L-Glutamine for Sugar Cravings

[Andrea D.]

This totally works for me when I am consistent with it...I take 3000mg in the morning before breakfast and 3000mg in the afternoon if I am having particular trouble with cravings.

Does anyone else have experience with l-glutamine? Or thoughts on using it for the cravings?

[Susan W]

I don't mean to spoil your party, but I simply eat real foods (no supplements except D3 because I am in Oregon) and if I have a craving, I deal.

[Andrea D.]

No spoiled party here...everyone is different and supplementation is a personal choice. I, too, only eat real foods but still struggle with sugar cravings from time to time and I find that the l-glutamine really helps. Now when I say "sugar craving" this doesn't mean like for a Snickers candy bar or a DQ Blizzard...I haven't had a drop of refined sugar and VERY limited natural sugar since 2008 (!!!)...I am talking sugar cravings for sweet cherries, bananas and maybe dates. I also try to "deal" with cravings and most of the time have great success but am also able to recognize those times when "chains of steel" may be necessary which is when I find the l-glutamine can be useful.

[Ifjewel]

Hi Andrea, I know your original post was back in October, but I just searched the forum for Glutamine and saw it. So, I am trying this and was curious if anyone else was. How did taking L-glutamine work out for you? I noticed that after starting a round of heavy weight workouts in addition to my endurance workouts caused some serious cravings and, I imagine, fatigue. I haven't been taking the L-Glutamine long enough to see if it is having an effect, so any follow up from you would be great.

[Lanelle Phillips]

I know this is an old topic - But Glutamine is very helpful in regulating blood sugar which is why it is assisting you with your cravings. It is also excellent in keeping your immunity strong and your body recovering from workouts.

[Stepford WASP]

Glutamine is also excellent for the gut, so it's a perfect supp for those of us with autoimmune issues, especially LGS.

Unfortunately, I can't say L-G did much for sugar cravings. The only way I've ever been able to obliterate my pining for sugar is to not eat sugar and keep net carbs under 100 g. But I'm hormonally deranged, heh.

[sb323]

When I read this question, I started out skeptical, ready to say that it was a placebo effect. If it works for you, then that's great and you know your body best. I went into the literature out of curiosity, expecting not to find anything interesting, and actually discovered a few possible metabolic pathways for glutamine to work as an appetite suppressant. Keep in mind I'm writing this after only about 20 minutes of reviewing the literature, so I'm definitely no expert, but it's all very interesting. Most apparent is the fact that glutamine supplementation is still a subject of debate.

In the "fed" state, skeletal muscles release glutamine into the bloodstream, and the amino acid is particularly essential for lymphocytes and other rapidly dividing cells (like enterocytes -- the thin cell layer lining the gut; also the ones involved in "leaky gut"; glutamine is known to protect the gut mucosa, which is one reason it's administered to cancer patients). Exercise leads to decreased intramuscular and plasma concentrations of glutamine. Some have suggested this as one potential hypothesis for why endurance athletes sometimes experience immunodepression after heavy training. (http://jn.nutrition....S.full.pdf+html)

Glutamine seems to stimulate insulin secretion, through a pathway mediated by glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Exenatide, for instance, is a medication used to treat diabetes and favored for its appetite-suppressing effects, and it has biological properties similar to GLP-1 (it functions at the same receptor as an agonist). GLP-1 is normally stimulated after a meal. Glutamine is known to potently stimulate GLUTag cells for GLP-1 release. This article is very informative for anyone looking to read up on some background. (http://ajcn.nutritio...t/89/1/106.long)

Please note, however, that none of the above is meant to indicate that glutamine would work for "sugar cravings" in particular. It seems clear that glutamine supplementation does have important biological action (i.e. as an add-on to dietary protein). However, glutamine supplementation in healthy young adults during resistance training does not affect muscle performance, body composition, or muscle protein degradation. (http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/11822473)

Anyway, that's my bit! If someone spends a little more time researching and it turns out I'm completely off the mark, I'd love to hear a reply! I'm also starting a blog that will discuss this type of issue from a scientific perspective, so here's a shameless self-plug for http://paleoisms.wordpress.com. It will have more content on it soon!