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Old Forum L-glutamine dosage

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Rob,

I've used l-glutamine mostly when working through food cravings.  It has an advantage over other aminos as it is tasteless and can be placed and held directly under the tongue (powder form naturally) to directly go into the blood stream, 1-2g at a time.  Everything I've read has suggested around 5g post-training, don't know a good source that relates dosage to body weight though.
 
Hi Rob,

I don't take it by bodyweight but by total amount of glutamine  (30 g), but that turns out to exactly match the recommendation below. I found the quote on another board as this sparked my interest to have a decent answer. I will say that I used to become overtrained way too easily before I started supplementing with glutamine. Don't know if I have some other issues going on but the Glutamine definitely helped. Here's the info:

 

Dr. Eric Serrano on Glutamine:

"Glutamine has made a big difference in my patients, especially their immune systems, and glutamine gets rid of colds; it helps your joints; and it can increase your strength in one day. People will ask me where I'm getting this information from, but I've been playing with 11 patients with different dosages. Here's what I've come up with: you need .35 grams per kilogram of body weight. And you take it in one dose an hour before a workout.

I know that we chemistry people say it does this or it does that, but something else is going on. I think there are two mechanisms. For one thing, I think it's an excellent source of energy because the body can break it down to glutamic acid, which is kind of a sugar [although he wouldn't come right out and say it, Dr. Serrano intimated that the glutamic acid may serve as a powerful energy substrate, thereby increasing work capacity]. Number two, I have found out, and this is very important, glutamine is a marker of overtraining. If I take people, and I have them write down their workouts, and if their glutamic acid/glutamine ratio is over 10 to one, that person was invariably getting sick or developing soreness, or their performance was going down. I will tell you, papers are going to come out on it, because it's very interesting how this works. If the ratio is less than 10 to 1, you're overtraining. If I give you oral glutamine, you'll prevent overtraining. I have some theories about how it works, but I don't want to talk about them yet…if it works that way, great, but I don't want to give people the wrong idea.

Because the cost is so high, I wouldn't take it every day. I might take a baseline dosage of 2 to 5 grams a day to keep my levels high, but if I'm going through an intensity phase or accumulation phase, like Charles Poliquin calls them, I will take a larger dosage—.35 grams (times body weight in kilograms) and divide it into two dosages; in the morning, an hour before the workout, and the other half before bedtime to preserve muscle while I'm sleeping."
 
Rob,

I found this, and many just like it, a while ago -

Glutamine
Glutamine is an important fuel for lymphocytes and monocytes as supported by in vitro experiments showing that stepwise depletion of glutamine has a direct effect in lowering proliferation rates of T and B lymphocytes. Glutamine is an important component of currently avail- able enteral immune-modulating formulas for patients who are critically ill or who have experienced trauma or surgery.41
Reduced plasma glutamine levels have been observed in response to intense and prolonged exertion, and exercise immunologists have tested the value of glutamine ingestion as a countermeasure to exercise- induced immune dysfunction.42–46 The majority of studies, however, have not been able to demonstrate that exercise-induced reductions in plasma glutamine levels cause impaired immunity and diminished host protec- tion against viruses in athletes. For example, in a cross- over, placebo-controlled study of eight males, glutamine supplementation abolished the post-exercise decrease in plasma glutamine concentration but still had no influence relative to placebo on exercise-induced decreases in T and natural killer cell function.44
One problem with the glutamine hypothesis is that plasma concentrations following exercise do not decrease below threshold levels that are detrimental to lymphocyte function as demonstrated by in vitro experiments.46 In other words, even marathon-type exertion does not deplete the body of glutamine to a degree sufficient to negatively diminish lymphocyte function.

It's from "Immunonutrition support for athletes" by
David C Nieman

I can send the whole thing to you if you'd like.
 
Interesting. I'm in my mid fifties. Along with kettlebells, I also do HIIT workouts with sledgehammer, battlerope,flipping a heavy a#@ tire, etc. I've considered taking glutamine, and am still doing research on it as it relates to older folks. I'm also type 2 diabetic, but have it under strict control. Any thoughts on this?
 
Cliff, your mention of Type II Diabetes has me concerned.  If you don't mind, please tell us more - I'm thinking that, although it's great to  "have it under strict control," getting rid of it, if at all possible, ought to be the top priority.  At the very least, I'd think you'd want to run any supplementation idea by your doctor before trying it even once.

I'm not trying to change the subject, which I find interesting because I'm about your age, but I am concerned.  (I've tried L-Glutamine in the past and it's never done anything for me, but I have also only tried it in lower doses than those we're discussing here, so I am now considering trying it again after reading this thread.)

-S-
Steve Freides, StrongFirst Team Leader
http://www.kbnj.com
http://RideChickens.blogspot.com
 
Steve,

Sorry about that.  By "have it under strict control" means I monitor my diabetes on a daily basis, by finger prick, strict control of what I eat, exercise,lots of water,and proper rest. I was taking 1000 miligrams of metformin daily but as of September 1st my doctor has taken me off of it. My blood sugar level has been no higher then 120 since then and no lower then 95. Of course no soda's, sweet drinks,heavy concentration of sugars, etc. I do take some supplements such as fish oil,garlic,tumeric and ginger.  My doctor is aware of this and encourages this as it helps keep my immune system high.  Going on 6 years with no cold or flu.
 
I read a lot about glutammine in the past, and what I read do match with what Andrew has posted and Joe has posted quoting dr Serrano.

I've been using 20-30 g of glutammine daily for years.

Despite I have a very stressful life and often I don't sleep enough at night, I never got overtrained or even catched a cold for years.

I would not be willing to give up my daily dose of glutamine.

 

 

 
 
Rob,

I have been using l-glutamine for years as well.  Once I started taking it, I noticed the occasional cold that usually accompanied intense training from powerlifting and football did not occur anymore.  The immune system and neuromuscular system boosting capabilities of l-glutamine are well documented and researched.  Obviously, there are many other variables involved as well, but I have been pleased with the results.

Daily , I take 5-10 grams of l-glutamine daily, depending on the level of training that I am involved in at the time.  On training days, an additional 10 grams are taken with my post-training drink.  I also put a scoop in my football game-day drink that I consume throughout the game.

In a clinical nutrition way, I also use it with a variety of patients to help boost their immune system and to help with healing from various injuries, burns (even severe sunburn), trauma, and treatment-related side-effects of cancer as well as in wound healing for postop patients.  Awesome stuff!!
 
First off, cred to Cliff for taking care of himself, not everyone does that. I'm glad to see its paying off too :)

 

Secondly I'm going to try glutamine, sounds like a good investment in health.
 
Reading Dr. Hartle's post I realized I didn't say how I use it.

Usually I take 10-15 g every morning plus 15-20 g right after my training sessions, toghether with BCAAs.

 

 
 
The L-Glutamine stuff is magic dust!  After reading some of this thread a week or so ago, I started taking 1 gr. in the morning and another 1 gr. at night, both as 1 gr. pills I bought at the local Whole Foods, and I feel much better - recovery from everything is better and  I seem to need less sleep.  I'm trying to take both doses on an empty stomach but am taking water, other vitamins, and sometimes coffee at the same time, just trying to avoid food although not always managing to do that.

Rob, if you're reading, have you been taking this and what are your results?  I don't intend to change my 2 gr./day dose until I get a few upcoming meets out of the way and then I might experiment with taking more.

Rob asked about bodyweight.  I'm 150 lbs of lean, mean, powerlifting machine. :)  Doc Hartle is 280, if memory serves.

S-

Steve Freides, Strong First Team Leader
http://www.kbnj.com
http://RideChickens.blogspot.com
 
Taking 3 grams daily right now Steve, although I think I'm going to up that as an experiment, considering the success others have had.
 
rob and steve,

Lately I much prefer the adaptogens to the  amino acid approach. Suma, Ashwaghanda, Maca, Moomiyo, etc have proven to be very productive for strength and recovery and overall immune system strength

 
 
Rif, what language are you speaking?  :)

This is stuff like ginseng, yes?  I have taken that in the past but was told that one had to cycle it: a few weeks on followed by a week off.  When I had pneumonia, my Tae Kwon Do teacher pointed me to a local Korean grocery and instructed me to make a tea by boiling/soaking ginseng root.

Rob, I'm not sure I could stand feeling better than the current 2 gr/day is making me feel. :)   If I had to describe it, I'd say I feel younger - no kidding.  Then, again, I'm tapering for a meet now and I almost always feel like a million bucks when I'm backing off before an event so a longer trial is probably in order.

-S-
 
Hey Rif, appreciate the angle. Can you point me to some good reading on those?

Steve, agree that taper always makes me feel great.

Rob
 
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