L-glutamine benefits were first discovered in the body building industry to help build and preserve muscle tissue. As more research has been done on this amino acid the health benefits of L-glutamine are impressive. Here are 14 key proven L-glutamine benefits
Promotes muscle growth.
Decreases muscle wasting (especially important for those using any type of statin drug.)
Helps balance mucus production to improve IBS, diarrhea issues, and healthy bowel movements.
Improves gastrointestinal health by rebuilding and repairing the small intestines.
Helps heal a leaky gut.
Helps heal ulcers.
Aids in cellular detoxification.
Improves your metabolism to aid in weight loss and weight management.
Helps curb cravings for sugar and alcohol.
Helps stabilize blood sugar to improve diabetic issues.
Is an essential neurotransmitter to help with memory, focus, and concentration.
Improves athletic performance.
Aids in recovery from intense exercise.
Key building block for muscular development.
L-Glutamine Benefits Leaky Gut
L-glutamine is considered an semi-essential amino acid since your body uses it in such large amounts. It’s the most abundant amino acid in your blood stream. One of the most important benefits of L-glutamine is that it helps heal a leaky gut.
Ideally, your intestine is designed to be a very selective barrier to everything you consume. It does this by creating what are know as “tight junctions” between the cellular structures of the small intestine. This forces all your food to be broken down by your microbiome so that the nutrients can be properly absorb into your bloodstream.
The unfortunate reality of today’s modern diet of processed foods, high intake of vegetable oils and animal protein, combined with sugar, process carbohydrates and stress has helped create what is known as a leaky gut. These tight junctions are loosened so that undigested food particles, toxins, and pathogens can enter your blood stream.
The result is an immediate activation of your immune system causing inflammation and food sensitivities.
One of the L-glutamine benefits is that it’s a major fuel source for the cells of the small intestine. And research has shown this process to be a major aid in healing a leaky gut. Rebuilding the walls of your small intestine so that these tight junctions are properly restored.
Additionally, L-glutamine benefits your body’s ability to regulate specific immune functions like IgA immune response. IgA is an antibody that your body uses to attack viruses and bad bacteria. And, L-glutamine normalizes the TH2 immune response, which can stimulate inflammatory cytokines. This means that L-glutamine helps to reduce intestinal inflammation, which is a key contributing factor in poor gut health.
L-Glutamine Benefits Weight Loss and Weight Management
As research in the area of the gut microbiome has increased, there has been a clear association between two major bacterial components of the small intestine and how they effect fat storage.
These two microbial communities are:
Bacteroidetes
Firmicutes
What has been noted in numerous studies is that people who are overweight and obese have an overabundance of firmicutes in their gut micobiome.
And for people who are lean they have an overabundance of bacteroidetes.
What’s even more important is that when a person changes their gut microbiome from firmicutes to bacteroidetes they loose fat and become lean. And the exact opposite happens when firmicutes become the dominate microbial community. Lean people gain fat and become overweight.
This is where L-glutamine can be helpful in weight loss and weight management. One of the L-glutamine benefits is that it improves the ratio of the good bacteria (bacteroidetes) to bad bacteria (firmicutes) to aid in weight management.
Here is a list of foods that would be good natural sources for L-glutamine:
Grass-fed Beef
Spirulina
Cottage Cheese
Asparagus
Cod, Tuna and Salmon
Turkey
As you can see by this post, L-glutamine benefits are significant. It would serve you well to include this semi-essential amino acid in your diet.
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