The Skinny Guy's Guide To Glutamine
By Vince DelMonte
HealthLife.com Contributor
Updated: June 23, 2008
What Glutamine Sales Reps Are Afraid Of You Discovering
Although the majority of glutamine supplementation hoopla praises its contribution
to increased muscle size and strength, decreased chance of overtraining and the
other claims above, current research today gives no evident benefits for the skinny
guy who wants to build muscle - never mind for any weight trainer in general.
Recently I received an article from a fellow colleague, David Barr MSc., who collected
a large batch of research with an exhaustive reference list supporting the notion
that glutamine is useful for only very specific conditions (which we will discuss
shortly).
Here is a list of some of the most interesting data that David Barr found in his
research with my extra commentary:
- anyways! take you tell companies supplement grams 5-10 the than more far is this
interesting, Even day. per glutamine of 20-30 getting already m>
- Just because glutamine has been proven to work in clinical stress testting does
not mean it equates to exercise stress that you experience after a killer workout.
Clinical stress such as severe burns, AIDS and extensive surgery are good reasons
to warrant its, use but you simply don't cause enough muscular damage during your
workouts to justify its use.
- A 2001 study by Candow et al determined that 0.9g of supplemental glutamine/kg/day
during weight training resulted in no considerable effect on muscle performance,
body composition or muscle breakdown on healthy adults. Since I am just over 200
lbs that is 80 grams of glutamine a day or over $1000 US in glutamine a year! If
80 grams was shown to have no anti-catabolic effects, why would you waste your money
on taking the recommended 5-10 grams per day?
- The majority of the research on endurance athletes has revealed minimal contribution
in regards to enhancement of the immune system. More significantly, a number of
studies disclosed information that glutamine supplementation does not alter exercise-induced
suppression of the immune system. Contrary to popular belief, whether your glutamine
levels drop or not after training, they have no impact on immunity. - Hiscock N,
Pedersen BK. Exercise-induced immunodepression- plasma glutamine is not the link.
J Appl Physiol 2002 Sep;93(3):813-22
- Many claim that glutamine helps increase your 'pump' by improving cell volumization.
Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D, did some preliminary testing and discovered nothing to support
this. Glutamine supplementation has no response on total body water, intra-cellular
fluid levels, or extra-cellular fluid levels. - Dr. John M Berardi, Ph.D., Appetite
For Construction, JohnBerardi.com 2002 Nov 8
- It is still a question whether or not glutamine improves glycogen stores post-weight
training. But why should you care? If you are already consuming a post-workout drink
with sugary carbs to replenish glycogen (this is mandatory for any skinny guy who
wants to build muscle), then further supplementation with glutamine is unnecessary.
- In conclusion, studies that tested athletes who consumed an amino acid drink post-workout
showed an increase in protein synthesis by 48%. However, when glutamine was added
to the drink, no additional benefits occurred. That blows the muscle-building theory
out the window!
So Is Glutamine A Worthless Supplement?
Well, if you stopped reading right now you would think so! And you are probably
confused as heck right now because everything you have heard on glutamine before
today praised its holiness. Remember, the supplement industry is a billion-dollar
industry and nobody makes money by disproving the effectiveness of supplements.
In the end, you must decide for yourself what you wish to believe.
When Glutamine Is Worth Using
David Barr fingers a few situations when glutamine supplement will prove useful
for the bodybuilder, so here is a chance to see if your glutamine should still be
in your budget:
- Glutamine supplementation could prove useful for bodybuilders who decrease their
testosterone levels after coming off a cycle improperly. Muscle breakdown is at
its highest in these circumstances despite a quality nutrition plan, so glutamine
might help.
- During a pre-contest training regiment that consists of very low calories and high
volumes of exercise, protein breakdown is much more likely. Basically, any extreme
dieting or fat loss program with the hopes of getting extremely lean can result
in increased stress, therefore increased catabolism. Competitive bodybuilders and
fitness models are perfect examples of those who might benefit from glutamine supplementation
in this above-normal fat loss situation.
- During incidences of extreme weather conditions and/or multi day training, there
are situations where extreme stress can be counteract with glutamine supplementation.
Triathletes and endurance athletes come to mind.
- " Glutamine supplementation would be beneficial for conditions where catabolic
waste is at its peak. Severe burns, severe colds or flu's, severe allergies, alcoholism,
chemotherapy, HIV/AIDS, irritable bowel syndrome are a few examples.
In Conclusion
At the start I stated that, "Glutamine has no muscle building effects whatsoever."
After reviewing this article, you will notice that is not as black and white as
that. However, the take home message, especially to you skinny guys, is that if
you are on a proper muscle-building meal plan and using solid post-workout nutrition
strategies, glutamine is not a worthwhile supplement for you. Save your money and
put it towards food if you are motivated to gain muscle weight.
Save your money and put it towards food if you are motivated to gain muscle weight.
I hope this supplement was a good example of looking at the evidence rather then
the hyped-up muscle rags and advice from the 'expert' at your gym. In the end, you
are free to believe what you wish, but remember that the current research today
does not support the spectacular muscle-building effects supplement companies claim.
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