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Back to previous article which talks
about Glutamine ...
Somewhere along the
line, Mother Nature made a few decisions regarding which amino acids
would be used to fuel the body's life support systems. Not wanting to
risk the biological equivalent of a blackout, she chose not to use
essential amino acids since the supply could potentially be interrupted
by a poor diet. Instead, she selected nonessential amino acids, because
as long as the body has at least one scrap of muscle somewhere, a supply
of amino acids exists that can be used to support vital functions.
Glutamine is one such
nonessential amino acid. It fuels some of the body's major systems, like
the brain, intestines, kidneys, lungs and immune system,. The body will
literally digest its own muscle tissue to get glutamine if not enough is
ingested.
If you're like most
people - or most bodybuilders, at least - the thought of cannibalizing
muscle tissue simply to get glutamine makes about as much sense as
buying a Bently just to get a set of tires. But hang on: If you
think you should supplement with glutamine just to prevent your
hard-earned muscle from being little more than an amino donor for your
organs, read on.
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Increases Muscle
Protein Synthesis - Glutamine has been positively linked to
increased protein synthesis by establishing a positive intramuscular
glutamine pool. This spares the muscle tissue from being
cannibalized
to provide glutamine for other cells in the body, allowing the
muscle tissue to use glutamine to synthesize new protein tissue.
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Increases Cell
Volume - Cellular hydration state has a major influence on cell
function. Glutamine was shown to increase cell volume.
Interestingly, insulin and glutamine together seem to work even
better at volumizing the cell. Cell swelling has also shown to
promote glycogen synthesis in liver and muscle tissue. Glutamine had
a stimulatory effect on glycogen accumulation in human skeletal
muscle. This suggests that the availability of glutamine after
exercise promotes muscle glycogen accumulation by mechanisms
possibly including diversion of glutamine carbon skeleton to
glycogen.
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Maintains
Acid-Base Balance - A small glutamine load of 2 grams increased
plasma alkaline reserves, which may contribute to acid-base balance.
Glutamine may be beneficial in regulating acid-base balance since it
increases plasma bicarbonate concentration. This could be beneficial
to athletes who might need help buffering lactic acid during
multiple sets of high-intensity exercise.
Find
out more about Glutamine ...
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