(2):p. 137-145.
4. Rowbottom, D.G. et al. 1996.The emerging role of glutamine as an
indicator of exercise stress and overtraining. Sports Med. Feb; 21(2):p.
80-97.