Glutamine and Gut Health

Glutamine is one of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids found in protein. It is also the most abundant protein in the bloodstream, making up 30-35% of amino acid nitrogen!

It is known as a conditional essential amino acid meaning our body can make it, but we use so much of it, so quickly we still need to get some from our diet.  The demand for glutamine increases when someone is sick, experiences muscle wasting, or a physical trauma.

Glutamine is shown to have many benefits for overall health,but specifically immune health and improving gastrointestinal health.

Glutamine supports gut function and digestive processes showing to be beneficial for all the digestive conditions below.

• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• an inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease
• ulcerative colitis
• diverticulosis
• diverticulitis
• leaky gut or any of the issues associated with leaky gut (like joint pain, rosacea or any type of autoimmune response)

Glutamine also has a crucial role in maintaining a healthy gut microbiota and immunity. It appears healthy in reducing intestinal colonization and bacterial overgrowth of pathogens.  For the purpose of many of us here, this may help reduce the risk for widespread issues ranging from constipation to weight gain!

Glutamine acts like a healthy food for our gut microbiota and the microbiota is essentially the body's first line of defense in the immune system!

In addition to gut health, glutamine has been shown to promote muscle growth, decrease muscle loss and even improve athletic performance and recovery in endurance athletes!

From immunity, gut healthy and performance you can see why we included Glutamine in our BCAA blend!