Glutamine is one of the non-essential yet sometimes essential amino acids that play a major role in the body by maintaining muscle mass.
It also helps maintain lung function, digestive system, liver, and brain.
The human body produces glutamine through its reactions with nitrogenous compounds present in foods such as whey protein isolate, casein protein, chicken meat, and fish.
Although glutamine is naturally found in many foods like meats and dairy products, taking a daily glutamine supplement can help improve your health even further.
However, it is crucial that you understand how and when to take l-glutamine supplements to support building lean muscle mass.
In this article, we cover the best times throughout the day to use l-glutamine supplementation for the best results.
What is Glutamine?
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid that is naturally produced by the human body.
It is a critical component of the immune system, gut health, and the brain.
It can also be obtained from the foods you eat, including protein-rich meats, fish, and dairy products.
Additionally, glutamine is an important amino acid (AA) that plays a major role in the body.
It is used by the immune system and helps maintain lung function, digestive system, liver, and brain.
It can also be obtained from the foods you eat, including protein-rich meats, fish, and dairy products.
Production of l-glutamine
In the human body, glutamine is produced through reactions with nitrogenous compounds in foods like whey protein isolate, casein protein, chicken meat, and fish.
It is also found in large amounts in the human gut and is used by the body as a fuel source.
This AA is non-essential, which means the body is able to produce enough to meet its basic needs; however, taking l-glutamine supplementation can have further benefits.
The Best Times to Take L-glutamine
1) Before Exercise
Exercising regularly is one of the best things you can do for your body.
Not only do regular workouts help you lose weight and improve your health, and contribute to muscle building, but they can also help increase glutamine levels in your body.
When you exercise regularly, the body expends extra energy to repair and build muscle.
Studies have shown that after an intense workout, levels of glutamine in the blood decrease significantly.
This can lead to a reduction in muscle mass and recovery time.
To prevent this, you should take glutamine supplements before a workout. This will help prevent a decrease in L-glutamine levels.
2) After Exercise
Post-workout, your body needs a boost of l- glutamine to help repair and build muscles through improved muscle protein synthesis.
In order to prevent a decrease in l-glutamine levels due to heavy workouts, you should take glutamine supplements after a workout is over.
Studies have shown that the level of glutamine in the blood is lower after heavy workouts.
Immediately taking glutamine post-workout can help to prevent this.
This will help replenish the levels of glutamine in your body to repair and build new muscle cells, combat muscle soreness, and much more.
Further, if you would like to maximize the benefits of l-glutamine powder or capsule supplements, it is recommended that you take them 2-3 hours after your workout.
This will help the glutamine circulate at a high rate in your body and maximally benefit your muscles.
3) Before Meals
This non-essential amino acid (sometimes essential) is a fuel source that is present in the gut, liver, and lungs.
The human body produces this amino acid naturally, but it can also be obtained from the foods you eat.
When you take glutamine supplements before meals, you are essentially feeding your body glutamine. This will help improve your intestinal health, as it aids with rebuilding your gut lining.
Additionally, l-glutamine may also help maintain lung, liver, brain, and immune function.
This can be especially beneficial in older adults who experience age-related diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure.
You can take glutamine supplements before meals on an empty stomach by mixing it with your protein shake.
Alternatively, you can also mix it with your daily food intake, or you can have glutamine supplements before meals by mixing them with your protein shake.
4) After Waking Up
Glutamine is present in the body only at certain times during the day and is produced primarily during sleep.
If you take glutamine supplements after waking up, they will travel to your lungs and help improve lung function.
Studies have also shown that athletes who take glutamine supplements before training experience an increase in power output. This can help you recover faster after a workout and prevent muscle breakdown.
Pregnant women, athletes, and people who are sick all require extra levels of glutamine in the body.
You should use glutamine supplements after waking up to help increase the levels of this AA for muscle recovery and repair muscle tissue to enhance muscle growth.
5) Before Bed
While you should consume glutamine supplements before meals, you should also consume them before going to bed.
This will help reduce fatigue and promote better recovery after a grueling workout session, especially if it includes weight training.
Consuming glutamine supplements before bed will help promote better sleep and increase the levels of human growth hormone that your body produces during rest.
This will help you relax and get the best rest possible before you wake up the next morning.
Studies have also shown that athletes who consume glutamine supplements before bed have improved reaction time and are less fatigued.
As such, these athletes experienced improved exercise performance and faster protein synthesis.
Bottom line, if you want to get the most out of glutamine, you should consume supplements before bed.
This will help promote better sleep and reduce fatigue, thus helping you recover better from your training session the next day.
Why Should I Take Glutamine Supplements?
Although your body produces glutamine through reactions with nitrogenous compounds present in foods like whey protein isolate, casein protein, chicken meat, and fish, supplementation is still highly recommended for gym-goers because of its potential benefits.
Consuming glutamine before and after exercise will help you recover faster and build muscle.
Taking glutamine supplements before bed will help promote better sleep and help you relax before bedtime.
It will also help prevent muscle breakdown and fatigue, thus improving your performance.
Other glutamine benefits
- prevents leaky gut problems
- provides fuel for immune cells and the cells within the digestive tract
- provides the body with important nutrients
How Much Glutamine Should I Take?
Glutamine is extremely important to the body’s overall functioning, as it is necessary for maintaining gut integrity, healing wounds, and fighting off infections.
In addition, glutamine is a precursor to many neurotransmitters, including growth hormones, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, histamine, acetylcholine, and glycine.
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for adults is 46 mg/day. If you’re looking to build muscle mass, take 100mg twice per day.
If you’re looking to gain weight, take 200mg twice per day.
If you’re looking for energy, take 500mg twice per day. And if you want to feel great, take 1g twice per day.
Final Thoughts
Glutamine supplementation is one way that fitness enthusiasts can help to boost their lean muscle mass gains.
This has been a practice within sports nutrition for over fifteen years, as these building blocks help to do more than just speed the muscle recovery process and produce energy.
To get the most out of l-glutamine supplementation, it is best to take it in the morning, at night, and before and after a workout.