L-Glutamine:  Leaky Gut Superhero

“Leaky gut” is a term that you’ve likely heard when it comes to digestive system, but let’s go into a bit more detail about the subject and how to avoid what it is.

Leaky gut happens when your gut lining is too permeable or leaky, which in scientific terms is known as intestinal hyper-permeability. In general, leaky gut means that things that shouldn’t go through your gut lining are entering into your bloodstream, including bad bacteria, undigested food particles, and toxins. Leaky gut is associated with increased inflammation, digestive distress, and even some chronic illnesses.

L-Glutamine To The Rescue

L-Glutamine is an amino acid that serves as the primary fuel used by the cells in your gut lining. Cells lining the intestinal wall use this amino acid to repair and regrow. And because gut cells are able to directly absorb L-Glutamine, supplementation is especially effective.

L-Glutamine can help support your leaky gut by protecting the integrity of the intestinal wall/gut barrier, while at the same time reducing digestive disturbances.

Increased levels of L-Glutamine can:

• Help your body produce more intestinal mucus and secretory immunoglobulin Type A (SIgA), a combination that soothes the intestine and regulates inflammation, leading to improved digestive functioning.
• Tighten gut lining openings, thereby reducing the chances of large undigested food molecules and other toxins crossing the gut barrier and entering your bloodstream.
• Strengthen the gut barrier, leading to decreased inflammation in your body; since your immune regulators are working properly, toxins and pathogens aren’t making their way into your bloodstream.
• Help strengthen your immune system because it’s not being frequently overtaxed in an effort to rid your body of toxins.
• Support removal of waste such as ammonia from your system.
• Synthesize proteins and even help your body to maintain more stable blood glucose levels; for example, people with sugar cravings have been known to use L-Glutamine since it appears to reduce cravings by stabilizing blood sugar.
• Help protect the gut from injury due to alcohol consumption.

How Much L-Glutamine Is Enough?

Many people taking L-Glutamine in capsule form take one to two 1g capsules daily.

Unfortunately, this dose doesn’t have much of an impact on leaky gut. For maximum effect, it’s best to mix approximately one teaspoon of L-Glutamine with eight ounces of cold or room temperature water.

Don’t Mix It With Food

It’s not recommended to mix L-Glutamine with food, hot or warm drinks like tea or coffee, or protein shakes.

It’s best to consume pure L-Glutamine by itself so your body can absorb it more easily; this will also prevent the L-Glutamine from having to compete with other amino acids for absorption. Hot or warm drinks like tea, coffee can denature L-Glutamine with the heat and diminish its effectiveness.   

If a shake contains protein (amino acids), competition for amino acid uptake in cells could result, leading to decreased absorption of L-Glutamine.

Before beginning any type of L-Glutamine supplementation or protocol, it’s important to consult with your doctor or health clinician.