|
|
|
|
|
FAT LOSS |
"GLUTAMINE" Glutamine helps to conserve lean muscle, supports the immune system and will bolster blood bicarbonate levels. Bicarbonate helps to conserve muscle by preventing blood from becoming acidic. The blood can become acidic whenever you cut calories, neglect to eat fruits and vegetables and consume alot of protein. Like creatine, glutamine has a cell-volumizing effect. For information on cell-volumizing read the creatine article. By supplying an energy source for the gut and immune system cells, supplemental glutamine prevents your body from taking inbuilt glutamine from your muscles. It also reduces the stress on the immune system and the risk of getting sick. Glutamine is an amino acid (a protein). It is the most plentiful of all the amino acids in the muscle tissue. It makes up about 61% of the amino acid pool in the skeletal muscle. Glutamine's distinctive structure consists of about 19% nitrogen. This makes glutamine a the primary transporter of nitrogen into the muscle cell. Studies show that glutamine alone is in charge of 35% of the nitrogen that gets into the muscle cell. When this muscle building nitrogen gets into the muscle cell, it is synthesized for growth. After intense training, glutamine levels drop drastically, until you are fully recovered. When glutamine levels drop this puts your muscle tissues in a catabolic state. Meaning you could lose your hard earned muscle. Supplementing with glutamine helps to stop this from happening. The higher the muscle glutamine levels you can maintain, the less chance you have of falling into catabolism, and the faster your muscles will grow. In a current release in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the results of a study of glutamine revealed that a single 2 gram oral dose of glutamine elevated circulating growth hormone levels by 430%. That is very noteworthy. Growth hormone has several benefits. It helps with the uptake of glucose and amino acids, activation of muscle protein synthesis, suppression of muscle protein catabolism, and the utilization of body fat for energy. To sum it up, supplementing with glutamine can help stop the catabolic effects of weight training, help with the anabolic activity of increased glucose and amino acid uptake, improve whole body nitrogen retention, and increase gaining lean muscle tissue. Recommended dosage varies based on your body weight. The average recommended dosage is between 10-30 grams per day. Personally I (200lb. male bodybuilder) prefer to take 10g in the morning, 10g after weight training and 10g before bed. It seems to be ideal to definitely take a serving after weight training when glutamine levels are its lowest. A female athlete, may choose to take 5g after workout and 5g before bed. There doesn't appear to be any benefit to cycling this supplement. Recommended brands could be EAS, AST Research or Pro Lab. IF you choose another brand, make sure that it is from a reputable company. This helps ensure that what you are getting is legit. |
