In This Blog

Muscle Soreness, Tissue Repair & Preservation: While you’re exercising strenuously, muscle fibers experience micro-tears that require amino acids for repair. But glutamine stores get rapidly depleted as muscle fibres are broken down for energy. You won’t see your muscles ‘shrinking’, but you can certainly feel the achy soreness that’s associated with these processes. What’s great is that l-glutamine supplementation may help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by aiding tissue repair. Glutamine donates nitrogen - - an essential element in the healing process - - helping protect muscle mass by preserving nitrogen balance and slowing protein degradation. This was observed in a 2011 study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, in which glutamine supplementation was shown to reduce strength loss and markers of muscle damage (like creatine kinase levels), post-exercise.

Then, a 2015 placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness showed that l-glutamine supplementation helped reduce muscle soreness and improved muscle strength recovery following eccentric exercise in resistance-trained males. What these studies suggest is that glutamine enhances recovery and tissue repair. Clearly, for men focused on muscle maintenance or building lean mass, glutamine is an essential ally.

Post-exercise infection:  Have you ever caught a bug shortly after a race, a competition or extended training? This can happen most easily during what scientists call ‘the open window period’ - - a phase of time lasting 3 to 72 hours post-exercise. In particular, hard training and prolonged or strenuous exercise can make the body more susceptible to infections like upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). During this critical time, immune defenses are suppressed in part because the muscles’ needs for glutamine take priority over the immune system’s needs for it. To explain, glutamine fuels immune cells, particularly lymphocytes and macrophages, which are crucial for keeping you healthy in your post-exercise phase.  This was made evident in a landmark study published in Clinical Nutrition (1995) in which marathon runners who supplemented with glutamine had a significantly lower incidence of infections in the 7 days post-race compared to those who did not. So, if staying healthy after engaging in sport matters to you, glutamine might be the edge your immune system needs.

Over-exertion and Gut Distress

If ‘gut-rot’ is a symptom familiar to you, know that glutamine may help improve your gut resilience. Glutamine fuels the cells lining the digestive tract, but long bouts of endurance exercise can induce gut barrier dysfunction.  Some of the associated unpleasant acute digestive symptoms of this include nausea, cramping, bloating, urgency to have a bowel movement and/or gas or abdominal pain. According to a 2018 review in Nutrients, l-glutamine supports gut barrier function and helps reduce inflammation, making it especially useful for dealing with digestive issues or under chronic stress, both of which can impair immunity. This is why if physical activity leaves your gut in distress, glutamine might be the support you need to achieve greater comfort, recovery and resilience.

What to Look For in a Glutamine Supplement

Sometimes simple is best. While some brands of glutamine supplements are complex mixes of multiple ingredients, these formulations may not be suitable for all consumers. For example, combining a mix of energy-boosting caffeine-containing herbs, creatine, nitric oxide boosters or other ergogenic aids together with glutamine in one product may be contraindicated, depending on your current health status or medication regime. It could even lead to undesirable or harmful side-effects.

Instead, use a clean, pure, third-party tested product such as Pure Lab’s L-Glutamine, which enables users to obtain a therapeutic dose in a smaller serving size.  Consider using 5 grams of l-glutamine immediately post-workout to support muscles, immunity, and gut health. The added bonus? Unlike protein supplements, l-glutamine requires no digestion—so it can be absorbed quickly, even in situations of compromised absorption.

L-Glutamine: Your Recovery Wingman
L-glutamine isn’t just for bodybuilders—it’s for anyone who wants to stay strong, resilient, and well. While your body can produce glutamine, intense training drains it faster than you can replenish it naturally. Whether you’re an endurance athlete, weightlifter, or a weekend warrior, l-glutamine might be the missing piece in your recovery puzzle. Adding a glutamine supplement to your regime can give your body the extra support it needs to recover faster, stay strong, and reduce the risk of illness.

References

Castell LM, Newsholme EA. The effects of oral glutamine supplementation on athletes after prolonged, exhaustive exercise. Clin Nutr. 1996;15(6):331-342.

Cruzat V, Macedo Rogero M, Noel Keane K, Curi R, Newsholme P. Glutamine: Metabolism and Immune Function, Supplementation and Clinical Translation. Nutrients. 2018;10(11):1564. Published 2018 Oct 23.

Legault Z, Bagnall N, Kimmerly DS. The Influence of Oral L-Glutamine Supplementation on Muscle Strength Recovery and Soreness Following Unilateral Knee Extension Eccentric Exercise. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2015;25(5):417-426.

Street B, Byrne C, Eston R. Glutamine supplementation in recovery from eccentric exercise attenuates strength loss and muscle soreness. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011;21(3):185-190.