Glutamine and the Common Cold

Bodybuilders and physique competitors have taken glutamine for many years. It helps keep the body from consuming lean muscle during periods of heavy workouts and especially when you are calorie deficient.

But now it appears it is good for everyone, including to prevent the common cold.

Here's an article from Bodybuilding.com you may be interested in . . .

What Is Glutamine?

Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid that is abundant in the human body and the most abundant amino acid in skeletal muscle. Though non-essential (your body can make it), glutamine can become essential during times of illness, stress, or injury, meaning you may need supplemental glutamine as needs can exceed those your body can make.

Glutamine is primarily stored in the muscle and secondly, the lungs. Like all amino acids, glutamine plays a role in protein synthesis. In addition, glutamine helps remove the common waste product ammonia from the body, supports immune system functioning and plays a role in brain functioning and digestion.


Protein Synthesis:

The process by which nitrogen from amino acids is linearly arranged into structural proteins through the involvement of RNA and various enzymes. Protein synthesis is muscle growth. The more efficient you can make this process the more efficiently you can build muscle.


How Glutamine Can Ward Off The Common Cold

Though your body can manufacture the glutamine you need when you are healthy and mild to moderately active, sometimes you need a little more of this bodybuilding supplement to boost your immune system and ward off the common cold.

Supplemental Glutamine Helps In Times Of Stress: There's a reason glutamine is used in clinical nutrition (it's given to some patients in the hospital). Injuries, infection, illness, surgery and trauma all stress your body and take a toll on your glutamine stores. And, studies show that this bodybuilding supplement can strengthen your immune system and reduce your risk of infection after surgery.

Hardcore Training Can Reduce Your Glutamine Stores: It's no secret that strenuous exercise associated with long distance running or cycling, two-a-days and other types of intense physical exercise can make you tired and decrease several parameters of your immune system functioning.

This may be partly due to a drop in glutamine stores. Studies also show that strenuous exercise decreases the concentration of glutamine in the blood. And, some studies have also found that supplemental glutamine can decrease the likelihood of illness in endurance athletes.

Resistance Training Decreases Glutamine Stores: Pump iron and your body will respond by pumping out the havoc-wrecking hormone cortisol. Increased cortisol means decreased glutamine stores. Supplemental glutamine can bring your stores back to a good range.

Dieting Can Decrease Immune Functioning: If you're training for a competition and taking in fewer calories than your body needs or dieting to lose weight quickly, your efforts may be doing more than shrinking your waistline. Dieting can also impact your immune system. To make sure your immune system is functioning well, eat plenty of quality protein, take a multivitamin and continue taking glutamine.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-glutamine-helps-fight-colds.htm