Last week I wrote about one of my favourite gut/bowel supplements which contains the amino acid, glutamine along with other anti-inflammatory and healing herbs. As a follow I thought I would expand a little this week on the other important health benefits of supplementing with glutamine.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid found in our body and plays an important role in maintaining a healthy body. This is because it not only helps preserve our digestive tract it is also beneficial in maintaining a healthy immune system as well as boosting muscle recovery.

Our body naturally manufactures glutamine. Glutamine can also be obtained from certain foods such as beans, eggs, chicken, fish and beef. As does often happen however, we frequently don’t eat enough of these foods to obtain sufficient glutamine from our diet which is why sometimes supplementing with glutamine may be beneficial.

Glutamine has been found to be helpful in -

Promoting a Healthy Gut

Our intestinal lining uses glutamine to assist in creating a strong surface to enable good digestion and absorption. Glutamine is especially important because it feeds the cells which form the inner lining of our small and large intestines. It is believed supplementing with glutamine may be one of the most effective treatments for healing our gut lining particularly for those suffering from leaky gut, inflammatory bowel, poor digestion, bloating and constipation. Glutamine may also be beneficial for treatment of diverticulitis. Because of the relationship between chronic mucosal inflammation, major tissue injury and diverticular disease, glutamine may be beneficial in treating diverticular disease.

Glutamine is also beneficial in maintaining good gut flora which we know helps support a healthy gut. It is also believed to prevent germs from adhering to the inner lining of the gut wall.

Boosting the Immune System

Not only does glutamine play an important role in maintaining a healthy gut, it is also believed to be beneficial in maintaining a healthy immune system. We now know up to 80% of our immune system resides in our gut. There are many intestinal cells with immune functions plus millions of bacteria which live in our intestines contributing to a healthy immune system. Glutamine is thought to be an important fuel source for our immune cells, including our white blood cells.

One would therefore think this is a win/win situation for our immune system. By supplementing with glutamine we are supporting and healing our gut which in turn helps maintain a healthy immune system. At the same time, the glutamine is also boosting immune cell activity in the gut.

Support for Healthy Ageing

There has been some research (1) which indicates glutamine may play a part in healthy ageing. This research indicated supplementation of glutamine together with physical strength training supported healthy ageing and muscle strength in the ageing. Participants supplemented with glutamine experienced an increase in glutathione levels and less oxidative stress.

Muscle Strength and Recovery

We know our body needs extra protein and amino acids to assist in recovery after working out. It has been found during times of increased physical stress, our body requires extra glutamine to maintain physical recovery. Glutamine is thought to enhance muscle strength and stamina and enable faster recovery time.

• Oxid Med Call Longev 2020 Jan 22:2852181. Doi:10.1155/2020/2852181.PMID:32411324:PMCID:PMC7204202

If you would like more information on glutamine, call to see Bev and the team at Go Vita, Your Health Shop at 5 North St, Batemans Bay or phone on 44729737. Don’t forget to tune into Bev on Go Get Healthy on 2EC every Wednesday at 12.30pm.