In the world of sports performance you’re not going to find a more popular and important anabolic strength-boosting supplement than glutamine, an extremely well-researched therapeutic nutrient that does a lot more than build muscle.

Glutamine is said to be a “conditionally essential amino acid”.  The “amino acid” part refers to the fact that among other things the body uses it to create proteins, while “conditionally essential” means you may not absolutely need to. It’s probably a good idea to dose with it daily via foods or supplementation.

All of this is to say, glutamine is important stuff! While there are over twenty different amino acids in the body, nearly 60 percent of the free floating ones are glutamine and 5 to 6 percent of the ones used in various proteins are glutamine.

Glutamine’s reputation as a go-to building nutrient is well-deserved and it’s been used as such by body builders and weight lifters for decades.  It can also help athletes after prolonged strenuous exercise by decreasing infections and preventing the breakdown of muscle.  And that’s not all! Glutamine also has a buffering effect on acid and other chemicals that can cause fatigue during intense exercise. By reducing the impact of these biochemical by-products, workout warriors can pump out more reps and get stronger faster.

As functional as glutamine is for athletes, you don’t have to be a gym rat to enjoy its anabolic body building benefits. Breast feeding infants depend on it as a growth inducing element and up to half of the amino acids in mother’s milk are glutamine.