Tagged with 'glutamine'

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body and is involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid. In particular, it’s the preferred source of fuel for immune cells and the cells that line the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Glutamine's Involvement in Gut Immunity

#1: Glutamine helps T-cells and macrophages do their job! It’s essential for proper GI, immune and muscle function.  

#2: Glutamine helps maintain the structural integrity of the intestinal lining by preserving healthy gut mucosa and protecting the villi that line the gastrointestinal tract. In fact, nearly 70% of the immune system is located in the gut.

To carry out its important role in immune function, the gut must be in tip-top shape, however, due to poor diets, the overuse of antibiotics, excessive alcohol consumption, and a myriad of other reasons, many guts are not. But the amino acid L-glutamine has the ability to support a healthy gut and healthy immunity.

When Does The Body Need More Glutamine?

There are certain stressful situations that cause a decrease in glutamine in our tissues and impair the function of our intestine’s mucosal barrier. Surgery, illness, traumatic injury, viral or bacterial infection, malnutrition, and even chronic stress make it necessary to get enough glutamine.

Additionally, because muscle tissue is the main place where glutamine is produced, people with low muscle mass, such as the elderly or those with muscle wasting diseases, may be at risk for glutamine deficiency.

How Much Glutamine?

Common dosages for supplemental glutamine fall between 500-1,000 milligrams, three times daily, between meals. Give your gut—and immunity—a little extra support with glutamine!

Whether it’s taken as a preventative measure to maintain healthy immunity or to actively heal the gut lining, glutamine is a powerful amino acid that’s up for the challenge.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

 

References:

Natural Grocers Health Hotline. October 2015. Mueller, Liz. 

Wischmeyer PE. Clinical applications of L-glutamine: Past, present, and future. Nutr Clin Prac. 2003;18(5):377-385.

University of Maryland Medical Center. Glutamine. Last reviewed June 20, 2009.

What is Glutamine? 

Glutamine (aka:  L-Glutamine) is a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid commonly stored in muscles and released into the blood stream during times of stress.  It is used by the immune system during times of stress such as physical trauma, burns, starvation, and during prolonged and intense exercise.

Glutamine as a Super-Recovery Nutrient

No athlete wants to be sidelined from their sport due to a cold, especially when the sport could be the cause of the cold!  There is evidence too much intense exercise, such as repetitive long distance running, marathon training, or triathlon training, can reduce immunity.  Intense exercise also lowers blood levels of glutamine, which can remain persistently low with overtraining.¹ 

Overtraining syndrome is when an athlete is training vigorously, yet performance deteriorates.  One sign of overtraining syndrome is a suppressed immune function, with an increased incidence of upper respiratory tract infections.  An increase incidence in these infections is also associated with high volume and/or high intensity training, as well as with excessive exercise, such as marathon or triathlon training.  The upper respiratory tract infection normally manifests between 3 to 72 hours post-race.²

Glutamine is shown to have restorative effects and during times of stress, glutamine needs increase.  The effects of glutamine supplementation on immune function after exercise have been inconsistent,^{3, 4} but a double-blind trial giving athletes glutamine (5 grams after intense, prolonged exercise, then again two hours later) reported 81% having no subsequent infection compared with 49% in the placebo group.⁵

Have You Gotten Sick After Intense Endurance Exercise?

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RD

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

 

References:

1. Rowbottom DG, Keast D, Morton AR. The emerging role of glutamine as an indicator of exercise stress and overtraining. Sports Med 1996;21:80–97 [review].

2.  Lakier Smith L.  Overtraining, excessive exercise, and altered immunity:  is this a T helper-1 versus T helper-2 lymphocyte response?  Sports Med. 2003;33(5):347-64.

3. Rohde T, MacLean DA, Pedersen BK. Effect of glutamine supplementation on changes in the immune system induced by repeated exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998;30:856–62.

4. Castell LM, Newsholme EA. Glutamine and the effects of exhaustive exercise upon the immune response. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1998;76:524–32 [review].

5. Castell LM, Poortmans JR, Newsholme EA. Does glutamine have a role in reducing infections in athletes? Eur J Appl Physiol 1996;73:488–90.

Natural Products Foundation:  Glutamine 

Glutamine

is one of the most common amino acids (building block of protein) in the body.

Glutamine is important for removing excess ammonia, which is a common waste product in the body.  It also helps your immune system function and appears to be needed for normal brain function and digestion.

You can usually get enough glutamine without taking a supplement, because your body makes it and you get some in your diet.  However, certain medical conditions, including injuries, surgery (1, 2), infections (3), and prolonged stress (4), can lower glutamine levels, making it an essential nutrient.  In these cases, L-glutamine has been found to be of great importance in the treatment of trauma and surgery patients, and has been shown to decrease the incidence of infection in these patients.

Wound healing and recovery from illness

When the body is stressed, it releases the hormone cortisol into the bloodstream.  High levelds of cortisol can lower your body's stores of glutamine. Several studies show adding glutamine to enteral nutrition (tube feeding) helps reduce the rate of death in trauma and critically ill people.  Clinical studies have found glutamine supplements strengthen the immune system and reduce infections (particularly infections associated with surgery). Glutamine supplements may also help in the recovery of severe burns (5).

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Glutamine helps to protect the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and is an important fuel source for the small intestine.  For that reason, some have suggested people who have inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, may not have adequate glutamine.  However, the results of two clinical trials concluded taking glutamine supplements did not improve symptoms of Crohn's disease.  More research is needed.  In the meantime, ask your doctor when deciding whether to use glutamine for IBD.

HIV/AIDS

People with HIV or AIDS often experience severe weight loss (particularly loss of muscle mass).  A few studies of people with HIV and AIDS have found taking glutamine supplements, along with other important nutrients including vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, selenium, and N-acetylcysteine, may increase weight gain and help the intestines better absorb nutrients.

Athletes

Athletes who regularly do intense training for endurance events (like marathons) may reduce the amount of glutamine in their bodies.  It's common for them to catch a cold after an athletic event, particularly an upper respiratory infection.  Some experts think that may be because of the role glutamine plays in the immune system.  For this select group of athletes, one study showed taking glutamine supplements resulted in fewer infections.  The same is not true, however, for exercisers who work out at a moderate intensity.

Cancer

People with cancer may have depleted levels of glutamine due to uptake by tumors and constant breakdown of protein. Glutamine may be helpful in offsetting this depletion; however, it may also stimulate the growth of some tumors.  The use of glutamine with cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy seems to prevent nasty side effects in the intestines and mouth (6, 7).

Supplemental glutamine is often given to malnourished cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatments and sometimes used in patients undergoing bone marrow transplants.

Glutamine seems to help reduce inflammation of the mouth caused by chemotherapy.  Some studies, but not all, have suggested taking glutamine orally may help reduce diarrhea associated with chemotherapy.

More clinical research is needed to know whether glutamine is safe or effective to use as part of the treatment regimen for cancer.

In Health and Happiness,

Kelly Harrington, MS, RD

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

 

1.  Blomvist BI, Hammarqvist F, von der Decken A, Wernerman J. Glutamine and alpha-ketoglutarate attenuate the fall in muscle free glutamine concentration after total hip replacement. Clin Nutr 1993;12: 12S–3S.

2.  Parry-Billings M, Baigrie RJ, Lamont PM, Morris PJ, Newsholme EA. Effects of major and minor surgery on plasma glutamine and cytokine levels. Arch Surg 1992;127:1237–40. 

3.  Planas M, Schwartz S, Arbos MA, Farriol M. Plasma glutamine levels in septic patients. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 1993;17:299–300. 

4.  Wernerman J, Hammarqvist F, Ali MR, Vinnars E. Glutamine and ornithine[hyphen]α-ketoglutarate but not branched-chain amino acids reduce the loss of muscle glutamine after surgical trauma. Metabolism 1989;38:63–6. 

5.  Parry-Billings M, Evans J, Calder PC, Newsholme EA. Does glutamine contribute to immunosuppression after major burns? Lancet 1990;336:523 

6.  O’Dwyer S, Smith R, Hwang T, Wilmore D. Maintenance of small bowel mucosa with glutamine-enriched parenteral nutrition. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 1989;13:579–85.

7.  Klimberg V, Souba W, Dolson D, et al. Prophylactic glutamine protects the intestinal mucosa from radiation injury. Cancer 1990;66:62–8.