L-glutamine, sometimes simply called glutamine, is an amino acid that plays a key role in many aspects of your health.
In fact, studies show that it’s essential for immune health, cell function, and metabolism.
What’s more, some proponents assert that glutamine supplements promote weight loss and fat burning. Yet, you may wonder whether these claims are true.
This article explains whether L-glutamine helps you lose weight.
Effectiveness for weight loss
Although research is limited, several studies link glutamine supplements to increased weight loss.
For instance, a 6-week study in 66 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking 30 grams of glutamine powder daily improved multiple risk factors for heart disease and reduced both belly and body fat.
Similarly, a 2-week study using the same amount of glutamine observed decreased waist circumference, a marker for belly fat, in 39 people with overweight or obese.
In another small study, 6 women who took glutamine supplements for 4 weeks experienced significant reductions in body weight and belly fat without making other dietary or lifestyle changes.
Yet, a study in 24 adults indicated that taking 6 grams of glutamine led to an increase in meal size, which may hinder weight loss.
Moreover, another study that examined the effects of taking a glutamine supplement in combination with exercise noted no benefits for body composition or muscle performance.
Keep in mind that all of these studies used very small sample sizes and only evaluated the short-term effects of glutamine supplements.
Therefore, more high-quality research is needed.
How does glutamine work?
Research suggests that L-glutamine supports weight loss through several mechanisms.
First, some studies indicate that L-glutamine supplements alter the composition of your gut microbiome, which is the community of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.
The gut microbiome plays a central role in many aspects of health, including weight management.
What’s more, glutamine may protect against inflammation, which is linked to many chronic conditions, including obesity.
Finally, while studies show that L-glutamine may improve blood sugar control, there’s conflicting evidence on whether it affects insulin — the hormone responsible for transporting sugar from your bloodstream into your cells.
However, some human and animal studies suggest that glutamine enhances insulin sensitivity, improving your body’s ability to use insulin efficiently. This may aid weight loss, as impaired insulin sensitivity is likely tied to a higher risk of weight gain and obesity.
Still, more research is needed to evaluate the relationship between glutamine and insulin sensitivity.
It’s also available in supplement form, including powders and capsules, which are widely considered safe when used as directed.
Most doses range from 500 mg to 3 grams and should be taken daily between meals. In a limited number of studies, doses of up to 30 grams per day have been shown to be effective for weight loss.
However, while short-term use is likely safe, more research is needed to evaluate the potential side effects of supplementing long term.
Start with a lower dose and increase slowly to assess your tolerance.
Additionally, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider before adding any new supplements to your routine.
What Is Glutamine?
Glutamine is an amino acid. Amino acids are molecules that play many roles in the body.
Their main purpose is to serve as building blocks for proteins.
Proteins are crucial to the organs. They also serve other functions, such as transporting substances in the blood and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria.
Like many other amino acids, it exists in two different forms: L-glutamine and D-glutamine.
They are almost identical but have a slightly different molecular arrangement.
The form found in foods and supplements is L-glutamine. Some supplements list it as L-glutamine, but others simply use the broader term glutamine.
While L-glutamine is used to make proteins and perform other functions, D-glutamine appears to be relatively unimportant in living organisms.
L-glutamine can be produced naturally in your body. In fact, it is the most abundant amino acid in the blood and other body fluids.
However, there are times when the glutamine needs of your body are greater than its ability to produce it.
Therefore, it’s considered a conditionally essential amino acid, meaning that it must be obtained from the diet under certain conditions, such as injury or illness.
Also, glutamine is an important molecule for the immune system and intestinal health.
It Is Found in Many Foods
Glutamine is naturally found in a variety of foods. It has been estimated that a typical diet contains 3 to 6 grams per day, but this can vary based on your specific diet.
The largest amounts are found in animal products due to their high protein contents.
However, some plant-based foods have a greater percentage of it in their protein.
One study used advanced lab techniques to determine how much L-glutamine is found in various foods.
The following are the percentages of protein made up of L-glutamine in each food:
- Eggs: 4.4% (0.6 g per 100 g of eggs)
- Beef: 4.8% (1.2 g per 100 g of beef)
- Skim milk: 8.1% (0.3 g per 100 g of milk)
- Tofu: 9.1% (0.6 g per 100 g of tofu)
- White rice: 11.1% (0.3 g per 100 g of rice)
- Corn: 16.2% (0.4 g per 100 g of corn)
Although some plant sources, such as white rice and corn, have a large percent of protein made up of glutamine, they have fairly low protein contents overall.
Thus, meat and other animal products are the simplest ways to get high amounts of it.
Unfortunately, the exact glutamine content of many specific foods has not been studied.
However, because glutamine is a necessary part of proteins, virtually any food containing protein will contain some glutamine.
Focusing on getting enough protein in your overall diet is an easy way to potentially increase the amount of glutamine you are consuming.
EAT HEALTHY
World No.1 Nutrition Supplement
They will need to provide you with some basic information so that you can complete the application process:
Weight Management: Search to End Results Step by step Process
Step 1
Step 2
- SKU 4809 - 1: Ultimate program French Vanilla 1 Kit
- SKU 0194 - 2: Personalized Protein Powder 12.7 Oz.
- SKU 0366 - 2: Protein Bar Deluxe: Citrus Lemon 14 Bars per Box
- SKU 0364 - 2: Protein Bar Deluxe: Vanilla Almond 14 Bars per Box
Step 3
WEIGHT LOSS
MAINTENANCE
WEIGHT GAIN
No comments:
Post a Comment