Did you know that if you perform intense weight training or are very athletic, you might be experiencing muscle wasting? Glutamine is the most common amino acid found in your muscles. In fact over 61% of skeletal muscle is Glutamine. Glutamine is also the primary transporter of nitrogen into your muscles.

During concentrated weight training, your glutamine levels are depleted in your body, decreasing strength, stamina and recovery. It actually can take up to six days for glutamine levels to return to normal. Essentially, glutamine has been linked to protein synthesis. It prevents muscles from being eaten up or wasted in order to provide glutamine for other cells in the body. Researchers demonstrated that supplementing with L-Glutamine could minimize the breakdown of muscle and improve protein metabolism.

Glutamine also has a key role in your ability to secrete human growth hormone, which helps you metabolize body fat and support new muscle growth. Body builders and others trying to lose body fat use L-Glutamine to get rid of body fat without losing any muscle:

“L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle cells. It has many benefits, including maintaining and restoring muscle glycogen levels during and after workouts, increasing growth hormone, increasing muscle cell volume, and improving the immune system.” (From Body Building Index)

If you are very athletic or trying to lose body fat through diet and exercise, consider taking an L-Glutamine supplement regularly. It’s also become the chosen nutritional supplement of martial artists:

“For a considerable amount of time, nutrition has not played a prominent role in the life of many martial artists, police, and military personnel as a means of improving performance. Top athletes are always looking for an edge. Although the martial arts are more of a way of life and a life style than a sport per se, the needs of the martial artist are the same as that of the elite athlete.” (From Sports Nutrition)

L-Glutamine is available from your local health store or click here to purchase from Physician’s Preference.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 at 11:33 am and is filed under Dr. Steven Hotze. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.