Glutamine

L-Glutamine is a huge favourite within the world of athletics, body building, strength training and any high-intensity activity. Body builders have traditionally used L-Glutamine when preparing for a competition and embarking on a restricted-calorie diet in an attempt to restrict muscle-loss and maintain strength levels. Athletes and strength trainers similarly have used L-Glutamine in an attempt to assist recovery and compliment a healthy diet. L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid within the human body (it makes up around 60% of the amino acids in muscle tissue), and whilst it is non-essential it is very much beneficial for anybody doing serious training.

Glutamine is primarily taken as a supplement to aid recovery and halt catabolism (muscle breakdown). It has been shown in studies to hugely reduce post-marathon colds and cramps (up to 32% better than non-supplementation), but is not just for endurance athletes; due to its outstanding anti-catabolic properties it is a firm favourite among bodybuilders and strength trainers. Because glutamine is one of the few amino acids that is found in high concentration in cerebral fluid, it has been linked with greater clarity of thought and increased mental ability among those using it. Another benefit of using glutamine is that it is linked with increased growth hormone production - making glutamine ideal even as part of a fat loss diet - if using for this reason it is recommended that glutamine is taken before bed and upon waking on an empty stomach.

Most reputable supplements will have 99.9% glutamine in their supplements - but it is sometimes worth checking to see if a supplement you are already taking has glutamine added, as most "all-in-one" sports supplements have glutamine as one of the main ingredients, and indeed this is a great way to top up your glutamine without buying another supplement!

Generally speaking most athletes use as much glutamine as they see fit - but taking large dosages at once has been linked with upset stomachs; obviously if you suffer this effect then you would be better taking the same amount broken into smaller servings throughout the day. Normal dosages range from 5g to 60g per day - but only around 10g at a time is recommended to avoid upset stomachs.

The only possible side effect of taking large dosages of glutamine is an upset stomach, and this can easily be avoided by splitting portions up into smaller ones - 10g is a good typical serving of glutamine.