Glutamine is the most abundant naturally-occurring, non-essential amino acid in the human body, and one of the few that can directly cross the blood–brain barrier. It carries a wealth of health-enhancing properties and is known to have various effects in reducing healing time after operations.

Where it's found

In the body, glutamine is found circulating in the blood, as well as stored in the skeletal muscles. The body generates this amino acid naturally, but at times of stress our natural reserves drop, making it a ‘conditionally’ essential amino acid. This means it must be obtained from dietary sources or supplements when our body is fighting infection or disease.

Dietary sources of glutamine include beef, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, dairy products, wheat, cabbage, beets, beans, spinach, and parsley. Small amounts of free L-glutamine are also found in vegetable juices.

How it can benefit you

Glutamine plays an important role in strengthening the lining of the stomach and it’s believed that even serious gastrointestinal and digestive diseases such as Crohn's, IBS and Colitis see substantial improvement with glutamine supplementation.
This chemical is also useful for treating diarrhea, as it decreases loss of electrolytes and water from the small intestines.

Other benefits include:

• Aids in muscle recovery
• Enhances immune function
• Can decrease healing time in burn patients
• Improves recovery after bone marrow transplant or bowel surgery

Naturopath Mim Beim says:

“I use this amino acid for conditions which affect the cells that line the intestinal tract, so it’s good for conditions like stomach ulcers, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s disease and mouth ulcers.”