L-Glutamine is a well-known amino acid used by many health and exercise enthusiasts for preventing muscle breakdown, aiding recovery, and supporting our gut (which we write extensively about here)
Did you know though, it may also assist with managing blood sugar, reduce sugar cravings, and may actually help us with weight loss?
Generally, our bodies make enough of L-Glutamine naturally for low level activity (Bermon et al., 2017), but quite often, we need to supplement L-Glutamine from a good quality source to really reap the weight loss advantages, and more.
So if the goal of weight loss is right up there on your totem pole of health, read on to discover the remarkable benefits of L-Glutamine.
L-Glutamine Reduces Sugar Cravings
First and foremost, L-Glutamine can be a game-changer when it comes to controlling our cravings for sugar.
Glutamine has the ability to affect our gut microbiota, and actually modulate the ratio of firmicutes-to-bacteriodetes bacteria in our gut (Zambom de Souza et al., 2015).
You may be thinking, fermi-bactero-what?
Firmicutes are basically bacteria that thrive on sugar, and even more, signal your body to consume more of it.
Studies have actually shown that the higher level of fermicutes we have in our gut microbiotia (the population of bacteria that reside in our gut) , the more trouble we may have in losing weight (Chakraborti, 2015).
This means that when we supplement with L-Glutamine, we shift the balance towards higher levels of bacteriodetes, resulting in an easier weight loss journey.
Supporting our Gut is important, and on top of using L-Glutamine to reduce cravings, having optimal protein intake is essential for our gut health.
Read more on the Benefits of Protein Powder on Gut Health here.
May Promote Weight Loss
One thing that L-Glutamine may help with is the ability to burn more fat (Abboud et al., 2019), which may aid in overall weight loss.
Although the evidence isn’t overly conclusive, it’s believed to assist in weight loss through various proposed mechanisms.
As mentioned previously, the health of our gut is essential, and the health of our gut plays a vital role in weight management (Davis, 2016).
This is why looking after our gut is so important through not just L-Glutamine supplementation, but through a healthy diet of prebiotics and probiotics, read more about this here.
L-Glutamine also plays a large part in recovery, tissue repair, and protecting our gut barrier function, which protects us from inflammation (Fasano, 2020).
Chronic low grade inflammation is linked to many chronic health conditions, including obesity, and studies have shown supplementing with L-Glutamine to reduce body fat and aid weight loss in individuals with type 2 diabetes (Abboud et al., 2019).
Supports Healthy Blood Sugar
One major factor that can hinder weight loss is something known as insulin resistance.
Insulin is a hormone found in our body, and it’s primary role is to manage our blood sugar, or more specifically, control the efficiency of how we use glucose (or carbohydrates) for energy.
When we’re insulin resistant, we have more glucose in our bloodstream, which not only leads to low grade inflammation (which is not good as we mentioned previously), but also increases our tendency to store glucose as fat, rather than being burnt for energy (Herder et al., 2007).
You may be wondering, how does L-Glutamine help? Well, studies suggest it may actually enhance insulin sensitivity ().
This means supplementing with L-Glutamine not only allows us to utilise our carbohydrates more efficiently, but also aids in weight loss through simply stabilising our blood sugar.
Of course, L-Glutamine is not a long term solution for healthy blood sugar, and supporting your overall health through exercise and a balanced wholefood diet is just as important.
This is why we also recommend our Organic Greens Boost, which contains some of the best nutritionally dense superfoods.
Read more about our Greens Superfood Powder here.
The Takeaway
L-Glutamine goes above and beyond its uses as an exercise performance and recovery aid, but is also extremely beneficial in anyone looking to maximise weight loss.
If your goal in your exercise journey is to lose weight and perhaps burn fat, we highly recommend you incorporate our Designer Physique Immuno Boost into your daily regime.
Designer Physique Immuno Boost is one of the cleanest, purest and additive free L-Glutamine supplements on the market; using 100% naturally sourced and fermented L-Glutamine.
Is it time to really maximise your weight loss journey? Start now by picking up a jar today!
