Glutamine: when, how much, and with what is it best to take?

Author: - Denis Yremenko - consultant at the sports nutrition store Gen Bizon.
2015-11-06

Glutamine, also known as glutamic acid, accounts for up to 60% of human muscle tissue. This logically suggests that glutamine is an ideal substance for muscle fiber recovery and supercompensation after the breakdown caused by high training loads. However, research by Western scientists and physiologists disproves any significant results from the intake of glutamic acid in this role. This has led to contradictions between scientists and athletes who have experienced the effects of glutamine supplementation.

So, what is the mystery behind the action of glutamic acid? The fact is that biologists have tested its effects based solely on narrow-focused analyses. More extensive studies have shown that the consumption of glutamine triggers a whole range of processes in the body, among which the construction of muscle fibers from the consumed glutamic acid is not one.

What are these processes? One of the most attractive is the increase in growth hormone levels by 420% two hours after taking 5 grams of glutamine at any time compared to the placebo group. The growth hormone level returned to its baseline and equaled that of the placebo group after 2.5 hours.

BUT for 2.5 hours, the body was receiving elevated doses of growth hormone—a hormone produced by the pituitary gland that is associated with increased muscle mass, reduced fat levels, enhanced sexual allure, mood, memory, alertness, immune system activity, and ultimately, youth.

Repeated studies showed a much lower result (an increase in growth hormone levels by 130%) over the course of one hour. The main explanation for this was that the participants were consuming glutamine in a protein drink. According to physiologists, protein mixtures decrease the absorption of glutamic acid.

Their colleagues discovered that glutamic acid enhances the effectiveness of some functions of other amino acids. For instance, when glutamine was taken with creatine, an increase in positive nitrogen balance was observed compared to taking the same amount of creatine without glutamine, which improved performance in the leg press control exercise. This indicates that taking glutamine makes sense to enhance the action of creatine.

In other words, the most optimal way to use and the dosages of glutamine are:

1. Twice a day, 5 grams on an empty stomach, not mixing it with protein drinks.
2. One dose should be taken half an hour before training in combination with creatine, or combined with creatine in the morning on a day without training.
3. The second dose should be taken right before bedtime in combination with BCAAs, as the main surge of growth hormone occurs during sleep, and glutamic acid will help enhance this surge.