How Effective are Glutamine Supplements for Building Muscle

Glutamine is the kind of supplement that is highly appreciated by a part of bodybuilders and blamed for being ineffective by others. We want to know where the truth lies and decided to delve into studies that back up one or another side of this story. Therefore, if you are eager to know what glutamine is, is it indeed a very effective supplement, how to take it, what results to expect and what brands out there worth your money, then you have come to the right place.

Let’s start with a short explanation of what is glutamine. Glutamine, as you may know already, is an amino acid, which is successfully used in the process of protein synthesis. Hence glutamine enables the body to produce more muscle mass, strengthen and control the immune system and serves as fuel for the brain.

The glutamine outcomes, then here are the most important of them:

Lowers catabolism rate and increase anabolic one
Enhances nitrogen retention and glycogen stores
Improves gastrointestinal health
Improves HGH secretion
Effective in losing fat while keeping on muscle mass.

Sounds impressive, isn’t it? And if so, why some bodybuilders keep thinking of glutamine as an odd compound? There’s no smoke without fire. While glutamine supports the muscle-building process and is quite effective in bodybuilding in general, the reason behind the skeptical view of this supplement is that it can be easily obtained from basic foods.

Read More: Building Muscle After the 40s

In other words, glutamine is an easily obtainable amino-acid largely found in protein-rich foods, which constitutes the main diet of any bodybuilder. Beef, milk, chicken, eggs, beans, low-fat dairy products are, as you know, the essentials of any muscle-building diet. So, then why you will try to have more of it by taking glutamine supplements?

More than this, an excess of glutamine is not stored in the body to be used for a later time, the body just gets rid of it. For this main reason, if your goal is to simply maintain your bodyweight - no bulking or cutting purpose. Then adding glutamine supplement is just a waste of money.

The same can not be said about those trying to burn off fat. If you are on your way to get rid of extra fat while keeping the lean muscle you have built over bulking phase, then glutamine supplements is definitely a great addition.

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How Much of Oral Glutamine to Take and How?

The way you administered glutamine supplement is a make-or-break decision. If you are asking yourself why this is so important then know that the main issue with oral glutamine is that it tends to be absorbed by intestines, as in the case of oral steroids.

As a result, only a tiny percentage of it get into the bloodstream and then into muscles cells and promotes the above-mentioned effects. But all is not lost. There are at least two ways to make it through.

Take Huge Dose at Once

The idea behind this principle is to take the whole dosage at once, especially after the workout, when the glutamine level in the system is quite low. By taking, let’s say 15g of oral glutamine at once, chances are that a part of it will pass intestines and get into the bloodstream and further in the muscle cells.

But all this comes to a huge price you have to pay for buying the glutamine supplement and getting it lost throughout the way to the bloodstream.

Small Doses Split Throughout the Day

As this study suggests, 2g of glutamine managed to increase GH and get into the blood. Such a low dosage of oral glutamine supplement is considered do not trigger the absorption function of liver or intestines. This leads to the conclusion that a 15gr of oral glutamine split into 3-4 doses throughout the day before and after workout works way better than ingesting a whole dosage at once.

An example of successful administration is 5 grams of glutamine in the morning, 5gr before the workout and another five after it.

What Results To Expect With Glutamine Supplements?

As we said, while glutamine improves the overall body health indicators, it’s especially important to take it during a cutting phase. Because like no other supplement, glutamine is helping you to reduce fat while preserving muscle mass. As for reaching a higher bulking rate, glutamine is not a must-add supplement. If you are eating at least 250 grams of protein per day. Than rest assure, you daily need of glutamine is fulfilled.

Glutamine supplements proved to be very effective for endurance athletes, such as runners. So if you enjoy running then adding from 2-15 grams of glutamine supplement is definitely a good idea.

What Are The Best Glutamine Supplements

While the opinions on this topic can vary, the vast majority of bodybuilders do mention Higher Power Micronized Glutamine 1000. Beverly International Glutamine Select Plus BCAAs, Optimum Nutrition's Pro Complex, Dymatize Proline Micronized Glutamine, Puritan's Pride L-Glutamine, Effervescent Glutamine, AST Glutamine, Precision Engineered Pure L-Glutamine and AllMax glutamine as being the ones that provides good results for the money they paid.

As you may see, some of them are in fact a mix of creatine or other N.O. boosters and glutamine. It's an effective method which we encourage to follow.

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Bottom Line:

Glutamine supplementation increases protein synthesis, lowers catabolic process while speeding up anabolic one and supports the immune system. These are the main traits that make glutamine supplements an effective addition to your diet and workout.

While bulking you can get it easily from protein-rich foods, so no need to take them separately. On the contrary, glutamine greatly supports fat cutting purpose. In a dosage of an average 15 g per day divided into 3-4 intakes. Glutamine prevents muscle loss while encouraging the body to burn fat.

Is glutamine the right supplement for you? There is not a Yes or No answer, as it depends on your goal and body characteristics. However, we hope that our article offers enough evidence to help you make your own way around glutamine supplementation.

F Kyle

The "GYMRAT" of this blog, Pro-blogger and Fitness Instructor since 2008