# L-Glutamine



## nogutsnoglory

I know the studies don't really prove its efficacy with regards to IBD but so many recommend it so I figured it can't hurt. 

I took 5,000 mg last night. A bit high and will probably do half that from now on. 

First morning in a long time without waking up in the middle of the night and going with explosive diarrhea. ::fingers crossed:: 

It's hypothesized by natural practitioners that it helps with diarrhea and heals the intestinal lining.


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## livegreen

I thought that this was for Arthritis pain. I have Arthritis linked to Crohn's. Do you suppose this will help?


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## ctrl z

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22038507

Small trial with good results.


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## nogutsnoglory

Thanks for the study ctrl z. As for whether it can be good for arthritis. Maybe? It's proposed to be possibly good for joint pain.


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## nogutsnoglory

I haven't gone to the bathroom in over 24 hours, this is either a miracle supplement or something is wrong. I usually run to the bathroom with diarrhea daily and many times.


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## hugh

another study....
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/138/12/2481.full


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## kiny

nogutsnoglory said:


> It's hypothesized by natural practitioners that it helps with diarrhea and heals the intestinal lining.


that's not hypothesized, it's true, glutamine is involved in tissue repair and wound healing

not just natural practitioners use it, ask a hospital what they give a patient with severe bleeding by trauma, often it includes glutamine at 30-50 grams through IV

But if it helps a lot with crohn, I don't know, nor are studies in agreement, your body is able to produce glutamine and the uptake in people with crohn isn't abnormally low, I take it, since it has a very high toxicity limit.


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## nogutsnoglory

If it heals intestinal lining it should work in CD too. The jury is out on it.


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## kiny

nogutsnoglory said:


> If it heals intestinal lining it should work in CD too. The jury is out on it.


Studies show mixed effects, I know of 2 studies that showed no effect, and at least as many that did.

It also depends on the place where you have crohn, the small intestine use glutamine extensively, the colon does not.


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## nogutsnoglory

Well it certainly can't hurt in normal doses.


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## bmulherin

It helps heal the intestinal lining. It can help with the Diahrea.
Read the book Listen To Your Gut by Jini Patel Thompson.
She has Crohns and gives allot of ideas on helping heal. She 
uses probotics. I recommend this book.:thumright:


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## nogutsnoglory

I was going to read her book till I followed her oregano oil steps and got back to flaring badly.


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## KatyBuckeye

I've been using glutamine.  I take several supplements, so it's hard to say exactly what is working, but something is   I've been feeling great.  The studies are mixed, but I certainly don't think it's going to hurt.


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## nogutsnoglory

KatyBuckeye said:


> I've been using glutamine.  I take several supplements, so it's hard to say exactly what is working, but something is   I've been feeling great.  The studies are mixed, but I certainly don't think it's going to hurt.


What else are you taking Katy?


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## KatyBuckeye

nogutsnoglory said:


> What else are you taking Katy?


I use digestive enzymes and betatine-hcl with every meal.  I take fish oil, tumeric, boswellia, l-glutamine, and colostrum.  The colostrum is lactose-free, but I think it still has casein in it.  I think all of these supplements are really helping, although my diet is probably the most important thing.


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## ***Lisa***

nogutsnoglory said:


> I haven't gone to the bathroom in over 24 hours, this is either a miracle supplement or something is wrong. I usually run to the bathroom with diarrhea daily and many times.


Hi NoGutsNoGlory:

Are you still taking the glutamine? Has it continued to help control your diarrhea? I'm considering having my daughter take it. What dosage are you taking?

Thanks!

Lisa


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## kel

Glutamine always seems to make my stomach feel better. It plays a crucial part in intestinal regeneration (also has MANY other roles). Glutamine is so abundant in the body already I don't think you can overdo it easily, 5 grams if anything is on the low side. I take 10 g a day but for a smaller person a smaller dosage makes sense. I suggest this product, it's what I use myself.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00014D944


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## rollinstone

Lglutamine is also a pre cursor to glutathione, I take a supplement that has glutamine along with the other precursors and have had positive results


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## ***Lisa***

So good to know.  Thank you both for the advice. I think I'm going to pick some up tomorrow and have my daughter give it a try. Fingers crossed!!


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## EthanClark

I have found that taking it on an empty stomach will help more to decrease diarrhea. It can stop you up which can really hurt if you are used to the D so start out on a lower dose and work your way up to desired amount.:ghug:


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## ***Lisa***

EthanClark said:


> I have found that taking it on an empty stomach will help more to decrease diarrhea. It can stop you up which can really hurt if you are used to the D so start out on a lower dose and work your way up to desired amount.:ghug:


Good advice. Will do. Thanks!


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## livegreen

I started taking it a couple of weeks ago and I had really good luck with it healing my Chronic Gastritis.


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## kel

Funny how everyone responds differently, taking my typical dose mixed with juice seems to cause me some stomach upset if I haven't eaten. I always take mine after a meal.


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## kel

***Lisa*** said:


> So good to know.  Thank you both for the advice. I think I'm going to pick some up tomorrow and have my daughter give it a try. Fingers crossed!!


Please let us know what brand you get and if you notice improvement! Probably will take a week or few weeks to see results.


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## livegreen

kel said:


> Funny how everyone responds differently, taking my typical dose mixed with juice seems to cause me some stomach upset if I haven't eaten. I always take mine after a meal.


I would not mix it with juice, just plain water. Juice can cause Fructose Malabsorbtion (sp?) and cause IBS symptoms. I am avoiding juice for now, just a little Pomegranate or orange juice about 2oz here and there in a recipe..


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## UnXmas

I took this for months on the advice of a nutritionist who believed I had "leaky gut". It did nothing whatsoever for me.


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## kel

UnXmas said:


> I took this for months on the advice of a nutritionist who believed I had "leaky gut". It did nothing whatsoever for me.


Luckily even if it does not work for you it is very inexpensive and has almost no side effects


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## amrycrohns

I take Amino Acids in general, Supplement I take has 5 grams of L-Glutamine and many other Amino Acids.


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## UnXmas

kel said:


> Luckily even if it does not work for you it is very inexpensive and has almost no side effects


True it had no side effects - it would have been better if it did something good though!


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## Lady Organic

im seeing my naturopath today Im going to talk to him about combined Glutamine and Arginine. Im always a bit scared though to take natural products since I take a immonu-supressant (purinethol) and wonder if one can inhibit the effect of the other... 
thoughts anyone?


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## wildbill_52280

Sounds a little too soon, tell us where you are in a week.


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## wildbill_52280

Lady Organic said:


> im seeing my naturopath today Im going to talk to him about combined Glutamine and Arginine. Im always a bit scared though to take natural products since I take a immonu-supressant (purinethol) and wonder if one can inhibit the effect of the other...
> thoughts anyone?



Lady Organic,
absolutely no arginine!!! this fuels nitrite and nitrite formation which feed e.coli under inflammatory conditions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23393266


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## nogutsnoglory

Also feeds human herpes virus which most people have latent infection.


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## Lady Organic

ok thanks, I referred myself to this article which was posted in the thread : http://jn.nutrition.org/content/138/12/2481.full

My naturopath gave me only L-Glutamine to try 6 scoops a day! Im going to try it slowly. he strongly believes in its efficacy for IBD.
 How many scoops/day did you take Nogutsnoglory and whats your final opinion about it for your case?

along with that i have been trying formulated Prebiotics in the form of inulin from Prebiotin brand and I have no issues.

I had also increased my consumption of wheat grass juice and powder to 3 portions a day. I felt it was too much and my stools were too green and loose. So I am back to 1 portion of juice and I feel better. i removed the powder intake.


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## wildbill_52280

Lady Organic said:


> ok thanks, I referred myself to this article which was posted in the thread : http://jn.nutrition.org/content/138/12/2481.full
> 
> My naturopath gave me only L-Glutamine to try 6 scoops a day! Im going to try it slowly. he strongly believes in its efficacy for IBD.
> How many scoops/day did you take Nogutsnoglory and whats your final opinion about it for your case?
> 
> along with that i have been trying formulated Prebiotics in the form of inulin from Prebiotin brand and I have no issues.
> 
> I had also increased my consumption of wheat grass juice and powder to 3 portions a day. I felt it was too much and my stools were too green and loose. So I am back to 1 portion of juice and I feel better. i removed the powder intake.



I don't doubt the studies findings all that much, but we are assuming the paradigm of reducing tnf-a is the most complete measure of ibd pathology. This paradigm pays little attention to the state of dysbiosis that is also occuring, but i am also aware that reducing inflammation can positively affect dysbiosis.


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## D Bergy

My wife had to stop taking L-Glutamine because it was costipating her too much.

She was not taking a lot of it but she is going to try a smaller dose once she is more regular. She does not have Crohns. She was trying it for weight loss.

I have only taken it a couple of times so far.  No noticable effect but I have to get on a regular schedule and see if it has any effect. 

Sounds like a pretty good thing to try for people with Crohn's.  

Dan


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## InstantCoffee

Lady Organic said:


> im seeing my naturopath today Im going to talk to him about combined Glutamine and Arginine. Im always a bit scared though to take natural products since I take a immonu-supressant (purinethol) and wonder if one can inhibit the effect of the other...
> thoughts anyone?


http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppl...gredientid=878&activeingredientname=glutamine



> Lactulose interacts with GLUTAMINE
> Lactulose helps decrease ammonia in the body. Glutamine is changed into ammonia in the body. Taking glutamine along with lactulose might decrease the effectiveness of lactulose.
> 
> Medications for cancer (Chemotherapy) interacts with GLUTAMINE
> There is some concern that glutamine might decrease the effectiveness of some medications for cancer. But it is too soon to know if this interaction occurs.
> 
> Medications used to prevent seizures (Anticonvulsants) interacts with GLUTAMINE
> Medications used to prevent seizures affect chemicals in the brain. Glutamine may also affect chemicals in the brain. By affecting chemicals in the brain, glutamine may decrease the effectiveness of medications used to prevent seizures.
> 
> Some medications used to prevent seizures include phenobarbital, primidone (Mysoline), valproic acid (Depakene), gabapentin (Neurontin), carbamazepine (Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin), and others.


It's a naturally occuring amino acid, it should be fairly safe.


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## Basmah

l-glutamine is an amino that is already in your body, so It won't interact with the 6MP. Not sure about Arginine though.


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## Layla

Just bought some and have been taking a very small teaspoon for the last few days with no effects. I'll go up to a full tsp and hopefully I'll notice something, preferably less D. Anyone know when I could be seeing some results?
I take it mixed in a small amount of water first thing in the morning.


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## Lady Organic

im at 2 spoons a day now, tolerating well. been prescribed 6 spoons by my naturopath.


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## Layla

Well I was up to a heaped teaspoon which I mix with the psillium I also take first thing in the morning. I hadn't noticed any improvements until last weekend  when I had 2 unusually good days. I thought maybe the Humira I finally working or maybe the Glutamine is doing something. Sadly by Monday afternoon things were worse than usual and by Thursday I was feeling that familiar almost cramping and lots of urgency. I've not taken the glutamine today and feel slightly better. I also had a lie in and took it easy as it was my day off from work, that always helps. Tonight I'm due for Humira and I'm not sure about starting the glutamine again.
I think I'll see if the humira has any effect and then reconsider restarting the glutamine. I was really hoping for some sort of constipating effect but really haven't noticed any.
Lady Organic did your naturopath tell you to take it all in one go or spread out over the day?


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## InstantCoffee

I'm nearly out of my tub, I haven't noticed any benefits and it seems to give me gas. Research on its effectiveness is spotty. Idk if I'll buy another.


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## Lady Organic

my naturopath simply told me to ideally take it on a empty stomach. I'll ask precisions next time. Im up to 6 spoons now take 3 in the morning and 3 others before going to bed on a almost empty stomach. Im doing acrobatics to take all these meds and supplements, its getting hectic! :shifty:


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## WingedVictory

I've been on glutamine along with beef gelatin and bone broth for the past 2 weeks, around 20g a day before my 3 meals. It seems to help heal and allowed me to get rid of a food sensitivity to the plant chemical called salicylates.

But I also cut out all grains, legumes, and nightshades to reduce stomach irritation/damagers/anti-nutrients. Along with removing any other common food sensitivity foods like nuts, eggs, dairy, soy, and FODMAP produce. This way I'm not undoing any healing by eating foods that destroy the gut lining or cause an inflammatory response.

This may just be the first supplement I've noticed an improvement with or maybe I should accredit that to the food eliminations and bone broth, I don't really know for sure,..too many variables. I eventually hope to remove the glutamine and gelatin and just rely on making homemade bone broth instead of supplements. Then add more foods back in to see which ones cause damage to the gut. That should give a better indication of how beneficial each of them are.


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## Lady Organic

so what does you diet consist of? meat fruit and vegetables only?


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## WingedVictory

Meat, fish, some fruit and safe tubers for carbs, lots of vegetables (raw and steamed), and quite a bit of healthy fats in the way of virgin coconut oil, olive oil, grass-fed ghee. Just starting to add back in high salicylate spices like ginger, etc for potential detox and anti-inflammatory benefits.

For the past year or more I mostly ate just fruit for carbs and even that wasn't enough for my gut to heal on its own. I think the oils may help keep yeast/bacteria overgrowth contained. While the glutamine, gelatin, and broth is finally allowing me to heal. For a few months I did only white rice as carbs and made no progress. Now I'm starting to believe all forms of grain proteins (not just gluten) are either encouraging leaky gut or dysbiosis (which create leaky gut too) and prevent healing. So supplementing with glutamine, etc to heal a leaky gut while eating these foods is counterproductive. Strict, unwavering dedication to an autoimmune elimination diet seems like the only way to approach this beast and get conclusive results.

Hope to be supplementing with Primal Defense Ultra (or another probiotic) and Barry Farms Plantain flour soon as well.


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## Lady Organic

thx . I used to make beef broth not so long ago with big organic joints/bones, I should prepare that again. is that how you get the beef gelatin? You boil long time so the ''ligaments'' melt into the broth? suprisingly, my nutritionnist at the hospital encouraged me to prepare that, both beef and chicken broth.


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## WingedVictory

I buy a beef gelatin powder as an extra supplement, and add it to a cup of broth just for the heck of it. I roast chickens (pref Free-range organic, because no antibiotics, more omega 3 fats) and then put the remains (everything, no waste) in my instant pot pressure cooker with 2tbsps vinegar for 2 hours. I've read stove top pressure cookers may take longer, and a traditional pot even longer, like the better part of a day. The more water the less gel you will see when it cools. At 4 cups a good chicken stock will be nice and sludgy - you can of course add more if you prefer.

I have done it with the bones from a couple racks of BBQ ribs before too and it gets very gel like as well. I imagine you can get a good broth from all sorts of bones, you'd have to save them and experiment. If you eat a lot of bone-in meats just keep them in the freezer until you have a good 3-4+ lbs.

Another reason I think this is effective is that I'm finally starting to sleep again - In fact I had a handful of weird dreams last night, hah. Ever since getting a fistula 2 years ago I've pretty much been an insomniac, no exaggeration. Sleeping pills, melatonin, magnesium, exercise...nothing did a thing - my brain was wired on.


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## D Bergy

I have only recently been using L-Glutamine on  more regular basis.  I have to say it is one supplement that has a quite noticeable effect.  The thing I notice is the ability to eat and drink things that typically are irritating to my intestinal tract.

I drink a lot of coffee and when I am flared, I can't tolerate it at all.  Since it is an easy way to gauge my intestinal irritation, I use the amount of coffee I am able to drink as a guide to how things are going in there.

When using the glutamine, I am able to drink most any amount of coffee without irritation or cramping that comes with drinking a lot of it.

I read that the lack of this amino acid may be connected to Crohns.  It certainly seems it is beneficial for me either way.  For something I expected very little of, it certainly was a pleasant surprise.  It really does seem to have a protective effect on the intestinal tract.

Dan


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## LeafCrAzY

Another Vote for L-Glutamine.

I was getting persistent back aches for about a month (IBD Symptom, usually Ileum inflammation) 

I started taking 5g of L-Glutamine and 500mg of Curcumin, within a day the back aches stopped and have been gone for a week.


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## Crohn2357

This new Cochrane review says: 





> Currently there is insufficient evidence to allow firm conclusions regarding the efficacy and safety of glutamine for induction of remission in Crohn's disease. Data from two small studies suggest that glutamine supplementation may not be beneficial in active Crohn's disease but these results need to be interpreted with caution as they are based on small numbers of patients. This review highlights the need for adequately powered randomised controlled trials to investigate the efficacy and safety of glutamine for induction of remission in Crohn's disease.


My only concern with l-glutamine supplementation is that I've read in some websites it can interact with cancer meds. I'm using 6MP for Crohn's and I wonder if it would cause any problem or not?

 this article, for instance, says: 





> Dietary glutamine reduces the severity of the immunosuppressive effect induced by methotrexatee


I don't want to mess with my Crohn's treatment... I think any possible relation should be clarified. 
And also, more specifically, what I want to know is, how does l-glutamine affect intestinal immunity, locally?


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