Glutamine

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body, and it is one of the few products on this site where we will tell you upfront that the evidence for the use people buy it for is weak.

Where the reputation came from

Glutamine has a genuine clinical evidence base in burns, major trauma, surgery and critical illness. In those states the body cannot make enough and supplementation helps. That research is real, and it is where the gut health and immune reputation originated. It does not transfer. In healthy adults who train and eat enough protein, glutamine has repeatedly failed to improve muscle mass, strength or recovery in controlled trials. Your body already makes what it needs, and dietary protein supplies more.

Who might still consider it

Anyone advised to take it by a clinician for a specific reason. Beyond that, the honest answer is that the money does more in the protein range, which covers the intake that actually drives recovery, or in creatine, which has the strongest evidence in the shop.

Dose and form

Five grams a day is the usual supplemental dose, taken any time, with or without food. L glutamine is the form used in research. It is tasteless and dissolves reasonably well. There is no meaningful safety concern at ordinary doses in healthy people. We stock it because people ask for it and because it is legal, well tolerated and inexpensive. We are not going to pretend it does more than it does. The amino acids range sets out which aminos we think are actually worth buying.

Timing and stacking

There is no meaningful timing to glutamine. Any time of day, with or without food, works the same way, so take it when you will remember. It is tasteless enough to go into a protein shake without changing it. It does not conflict with anything else on this site. If you are already taking protein and creatine, glutamine adds nothing on top of them for a healthy trained adult, which is the honest summary rather than a reason to buy a bigger stack.