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Remove Toxins and Boost Glutathione and Immune Function with Glutamine!
Getting that edge on all around good health sounds like a myth, but it isn’t. Not as long as glutamine does all that they say it does. Researchers have spent quite some time examining the benefits of glutamine and they’ve learned quite a bit. Just take a look at the plethora of studies and you’ll find a variety of functions that can benefit the human body. For example, glutamine can help boost the immune system during prolonged exercise and help folks with wound healing. Researchers also say that glutamine can help keep the immune system strong even during stressful moments such as surgery. And if this isn’t enough, glutamine has many other basic functions that keep our bodies moving on a healthy track. Glutamine helps keep ammonia levels in check, it carries nitrogen throughout the body and it provides fuel to cells and for certain cells, it can deliver fuel pretty quick.12
What is glutamine?
Glutamine has a simple beginning. In 1883, researchers discovered its structure from two unlikely sources—beet juice and wheat.3 Once identified, scientists thought that humans did not have to have it in the diet because the body could make it. However, scientists quickly updated this idea once they realized that the body could not make enough glutamine during certain kinds of stress and now they refer to glutamine as semi-essential or essential under certain conditions.4
Glutamine is one of twenty amino acids or building blocks that are responsible for making hair, skin, nails, organs, hormones and many other parts of the body. It is the most abundant amino acid in the body and makes up a little more than half of the free amino acids in the muscles and blood. It is made and stored in the skeletal muscle and is synthesized from glutamate and ammonia.
Glutamine is not only manufactured in the body; it is also found in foods such as meat, dairy products and plant foods such as spinach and parsley. However, during stressful events such as surgery and extended periods of exercise, or conditions such as HIV or cancer, glutamine from foods and from the body may not meet the body’s demands.
Supplementing the diet with glutamine can help us reach optimal levels.
Glutamine’s role in the body
Glutamine has a laundry list of functions in the body and impacts the body in several ways. For example, glutamine is a substrate for protein, neurotransmitter and nucleic acid synthesis and, it is a precursor for the production of the antioxidant, glutathione. Among these and other functions of glutamine, there are several that are of great interest. Take a look at what glutamine can do for the body.
Glutamine & detoxification
Glutamine has two nitrogen atoms in the form of an alpha-amino group and an amide group. Because of these two nitrogen groups, glutamine is able to shuttle nitrogen back and forth throughout the body. It is estimated that one-third of all amino-acid nitrogen is transported by the blood in the form of glutamine.
The liver and kidneys play key roles in managing this nitrogen-containing compound. The liver is able to detoxify the blood by removing excess ammonia from venous blood and converting it to glutamine to keep the blood from becoming toxic. On the other hand, the kidneys are able to make ammonia from glutamine and excrete it as necessary. These functions show the importance of glutamine in the body, and that it helps regulate the acid/base balance and keep blood healthy.56
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This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with a physician before embarking on a dietary supplement program.
References
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Abcouwer S. and Souba W. (1999). Glutamine and Arginine. In: Shils M, Olson J, Shike M, and Ross A. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins: A Waverly Company. 559 - 569.
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Waddell D and Fredricks K. Effects of a glutamine supplement on the skeletal muscle contractile force of mice. American Journal of Undergraduate Research. 2005;4(2):11-17.
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Iwashita S, Williams P, Jabbour K, et al. (2005). Impact of glutamine supplementation on glucose homeostasis during and after exercise. J Appl Physiol. 99, 1858-1865.
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Carvalho-Peixoto J, Alves RC, and Cameron LC. (2007). glutamine and carbohydrate supplements reduce ammonemia increase during endurance field exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 32 (6), 1186-1190.
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Bassini-Cameron A, Monteiro A, Gomes A, et al. . (2007). Glutamine protects against increases in blood ammonia in football players in an exercise intesity-dependent way. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 42, 260-266.
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Iwashita S, Williams P, Jabbour K, et al. (2005). Impact of glutamine supplementation on glucose homeostasis during and after exercise. J Appl Physiol. 99, 1858-1865.
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Castell LM. (2002). Can glutamine modify the apparent immunodepression observed after prolonged, exhaustive exercise?Nutrition. 18 (5), 371-375.
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Hiscock N, Petersen EW, Krzywkowski K, et al. (2003). Glutamine supplementation further enhances exercise-induced plasma IL-6. J Appl Physiol. 95, 145-148.
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Rutten E, Engelen M, Wouters E, et al.. (2006). Metabolic effects of glutamine and glutamate ingestion in healthy subjects and in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 83 (1), 115-123.
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Waddell D, and Fredricks K. . (2005). Effects of a glutamine supplement on the skeletal muscle contractile force of mice.American Journal of Undergraduate Research. 4 (2), 11-17.
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Javier J and Hidalgo M. . (2006). Withdrawal from free-choice ethanol consumption results in increased packing density of glutamine synthetase-immunoreactive astrocytes in the prelimbic cortex of alcohol-preferring rats. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 10, 1-7.
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