Enough Creatine, what about Glutamine?

[The Great Juan]

I hear lots about creatine on this board, many different views too from "it's great", "it's no good for you health" and "it doesn't do much anyway". However i never hear glutamine mentioned much, and i remember when i first started lifting weights just over 5 months ago i was reading up on supplements and saw that glutamine and creatine were among the most popular.

I won't go on too much about what glutamine does because like i said, i'm just a beginner but essentially because glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscles and since your glutamine levels are depleted during heavy exercise, supplementing glutamine helps avoid muscle breakdown.

during the first month i was taking both glutamine and creatine but decided creatine wasn't worth it. I'd like to continue taking glutamine but supplements in australia are quite expensive and i need to save up some money for when i start uni next month for text books and pay for uni fees etc. I'd still like to hear anything anyone has to offer about the subject though.

 

[blong1068]

Glutamine will help preserve muscle when you do a lot of aerobic training along with weight lifting.

 

[Zircon]

Hey are you sure about that? I do a lot of cycling and I have a bit of problem keeping on/building muscle. I do about 15 hours a week cycling. You reckon that might do the trick?

 

[The Great Juan]

Zircon, if you are doing 15 hours of cardio (cycling) a week when trying to add muscle (sounds hard, i do no cardio, lol) some glutamine might be just the trick, worth a try anyway. I usually hear 10 grams a day is the amount to take, although i'm not sure the best thing to take it with. Some people say they put it in the protein shake and others drink it with water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

 

[enkai]

I take glutamine about 20-30 grams a day, I noticed that I don't get sick at all, improved recovery rate and increased strength, I prefer it over creatine. since 61% of your amino acid pool is composed of glutamine, your body uses other aminios to make glutamine, so if you supply it your body can use other aminos for other purposes.

 

[The Great Juan]

Hey enkai, thanks for your reply, i found the bit about the body using other amino acids to make glutamine very intersting. I'd also heard somewhere else that glutamine was good for you immune system, i'll have to start taking it again.

 

[wheelin&dealin]

Originally posted by enkai
I take glutamine about 20-30 grams a day,

That's a bit excessive from what I hear. 5 grams a day is supposed to be enough.

 

[The False Prophet]

just wondering, how long is gulutamine stable in liquid?

 

[enkai]

No 5 grams is not enough, cuz if you think about it...the protein you take...the organs, hair, skin, eyes, anything else thats composed of protein will recieve it first in order to surivive, then what ever is left over goes into building muscle, thats why most take 1.7 grams per bodyweight lb, glutamine can't stay stable in liquid very long, so its not a good idea to make a shake and chug it down 8 hours later, i would say from personal experience two hours at most.

 

[Zircon]

Ok, give me some examples of glutamine rich food.

 

[The Great Juan]

Zircon, glutamine is an amino acid so it comes from protein like all the other amino acids. If you want to properly supplement it (ie take 10-15 grams a day) you'll have to buy it in powdered form and take it that way, otherwise you'll be eating 5 lbs of steak a day to get a decent amount

 

[Viroid]

I think its waste of money if youre a teenager/early 20's. It might be useful for if youre putting in long hours of training and youre afraid of overtraining. It is also good for the immune system. So is vitamin C. And in one study vitamin C decreased cortisol levels.
But if youve got money to burn...

If you dont have money to burn...here are your top 3 supps:

1. Fish Oils
2. Protein
3. Creatine

In that order.

 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

on a quick sidenote, what is the fish oils for? can you get that at a grocery store? Is that the same purpose as flaxseed oil, if so, is that better?

 

[enkai]

fishoils are rich in omega 3,6,9 fatty acids which are considerd essential fatty acids, our bodies can not produce them, therefore you need to get them from an outside source, they're good for a lot of things such as helping burn bad fats for energy, the heart, etc...they make you function better cuz if you look at evolutionary traints, humans ate fish frequently whicn contain fish oils so our bodies kinda became semi dependent on them, so its good to take it, flaxseed oil is good and cheap, but make sure you get the OIL, it tastes kinda buttery, and the only drawback is that it might raise estrogen a bit, but nothing to worry about if youre young

 

[Viroid]

Originally posted by enkai
and the only drawback is that it might raise estrogen a bit, but nothing to worry about if youre young

Where did you read that? Im pretty sure flax has anti-estrogen or anti-aromatase properties, i forget which.

One drawback is when you take flax oil your body needs to convert it to beneficial DHA. Ive read that caffeine can interfere with the conversion. So, i just use fish oil caps. theyre cheap and i know im getting my EFA's for the day. Another drawback is i think the oil tastes like @ss. The cold pressed seeds are good with cereal, though.

on a quick sidenote, what is the fish oils for?

The question should be, "what arent they good for?"

-can prevent heart disease.
-cure depression
-lower cholesterol
-improves muscle insulin sensitivity

DO A SEARCH!!

PEACE

 

[enkai]

i can't remember exactly where i read it, but it like binds to test or estrogen or something and it wont let it go high or something like that...kinda confusing