Think L-Glutamine is only for serious body builders?  Think again, L-Glutamine has far-reaching health benefits beyond muscle repair. 

Glutamine, an amino acid is one of the most important nutrients for your intestinal system.  It can help repair a leaky gut, by maintaining the structural integrity of the bowels.  It has even been shown to help with ulcers, with one studying finding that 1.6 g of glutamine per day cured 92% of ulcers in four weeks.

Your body requires glutamine for maintaining intestinal function and aiding in the immune response.  After glutamine is synthesized in the skeletal muscles, it is released into the bloodstream and transported to the kidney, liver and small intestine. 

Glutamine is important to maintain integrity of the intestinal mucosa.  Due to its importance, many gastroenterologists consider glutamine to be an essential nutrient and will ensure adequate glutamine intake in patients with gastrointestinal disease.

Recently, several studies have looked into glutamine and its intestinal effects.  There is now a significant body of evidence that links glutamine-enriched diets, through either food or supplements, to aiding in the maintenance of gut barrier function, intestinal cell proliferation and differentiation.  Researchers postulate that glutamine has cleansing properties stemming from the fact that the intestinal extraction rate of glutamine is higher than that for other amino acids.  Therefore, glutamine is thought to be the most viable option when attempting to alleviate conditions relating to the stomach1.

If you are experiencing stomach issues, talk to your doctor to determine if an L-Glutamine supplement would be beneficial.  L-Glutamine is available from your local health store or click here to purchase from Physician’s Preference.

1. Boza J.J., Dangin M., Moennoz D., Montigon F., Vuichoud J., Jarret A., Pouteau E., Gremaud G., Oguey-Araymon S., Courtois D., Woupeyi A., Finot P.A. and Ballevre O. Free and protein-bound glutamine have identical splanchnic extraction in healthy human volunteers. - Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol (281:G267-G274), 2001

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