# L-Glutamine



## leon2982 (May 20, 2007)

I have heard that L-Glutamine will improve recovery time and enhance development of lean muscle mass. Can anyone corroborate with first-hand experience.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

leon2982 said:


> I have heard that L-Glutamine will improve recovery time and enhance development of lean muscle mass. Can anyone corroborate with first-hand experience.


Didn't do much for me. I do take Glucosamine/Chondrointin though and it helps quite a bit with joint pain and muscle aches associated with exercise. Then again I'm 42 so YMMV.


----------



## ghammer (May 21, 2003)

it does works wonders for me. as a matter of fact, this is the most predominant amino on endurox. but i figured a way to make a poor man's endurox: buy a general, run of the mill protein shake, and a bottle of glutamine at gnc. have them IMMEDIATELY after the workouts and it'll work. also, it's very safe. if you have further queries about its efficacy, go to supplementwatch.com.

good luck,

G


----------



## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Doing research*



leon2982 said:


> I have heard that L-Glutamine will improve recovery time and enhance development of lean muscle mass. Can anyone corroborate with first-hand experience.


Rather than rely on perhaps the most notoriously innacurate data source for a question like this (self reported "results") why not go to a reputable site like pubmed and look around. You can Google the question and then self-filter all those crap sites that are just selling product. You'll find quite a few studies on the topic - look for studies published in major journals and by major universities.


----------



## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

+1 Kerry's answer. Here's a site I like (and also shell out $99/year to read their print edition) 

www.pponline.co.uk

Using their on-site google search for l-glutamine, I found this tantalizing tidbit:

"As far as supplementation before exercise is concerned, it has been shown that ingestion of 1.5g of arginine will increase human growth hormone (hGH) secretion by blocking release of the hGH-inhibitor somatostatin, although some studies have suggested this causes gastric disturbance(5). However, 2g of glutamine will lead to elevation of human growth hormone (hGH) 90 minutes later without side effects (6). It may also be a good idea to ingest some amino acids after exercise, as this has been shown to enhance human growth hormone (hGH) secretion too (7)."


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Creakyknees said:


> +1 Kerry's answer. Here's a site I like (and also shell out $99/year to read their print edition)
> 
> www.pponline.co.uk
> 
> ...


This info is kinda useless without understanding the studies these conclusions were based on. And even if accurate does the elevation caused by supplementation lead to any real-world results?


----------



## crj (Jul 31, 2006)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Didn't do much for me. I do take Glucosamine/Chondrointin though and it helps quite a bit with joint pain and muscle aches associated with exercise. Then again I'm 42 so YMMV.


Glad to here that about Glucosamine/Chonodrointin, my doc just put me on it. Hope it helps. Do you use a generic or a name brand?


----------



## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

crj said:


> Glad to here that about Glucosamine/Chonodrointin, my doc just put me on it. Hope it helps. Do you use a generic or a name brand?


I usually buy it at Costco...whatever is cheapest. I really feel the difference when I use it vs not. My knees hurt much less than they did before and I also think it helps with muscle soreness a bit. My doc has no problems with me taking it.


----------



## coonass (Feb 4, 2004)

For a great Glucosamine product, look at MRM's Joint SYnergy....contains most of the ingredients that you'll find while searching for Joint pain relief, Joint protection, etc. If you want to get a good price on a quality L-Glutamine, go to http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-L-Glutamine-Powder.


----------



## Swildey (Oct 24, 2007)

I'm a 48 year old survivor and can say that the "recovery" drinks work for me.


----------



## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*both?*



Kerry Irons said:


> Rather than rely on perhaps the most notoriously innacurate data source for a question like this (self reported "results") why not go to a reputable site like pubmed and look around. You can Google the question and then self-filter all those crap sites that are just selling product. You'll find quite a few studies on the topic - look for studies published in major journals and by major universities.


Kerry, while you are always the primary source of sound reasoning here, why not utilize both sources of information, anecdotal and scientific studies? 

Studies usually answer a very specific question, can be hard to understand, and may not tell you what you want to know. For example, as here, does raising levels of a certain something cause you to recover better and ride faster? It's hard to find studies that connect all the dots.

On the other hand, if 10 people weigh in and all 10 say, "I tried it and it worked for me," or "I tried it and it did nothing," I think that's valuable infomation. Sure, they probably were not subject to scientific controls, and they could be the 10 in a thousand that varied from the norm, but to me, it's enough information to at least give me a heads up on whether I might bother spending 20 bucks and give it a shot. It's not like we are discussing a cure for cancer. But, everyone should understand, as I assume they do, that the information is purely anecdotal and, as always, YMMV.

If you posted that you tried something and it made you 10% faster, I'd spend my last dime getting it and trying it. ;-)


----------



## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Using both?*



Fixed said:


> Kerry, while you are always the primary source of sound reasoning here, why not utilize both sources of information, anecdotal and scientific studies?


I'd tend to buy this if the data didn't call it into question. IOW, you will get hundreds of "I tried it and it worked for me," and just a few "Did nothing for me (or worse)." And yet, the literature doesn't support the "It worked for me," statements. It's called the placebo effect. Here's a relevant quote: (Christiane Ayotte, head of Canada's leading anti doping lab) 

Supplements' "claimed actions, efficiency, or potency have not been thoroughly investigated by controlled clinical studies and remain for the most part anecdotal." "athletes are targeted by the sport nutritional industry by very aggressive and efficient marketing, but for the vast majority of the products . . , the scientific proofs supporting their claims are not there. But the athletes believe: It is more on the side of faith than facts. One only listens to what he wants and becomes deaf, blind to all logical arguments."


----------



## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> And even if accurate does the elevation caused by supplementation lead to any real-world results?


This is a very good consideration that people should keep in mind. Just because a supplement may affect on a given hormone's levels doesn't mean that translates into any kind of measurable increase in performance. I would think this would be particularly a concern for hormones like HgH and testosterone where it isn't even clear that if you take large amounts of the hormones themselves that you will experience an increase in endurance performance. 

Any supplement that has been around for a while should have a review paper or two on Pubmed that will go over the studies that are available.


----------



## Lord Taipan (Aug 10, 2006)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17111006?ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9263279?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlushttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16631431?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus

Food for thought.


----------

