I’m wondering if any of the bio chemistry minded folks on this forum have looked in to alanyl-glutamine or n-acetyl-glucosamine for their anti inflammatory effects? I’ve done a pretty thorough pub med and google search on both molecules - and there seems to be some potential in each, but nothing really concrete.
Anyone try either of these to deal with an acute inflammatory episode? Recommendations? Dosing schedules?
Thanks!
Since I’ve decided to go ahead and try a self experiment with N-A-G, and since this topic got a lot of clicks and no responses I’ve decided to turn this in to something of a log.
I just got a 60 gram tub of a powdered n-acetyl-d-glucosamine product in the mail today. My plan is to take three 2 g servings a day for the next 10 days in hopes of treating an acute inflammatory condition. Previous to this I spent most of December through April on an assortment of corticosteroids, I’ve been completely off of the synthetic corticoids for about three weeks at this point and my symptoms are at a manageable, but still noticeable level.
Other than the N-A-G I supplement daily with 2 tbs of liquid fish oil/evening primrose, 10,000 iu of D, a B multi, a probiotic, liquid magnesium and calcium, and an adaptogen. I also take 1-2000 mg of vitamin C every couple of days.
I walk every morning, lift weights 4 days a week in an upper/lower split, and do some kind of steady state cardio on my off days. I eat about 2500 kcal daily with usually one higher calorie day, I don’t really count macros but try to keep protein at about 180-200 g daily with more carbs on workout days than non. I do a limited form of intermittent fasting, pushing breakfast back until after my morning walk and sometimes until after I work out.
Currently I weight around 190lbs at 5’11. I have no idea what my bf% is, but I can see the outline of abs and separation in my shoulders and legs when I flex - although I tend to always carry some fat on my low back and love handles.
I’ll be taking my first serving of N-A-G in the morning, my second with my post workout meal and my third following my last meal of the day around 8:00pm.
So far I’ve taken one serving today - it mixes incredibly well in water, dissolving instantly with a quick stir. It doesn’t really have any discernible flavor, just a slight sweetness. I’ve taken glucosamine sulfate in the past and it has always caused GI issues for me pretty quickly, so this will be the first thing I’m really looking out for with the N-A-G - two major claims about this form of glucosamine are that it is easier to digest (although potentially less is assimilated) and it doesn’t have much if any impact on blood sugar levels…
Anyway, I’ll post again in a few days once I’ve gotten a few grams loaded in to my system and have some idea as to whether or not it’s working - I’ll also keep an eye out for any questions any one might have.
cheers!
Day 3 - no GI issues what so ever, so a huge improvement over glucosamine sulfate in that regard.
I felt like I noticed an anti inflammatory effect on day 1, but I mostly chalked that up to placebo effect.
However as of this morning I am solidly convinced that I’m seeing a noticeable anti inflammatory effect.
It would probably help to explain what my particular issue is - I’m dealing with atopic dermatitis, a persistent and wide spread inflammatory skin condition that is usually treated with (and often exasperated by) corticosteroids and immuno-suppresents. As of today I would say that visible inflammation (redness, blistering, edema etc) is significantly reduced - maybe 50-60%? I wish I had taken before and after photos.
So far I am really impressed with this molecule as a replacement for NSAID or glucocorticoid anti inflammatories in my particular case, although the price is really prohibitive for long term use.
I’ll post more towards the end of my 10 day trial. Hope this is all helpful for someone else.
cheers!
So, here I am at the end of 10 days with N-A-G. It seems like it definitely did what I hoped it would - redness/swelling in my skin is almost completely gone, and I’ve also seen a bit of nagging inflammation in my right shoulder clear up quite a bit as well. At this point I’m going to keep dosing at 2g a day for a few weeks. If I intended to uses this stuff again I think I would look for a research supplier, as the packaged product is like $30 for 60g which is basically just a loading dose spread out over ~ a week.
Are you still taking N-A-G? Any updates you can give us?