L-glutamine is an amino acid found in protein-rich foods from animals and plants, and your body also naturally produces L-glutamine. L-glutamine is may be used by our nutritionist team in Tulsa, OK, to treat patients with leaky gut. It’s your body’s natural cell builder and, more importantly, your body’s cell re-builder. However, another critical part this amino acid plays is its role in muscle recovery and development when you exercise.
L-Glutamine and Exercising
You may already be taking L-glutamine and not even realize it! If you regularly have a post-workout supplement or protein drinks after lifting weights, swimming, running, or doing yoga, there is a good chance that it contains a powerful amount of L-glutamine. This is because when you exercise, your body consistently breaks down the proteins within the body and rebuilds them when you rest. The star of the show when it comes to rebuilding your muscles is L-glutamine.
Nutritionist Tulsa and Muscle Recovery
L-glutamine is considered to be a “conditionally essential” amino acid. This means that it is only needed by the body when going through stress, illness, or injury. This is a fantastic supplement to help your muscles recover after a workout. To fully understand why it is so critical for muscle recovery, we first need to know how L-glutamine works in the body and how muscle development occurs.
What is L-Glutamine’s Role Within the Body?
Our bodies make plenty of amino acids, ensuring a healthy immune system response. It regulates glucose release, and it is used to make other amino acids that are used to synthesize proteins. This is why it is so valuable when it comes to muscle recovery. But L-glutamine has many roles within the body, including as a building block for proteins. It helps convert carbohydrates into glucose, supports gut health, and promotes a healthy immune system. It is an essential amino acid within your body. If the body is going through any kind of stress mentally or physically, then your body will call on its friend, glutamine.
Your body will store enough glutamine to help you recover after moderate exercise. If you are doing intense workouts, your body will rapidly deplete its L-glutamine levels. A post-workout supplement helps support your body and its muscle recovery when its internal resource is depleted.
Nutritionists in Tulsa Explain How Our Bodies Repair and Build Muscles
A common misconception is that we develop our muscles during exercise when in reality, muscle development happens during rest afterward. We get muscle development from metabolic stress, tension, and damage. So, for instance, if you do strength training, lifting weights will put tension and pressure on the body. Repetitions of strength exercises will cause the muscle to break down and get damaged. This is when L-glutamine begins its magic by helping your muscles build back up and repair them.
So, you can see that L-glutamine is essential for muscle growth and recovery. If you are regularly doing strenuous exercises, you might consider L-glutamine supplements or post-workout drinks/supplements which contain L-glutamine. For more information about L-glutamine and how it fits into your lifestyle, contact our nutritionist team in Tulsa, OK, for your personalized muscle recovery plan.