Glutamine - Part 2

At this point you're probably thinking that glutamine is a worthless supplement.

Am I right?

Glutamine isn't a worthless supplement and my intention is to only show you the other side of the coin so that you can decide for yourself. Even David Barr points out there are instances when glutamine supplementation might be beneficial to the bodybuilder, certain trauma instances, postoperative patient or for total parenteral nutrition (TPN) during severe illness.

* Steroid users improperly coming off a cycle. At this time, testosterone can be very low. There's a risk of increased catabolism regardless of the diet of the bodybuilder. At this point, glutamine supplementation might be beneficial

* When on a cutting diet and trying to get very lean, some bodybuilders will further increase a calorie deficit AND increase exercise volume. This can lead to an increase state of exercise induced stress and catabolism beyond that of a normal bodybuilder on a fat loss regime. Competitive bodybuilders come to mind in this instance. Glutamine may help reduce the stress and exercise related catabolism because it's beyond that of normal exercise induced stress.

* In elite endurance athletes or people who train under extreme conditions several times a day. These are cases where extreme stress (not clinical) but much more intense then regular exercise comes into play and glutamine may be beneficial.

* Under certain circumstances where catabolic waste is extreme (Alcoholism, Chemotherapy side effects, Food allergies, HIV/AIDS, Irritable bowel syndrome, Candida yeast overgrowth, Post-exercise colds and flu, Severe burns Ulcerative colitis). These are situations where a person is injured and trying to prevent catabolic waste.

David Barr makes a final comment after all his research that glutamine isn't a worthwhile supplement to the resistance trainer who is on a proper bodybuilding diet with post workout nutrition. Of course he doesn't call glutamine a dramatic supplement with muscle building benefits. He does show some instances where glutamine might be beneficial in legitimate wasting conditions. It's not exactly a black and white answer.

David said, "Since then I've had a while to let the results sink in. I know that most believers in glutamine will also have a hard time accepting the reality of the situation, which is why I didn't just try to convincingly show that glutamine wasn't as great as everyone thought; I tried to overwhelmingly demonstrate it."

The bottom line?

Glutamine supplementation probably won't do anything for you if you are a bodybuilder on a proper dietary plan. Spend your money on more food if you are looking to build muscle.

At this point, I would really encourage you to do your own research. Granted, David has done a bang up job! Even I believed in glutamine for bodybuilding until I was faced to look at real evidence and not a magazine ad or a myth from a big guy at the gym.

"When someone wants to believe something you can’t convince them otherwise." - David Barr

If you don't believe any of this, that's okay. But until future research can shown that glutamine has dramatic muscle building effects, the current literature available doesn't support those theories.

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References
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1. Barr, David J., CSCS, MSc. Candidate.

Glutamine Destroying the Dogma,
Part 1
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=461188

Part 2
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459884

2. Berardi, Dr. John M, Ph.D.

Appetite For Construction, JohnBerardi.com 2002 Nov 8
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/qa/afc/afc_nov082002.htm

About the Author

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