subject: How Glutamine Will Help You Build Muscle [print this page] Glutamine is the most plentiful amino acid in the human body. It plays a major role in the development of the muscles and the growth in strength of the body. Glutamine is found naturally in a great many food sources including fish and poultry meats, legumes and dairy produce. Consuming these foods will add to the body's stock of the amino acid but these amounts can be enhanced by means of powdered glutamine which is available as a natural supplement.
There is a good reason why glutamine is one of the most preferred supplements that knowledgeable bodybuilders will have in their arsenal any day. Glutamine is one of the pillars of a successful bodybuilding diet.
Why is glutamine so important to the body? What are the properties that make it so helpful to the growth of muscles? The reason for this is that glutamine is an anti catabolic substance or agent. This implies that instead of contributing largely to the growth of new muscle tissue glutamine acts in a way that preserves the already existent muscle mass. It is kind of a restoring action. Muscle building is an ongoing process as a result of injury to muscles during the training activity. This occurs when the muscle groups have been deprived of the requisite amount of proteins.
Muscle building happens during periods of rest such as when you are sleeping. This is a completely natural process that is to be expected always; a part of life. When you are on a training regimen and you are feeding properly on a bodybuilding diet then you can expect to also grow muscles during the day as well. Experts can help the bodybuilder to compute the overall muscle gain that has been attained in a given period. This will be done by first computing the rate of muscle growth and subtracting from it the rate of muscle breakdown. Glutamine helps the body by putting a cap on the rate of muscle breakdown. This is sort of a consolidation of sorts since the overall muscle gain will be amplified more by retained muscle mass.
Another paramount role that glutamine plays is the positive management of both the immune and muscle systems. Both of these systems are affected by the strenuous workouts. When the muscles are tired after a workout the immune system is often caught hands down. Glutamine plays a major role by reinforcing the immune system and minimizing the chances of falling sick easily. It is recommended that a person supplements the diet with 10 grams of glutamine on a daily basis.
The effects are not immediately evident but the long-term effects on building your muscle mass will be visible to all in the future. When is it best to use glutamine? Use it as a supplement in the 30 minute window when you are resting after a workout. At these instances the body's glutamine falls almost 50%. Use about 5 grams at these times. Glutamine can also be used just before you retire to bed. In this case it will promote the secretion of a natural growth hormone that has powerful anabolic properties.
