Nutrition & Health OnLine Magazine

Glutamine: Can it Help You Recover Better from Workouts? Part 1

Shawn Sales

One of the newest dietary supplements today gaining wide acclaim is the ergogenic aid Glutamine. In the body, glutamine is a non-essential amino acid which means the body can produce glutamine and does not need to acquire the amino acid from an outside source of food. New research has shown that when the body is under stressful conditions such as injury, or trauma suffered from burns, the need for glutamine in the body is much greater. Research has also shown glutamine depletion to occur at times of extreme physical demand placed on the body from vigorous exercise.

Glutamine depletion from exercise has recently been supported by several clinical studies, including one involving highly conditioned soldiers who participated in grueling resistance training workouts over the course of 10 days. Blood tests revealed a 50 percent reduction in plasma glutamine coupled with significant decreases in protein synthesis and performance. The researchers noted that glutamine levels didn't return to normal until the soldiers had six days of continuous rest.¹

With intense training, or patients who are critically ill and in a catabolic state, the demand for glutamine may then exceed the amount that the body can produce. For example, during various catabolic conditions such as after surgery the amount of plasma glutamine is reduced. There is also some evidence to suggest that a relative immunodeficiency that is symptomatic of "overtraining syndrome" may be one consequence of glutamine depletion.² During this time of catabolism in the body, Glutamine may be looked upon as being an essential amino acid. Abundant evidence suggests that glutamine may be a "conditionally essential" amino acid for the critically ill. During stress the body's requirements for glutamine appear to exceed the individuals ability to produce sufficient amounts of this amino acid. Provision of supplemental glutamine in specialized enteral or parenteral feeding may enhance nutritional management and augment recovery of the seriously ill while minimizing hospital stay. ³

Having an understanding that Glutamine is in great demand for the body during times of stress from exercise and trauma, research has looked at Glutamine being used as an ergogenic aid in recovery during the post workout phase. Research has also looked at glutamine being used to help athletes recover quicker from their workout and for glutamine to be used potentially as an anabolic agent by blunting the effects of low glutamine pools that are the norm after intense workouts.

Presumably, skeletal muscle synthesizes and stores glutamine. Plasma glutamine is decreased with endurance exercise and overtraining. Thus, if the process of glutamine release is compromised by exercise, the glutamine requirement of the immune cells is not met and immune function is impaired. To elevate plasma concentrations of glutamine, supplementation with branch-chain amino acids appears effective because it significantly modified the drop in plasma glutamine concentrations after a marathon run in overtrained athletes. ⁴

One finding that research has provided is that a loss in the body's glutamine pool is not based on just one form of exercise. Loss of plasma glutamine has been found to occur in both aerobic and anaerobic exercise meaning that significant losses in glutamine have been found in different forms of exercise from sprinting (anaerobic) to long distance running (aerobic). In one study, seven healthy athletes performing intensive anaerobic exercise (a single short-distance sprint) showed a 45 percent drop in plasma glutamine compared to their pre-exercise levels. When the same athletes did intensive aerobic exercise (10 days of long distance running), their plasma glutamine dropped 50 percent. Some runners still had depressed glutamine levels even six days after recovering from the aerobic program, suggesting that they needed more glutamine than their diets provided. ⁵

One area that often accompanies many endurance athletes trying to achieve peak performance in their sport is overtraining. Often endurance athletes trying to compete at the highest level will increase their training regimen to gain a competitive edge in their sport. While the athlete may feel they are gaining a competitive edge by increasing their training regimen, they may at the same time be compromising both their immune system and their plasma glutamine stores. Overtrained athletes are also thought to be more susceptible to various infections, particularly upper respiratory tract infections, possibly because of an impaired immune system. In a recent review, Rowbottom and others indicated that impaired glutamine status might be associated with the overtrained state. ⁶

In other research conducted by Parry-Billings they studied 40 overtrained, international-class athletes at the British Olympic Medical Center; most of the athletes were involved in endurance -type events. The investigators noted a decrease plasma glutamine level compared to control athletes not regarded as being overtrained. They also noted that prolonged strenuous exercise such as a marathon reduces plasma glutamine levels. Although they had no explanation for the decreased plasma glutamine levels, they hypothesized that because glutamine is a prime fuel for cells in the immune system, decreased levels might impair immune function. ⁶

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