Old Forum Glutamine question

[Deleted member 316]

I figured theres more intelligent people here and less keyboard pharmacists so thought I would ask.

1. I was given some glutamine. Is it worth taking? If so, when? I fast all day and eat in a four hour window at night. I also workout in the morning with no pre or post supplements besides coffee before and creatine after.

2. Can you mix glutamine with creatine? If so, I might try the combo pre and post.

 

[Mike Lindner]

I've always added glutamine in with either my protein or creatine when I take it. Problem with that being hard to tell if the glutamine works by itself or if it's the other stuff + training + diet that is working for me. All in all I recovered pretty well from more intense sessions.

Truth be told, lately I've been more a BCAA and protein kind of guy. Got bored with scooping so much into a shaker cup.

 

[jgruginski]

Check this out : http://www.strongfirst.com/topic/l-glutamine-dosage/#post-1294

 

[ali]

Hunter - go and see examine.com. Fantastic resource for all supplementation, science, trials, anecdotes, hearsay, with a data analysis if you want or just a quick sharp answer to whether supp A works or doesn't. In general, they are of the view that with the exception of vit D for the general population, zinc/magnesium for burnt out athletes, creatine for strength/power athletes, everything else - in supp form that is - is questionable for otherwise healthy types with a solid diet. Can't rule out placebo of course! And can't beat food for nutrition.

Helps you make a decision and to sort out the claims and counter claims. They have no sponsors, no hidden agendas it would appear. Well worth looking at.

 

 

[Andrew Palmer]

If you are recovering well from training or from sickness, then taking glutamine may be a luxury for you. For me, glutamine definitely works. I work physically demanding jobs day and night, and found that even if I am rundown, and on 3hrs of sleep, I can still work hard and outlast everyone. My experience is that it does help the immune system favourably. I take glutamine and creatine seperately: glutamine with my protein shakes and creatine I mix into a bottle of Gatorade that I drink throughout each day.

In your situation, Hunter, I would take glutamine at night and continue with taking creatine as you already are.

 

[Deleted member 316]

Thanks for the info and opinions.

 

[The Scientist]

I think it is important to remember here that opinions should not be taken seriously in regarding questions like this. I know that everyone here is well-meaning, but it is impossible for a single person to accurately evaluate the effects of a particular supplement or treatment. The combination of confirmation bias (when you pay for something, you want it to work), and the placebo affect are very strong. You can find wildly different opinions about any supplement all over the internet, no a lot of people must, by definition, be wrong about a lot of things. Actual data from controlled experiments are all that really matter. Humans have been fooled badly by absurd supplementation and pharmaceutical claims all throughout modern history, and most of the fitness supplements we see now undoubtedly fall into that same category.

The fact is that actual hard data are not in favor of much supplementation at all, with the exception of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids,but only if you don't get enough sun or eat enough fish. Creatine does have a documented (very small) positive affect on some types of training performance, but you have to ask: am I really willing to pay for and take this for the rest of my life for such a small effect? If you are a competitive athlete I can see it, but it probably doesn't make sense for most people. Keep your training, diet and sleep habits in order as much as possible.