What up folks! The post below got me thinking about giving extra glutamine a run. I’ve heard sooooo many different strategies for taking it (alone or not alone, morning, postworkout, bedtime, etc.). Anybody know of any hard and fast rules for glutamine supplementation. I’d love to hear from the experts if you’ve got time. Thanks!
Keller: With it’s instablity in water, it seems like as a general concensus, it is best to take it under the tongue and follow it with a big slug of water, or shake, etc.
Interspersed throughout the day seems best (as with any amino acid), making it available to the body when needed.
Until research comes out to show otherwise, I recommend that you vary glutamine supplementation based upon two factors: levels of stress that you’re under, and certain critical times.
Try using the following formula—but by all means, use your judgment and tweak it to meet your needs.
Minimal stress (10-15 grams a day):
Five grams taken twice a day, especially before and after workouts, and before bedtime.
Moderate stress (20-30 grams a day):
Five grams taken four to six times a day, especially before and after workouts, and before bedtime.
Extreme stress (35-40 grams a day):
Five grams taken every three hours while awake, and ten grams right before bed.
A Reasonable Regimen:
5 grams first thing in the morning, 5 before bed, 5 preworkout and 5 post workout.
Hope this helps!
Mufasa
well, to get the most of glutamine I read here in t mag that better is to take BCAA’s because direct glutamine will not work or may be dangerous.
I always take my glutamine (5 grams) just after my workouts. I usually suspend it in some water which is pretty gross, or I mix it in with some juice or Gatorade if I have it around. Either way I only take one serving after my workouts. BYW what brand of glutamine do you all use. Wal-Mart now carries EAS for $15 for like 300 grams.
Unstable in water means if I take glutamine powder and mix it in water it decomposes (to what?) even before I can drink it down?? Where did you read this?
Is there a limit to how much the body can absorb at one time ?
Scott: Nope…you’re fine. I don’t think it is nearly as unstable as Creatine. Putting it in water and drinking it right down is fine.
However…it’s not a supplement you would want to “mix up for the day” and sip on.(Some people have advocated that).
Don’t waste your money on glutamine. Instead, buy a good whey protein(whey has high concentrations of glutamine and bcaa’s and you’ll also get a full profile of all the other aminos)
first of all, i swear by l-glutamine. it is anti-catabolic and a strong cell volumizer. it is also the most abundant amino acid in the body. it is, however, depleted quite a bit through intense physical training of any kind. serving as an anti-oxidant, this stuff will boost your immune system as well if not better than echinecea. i take it according to what my body is telling me. hard workout, or aching quite a bit, then throw some down. i agree w/ just a hefty teaspon followed by water. it is virtually tastless. as for what you can absorb in one day, i have never heard a reasonable amount backed up by any true research. as for just getting l-glut. through whey protein…look a little bit closer, becuause they contain only mil.grams and it’s also glutamic acid…different animal. hope a helped a little
Actually tito, you may want to look again. The whey protein I use has 2,463 mg of GLUTAMINE per serving and 1,642 mg of GLUTAMIC ACID per serving. And as for the amount being labeled as milligrams you need to understand that 2,463 mg of glutamine is almost 2.5 GRAMS. Multiply that by the 12 servings I use daily and you get 27.5 grams per day which is above the reccomended use of glutamine. My point is you DO get plenty of glutamine from whey and all of the other necessary aminos.
Hey Mufasa, where did u get the idea of taking it under the tongue?? It sounds like a great idea, this should allow it to get directly to the blood stream, avoiding the stomach, correct?? So basically you just take a tsp. of powder and pour it under the tongue???
BTW, wouldnt this work for any supplement that you’d want to get into the bloodstream by avoiding the stomach from wasting some of it?
“How to Best Take Glutamine?” Back to the store. I’ve always found it to be useless, even in super high doses.
From Skip LaCour originally.
Due to differences in atomic weights, particle sizes, whether it tends to effervese (or “fizz”) when exposed to water, whether it’s bitter or not, etc., etc. really determines whether a supplement or med can be taken sub-lingual. So no…all supplements cannot be taken this way. (Maybe Bill Roberts can comment a little more on this).