Glutamine is a type of non-essential amino acid that composes proteins, and is synthesized from ammonia and glutamic acid in various tissues in the body, including the kidneys. It is known to have various beneficial effects on our body, such as strengthening the body’s immune function through the increase of immune cells and protecting the intestinal mucosa, as well as helping to suppress muscle formation and muscle loss. Now, let’s take a look at the main benefits of glutamine, many foods, and various information about side effects one by one.
Glutamine main benefits
1. Muscle building
The most representative effect of glutamine is the muscle-related part. As it is known that glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle, glutamine helps the formation of muscle protein and is known to help increase muscle mass. It is known to be effective in preventing and delaying muscle loss caused by lack of exercise, stress, and various diseases, including cancer, as well as helping to strengthen and recover muscles after intense exercise. there is.
2. Improving immunity
Glutamine, a type of white blood cell, is said to be excellent at increasing lymphocytes, the central cells that make up the immune system. It is said that this increased action of lymphocytes, the immune cells, reduces the level of excessively generated inflammation and at the same time helps a lot in removing pathogens and viruses that are introduced from the outside and cause various infectious diseases.
In particular, it is known that the amount of glutamine in the muscles decreases sharply after suffering from excessive stress or intense and strenuous exercise, making it vulnerable to exposure to various infectious diseases due to reduced immunity. When a sufficient amount of glutamine is consumed consistently, it increases the accumulation of glutamine in the muscles, which helps to improve immune function and prevent the occurrence of various diseases.
3. Gut health
Glutamine is said to help promote intestinal peristalsis because it is used as an essential energy for smooth movement of the small and large intestine. And when the intestinal function is lowered, the villi in the small intestine atrophy, causing problems in digestion and absorption. Glutamine is known to help restore the atrophied villi to their original function there is. In addition, it helps to maintain the function of the intestinal barrier by acting as a raw material that helps smooth metabolism in the intestinal mucosa while reducing the level of inflammation that is produced in excess based on excellent anti-inflammatory action, which is the cause of various intestinal-related diseases. These are the main benefits of glutamine.
4. Mental Health
Glutamine helps the synthesis of a substance called GABA, which performs the main function of an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps stabilize brain nerve cells. It is also said to play an important role in health. In addition, glutamine has been known to help improve brain functions such as concentration and memory as it works well to help maintain the smooth functioning of brain nerve cells.
Other benefits
In addition to the various effects mentioned above, glutamine also has a good effect on fat metabolism in the liver, which can help prevent liver diseases such as fatty liver. In addition, it is involved in the effect of improving the symptoms of diabetes through the control of blood sugar and helping the synthesis of glutathione, an antioxidant that plays an important role in the redox reaction in the body, causing various problems in the body and acting as the main culprit of various diseases. It is also said to help suppress free radicals.
Foods High in Glutamine and Side Effects
Glutamine is also found abundantly in meat such as beef, pork, and chicken, as well as seafood such as mackerel, crab, and scallops. Cabbage, eggs, nuts, legumes, and dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt are also known to be high in glutamine.
In addition, glutamine can be consumed as a supplement as well as in these foods. If it is difficult to consume as food, and if the purpose is to increase muscle strength through high-intensity exercise, intake of these supplements may also be a way. However, when taking glutamine supplements, allergic symptoms may appear depending on the constitution, and it is reported that various side effects such as abdominal pain, headache, nausea, and dry mouth may occur due to excessive intake.
