The Facts About L-Glutamine

The amino acid L-Glutamine is found in high levels in the body, mostly in your skeletal muscle. It is also found in foods and dietary supplements. L-Glutamine supplements are commonly used to increase a person’s muscle mass and to treat some health conditions.

Functions of L-Glutamine in the Body

L-Glutamine is important for fueling many different cells in your body in the form of carbon and nitrogen. Glutamine is necessary for your body to produce other chemicals such as glucose (sugar) and other amino acids.

L-Glutamine also performs many other functions in the body.

L-Glutamine plays a role in digestion, immune and brain function.
It is involved in protein synthesis.
In those who are undergoing radiochemotherapy for the treatment of esophagus cancer, it can help protect the digestive system and the immune system.
In those who have undergone surgery or had a traumatic injury, L-glutamine can help to restore your health. There is some proof that glutamine stops bacteria from leaving the intestine and infecting other areas of the body after major injuries.
It can help with the recovery after bowel surgery or a bone marrow transplant.
It can be used for digestive conditions such as ulcerative colitis, stomach ulcers and Crohn’s disease.
It is also used to treat moodiness, depression, anxiety, irritability and insomnia.
It can help enhance exercise performance.
Sometimes people with HIV/AIDS use glutamine to prevent weight loss, which is called HIV wasting.
It is used to treat urinary conditions such as sickle cellanemia and cystinuria.
It is used for support in alcohol withdrawal.
L-Glutamine is used with ADHD.
There are some contradictory findings in research relating to the benefits of Glutamine in reducing damage to the immune system when being treated for cancer.
L-glutamine is able to protect some, from the adverse effects of chemotherapy, such as pain and swelling in the mouth, diarrhea, nerve pain, and muscle and joint pain. It is not understood why glutamine does not reduce pain and swelling in all chemotherapy patients nor is it understood which patients are more likely to benefit. Some researchers think that those patients who have inadequate levels of glutamine in the body to begin with, are most likely to benefit. There are studies being planned to further study.
There is some evidence that glutamine might help to reduce muscle and joint pain caused by paclitaxel (Taxol) used in treating cancer.
Nutrition problems can occur after major gut surgery called short bowel syndrome. There has been some research that has studied glutamine combined with HGH and how effective it is in treating short bowel syndrome. This research showed that the combination helps some patients become less dependent on tube feeding. However, when glutamine is given alone it seems to be ineffective.
Some researchers suggest that glutamine may increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments with methotrexate, doxorubicin, and 5-fluorouracil in those with colon cancer.

What Does the L in L-Glutamine Mean?

In the body, a number of molecules exist in two different forms, as mirror images that are not identical to one another. Think of it like your left and right hand. The ‘L’ in L-Glutamine stands for levo (left) and its mirror image is referred to as D-Glutamine, which stands for dextro (right). L-Glutamine is the one that is most useful in your body. Even if supplements don’t include the “l” you can be sure it 100 percent L-Glutamine.

L-Glutamine Side Effects

It appears that L-Glutamine is safe for most adults when it is taken orally, but to date there has not been adequate research to confirm this or to determine whether there are any side effects.

Special Precautions for L-Glutamine

If you are pregnant or you are breastfeeding avoid use as there is not enough data known.
If you have severe liver disease with confusion or difficulty thinking glutamine can make it worse so you should avoid.
If you have MSG sensitivity (Monosodium Glutamate), you could be sensitive to glutamine because glutamine is converted to glutamate.
If you suffer from a mental disorder called mania, it can make the condition worse so you should avoid use.
L-Glutamine can increase seizures in people who already suffer from seizures.
If you are being treated with any medications, do not use glutamine supplements without direction from your doctor.

Concerns With Tumor Growth in Cancer Patients

Some laboratory studies have indicated that glutamine can stimulate the growth of tumors. More research is necessary before it is known whether it is safe to use glutamine if you have cancer. You should talk to your oncologist before you take glutamine.

Dietary Sources of Glutamine

Dietary sources of glutamine include animal proteins and plant proteins such as pork, poultry, beef, milk, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, raw parsley, yogurt, cabbage and raw spinach.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, glutamine is generally in the form of L-Glutamine and its available standalone or in a protein supplement. It comes in the form of capsules, powder, liquid and tablet form. Standard preparations are 500 mg tablets/capsules. It should be taken with foods and/or liquids that are room temperatures or cold. Don’t take with hot beverages as the heat will destroy the glutamine.

Adults should use no more than 40 grams of glutamine per day. The recommended dose for children between the ages of 3 and 18 is no more than 0.65 per kilogram of body weight per day. However, children should only be given L-Glutamine after consulting with a doctor. Health care providers will sometimes prescribe dosages as high as 5,000 - 15,000 mg daily or even higher for certain conditions. For a list of anti aging HGH supplements that contain L-Glutamine go to this webpage!

Research On L-Glutamine

Agostini F, Giolo G. Effect of physical activity on glutamine metabolism. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010; 13(1):58-64.
Avenell A. Symposium 4: Hot topics in parenteral nutrition Current evidence and ongoing trials on the use of glutamine in critically-ill patients and patients undergoing surgery. Proc Nutr Soc. 2009 Jun 3:1-8. [Epub ahead of print]
Akobeng AK, Miller V, Stanton J, Elbadri AM, Thomas AG. Double-blind randomized controlled trial of glutamine-enriched polymeric diet in the treatment of active Crohn's disease. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2000;30(1):78-84.
Buchman AL. Glutamine: commercially essential or conditionally essential? A critical appraisal of the human data. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;74(1):25-32.
Clark RH, Feleke G, Din M, et al. Nutritional treatment for acquired immunodeficiency virus-associated wasting using beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, glutamine, and arginine: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study. JPEN: J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2000;24(3):133-139.
Decker GM. Glutamine: indicated in cancer care? Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2002;6(2):112-115.
Greenlee H, Hershman DL, Jacobson JS. Use of antioxidant supplements during breast cancer treatment: a comprehensive review. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2009 Jun;115(3):437-52. Epub 2008 Oct 7.
Field CJ, Johnson IR, Schley PD. Nutrients and their role in host resistance to infection. J Leukoc Biol. 2002 Jan;71(1):16-32.
Grimm H, Kraus A. Immunonutrition--supplementary amino acids and fatty acids ameliorate immune deficiency in critically ill patients. Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2001 Aug;386(5):369-376.
Lecleire S, Hassan A, Marion-Letellier R, Antonietti M, Savoye G, et al. Combined glutamine and arginine decrease proinflammatory cytokine production by biopsies from Crohn's patients in association with changes in nuclear factor-kappaB and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. J Nutr. 2008 Dec;138(12):2481-6.
Murray SM, Pindoria S. Nutrition support for bone marrow transplant patients. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Jan 21;(1):CD002920. Review.
Rakel D. Integrative Medicine, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, An Imprint of Elsevier; 2007.
Weitzel L, Wischmeyer P. Glutamine in Critical Illness: The Time Has Come, The Time Is Now. Critical Care Clinics. 2010;26(3).
Vahdat L, Papadopoulos K, Lange D, et al. Reduction of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy with glutamine. Clin Cancer Res. 2001;7(5):1192-1197.
Ziegler TR. Glutamine supplementation in cancer patients receiving bone marrow transplantation and high dose chemotherapy. [Review]. J Nutr. 2001;131(9 Suppl):2578S-84S; discussion 2590S