Glutamine: 7 Benefits, Uses, and 4 Side Effects, Food Sources (2025)

  • What Is It?
    • What is glutamine?
  • Foods Sources
    • Which foods should you eat to get glutamine?
  • Uses
    • What is glutamine used for?
  • Safe Amount
    • What amount of glutamine supplement intake is considered safe?
  • 7 Health Benefits
    • 7 benefits of glutamine
  • 4 Side Effects
    • 4 potential side effects of glutamine
  • Comments
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Glutamine: 7 Benefits, Uses, and 4 Side Effects, Food Sources (1)

The body naturally makes glutamine in the muscles, which is transferred by the blood into different organ systems.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins in cells and tissues and are the second most abundant compound found in mammals after water.

The availability of amino acids is of fundamental importance for cell survival, maintenance, and proliferation.

Among the 20 amino acids, glutamine is the most abundant and versatile amino acid responsible for intermediary metabolism and immune function.

What is glutamine?

Glutamine is a nonessential amino acid that serves as a building block for proteins.

It is considered a conditionally essential amino acid, which means it must be obtained from the diet under certain circumstances, such as injury or illness.

It is synthesized from glutamic acid and ammonia and is involved in many metabolic processes.

The two different forms of glutamine include L-glutamine (found in foods and man-made supplements) and D-glutamine (relatively unimportant in humans).

Glutamine supports several functions of the body, including:

  • Makingproteinsfor muscle tissues
  • Fueling cells that protect the stomach and the intestines (enterocytes)
  • Supportingimmune systemcells
  • Helping the liverdetoxify foreign substances

Manmade versionsor glutamine supplements are available in the form of:

  • Capsule
  • Tablet
  • Powder for solution
  • Packet
  • Powder for suspension

Which foods should you eat to get glutamine?

The body naturally makes glutamine in the muscles, which is transferred by thebloodinto different organ systems.

Because animal products, such as meat, eggs, and beef, are high in protein, they are the simplest ways to get high amounts of glutamine as well.

However, some plant-based foods have an adequate amount of glutamine, such as wheat,peanuts,corn, tofu, andmilk.

The deficiency of glutamine is rare and is often caused by genetic disorders rather than inadequate intake.

What is glutamine used for?

Endari (glutamine) is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a prescription drug for sickle cell disease.

Other conditions wherein glutamine is possibly effective include:

  • Heals burns
  • Reduces complications of trauma or critical illness
  • Patients with human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome absorb food better, which prevents unwanted weight loss
  • Faster recovery after surgery
  • Glutamine is used in combination withhuman growth hormone(GH) to treat short bowel syndrome

What amount of glutamine supplement intake is considered safe?

The amount, dosage, and frequency of glutamine supplements depend on the reason for prescription and the general condition of the patient.

According to an estimate, people consume about three to six grams of glutamine daily in the diet.

Some clinical studies have speculated that doses of 5 to 45 grams per day for up to six weeks are considered safe with no negative side effects.

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7 benefits of glutamine

Research suggests that glutamine supplements may offer some health benefits, but studies are underway to confirm the potential of glutamine to prevent or treat certain conditions.

  1. Improves recovery times and reduces complications
    • It may help people with gut conditions such as Crohn’s disease,celiac disease, andgut inflammation.
  2. Boosts immunity
    • It acts directly on gut-associated lymphoid tissue and stimulates overall immune function.
    • Glutamine supplements might help the gut, immune system, and other processes function properly, especially in times of stress, such as trauma, injury, or illness.
    • It is the main fuel source for lymphocytes, and white blood cells that fight infection and diseases.
  3. Promotes intestinal health
    • The amino acid helps maintain the intestinal lining, ensuring that the body absorbs the nutrients it needs.
    • It supports overall good healthand protects against serious problems, such as leaky gut syndrome.
    • It plays a major role to protect the integrity of the gastrointestinal tract, especially the large intestine.
  4. Helps recover muscle
    • Glutamine supplements may act as fitness supplementthat promotes muscle gain and fat burn.
    • It may help reducefatigueand improveexercise recovery.
    • In addition, it may reducemuscle damageand aid in exercise performances.
  5. May help ease the effects of cancer treatments, such as muscle wasting,oral inflammation,nausea, vomiting, anddiarrhea.
  6. Glutamine supplements are linked with shorter hospital stays and lower mortality rates for critically ill patients.
  7. Reduces the acute complications of sickle cell diseasein adults and children.

4 potential side effects of glutamine

  1. Long-term impact
    • Excessive intake over time may change the way the body distributes and uses amino acids, which may raise the risk of health problems.
  2. Hazardous side effects
    • Side effects are generally mild and might include bloating, nausea, dizziness,heartburn, changes in bowel movements, andstomach pain.
    • In some rare cases, high quantities of glutamine can cause side effects that may require immediate medical attention, includingblood in the urine, changes in the skin color, lower back pain,fast heartbeat, dizziness, or rash.
  3. May worsen liver and kidney diseases
    • People with liver and kidney conditions need to be extra cautious before taking a glutamine supplement.
  4. Pregnancy
    • There is not enough evidence or conclusive studies to confirm the safety of glutamine in pregnant or breastfeeding women.
    • Do not use glutamineuntil advised by a medical health professional.

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References

Image Source: iStock image

WebMD. Health Benefits of Glutamine. https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-glutamine#1

Cruzat V, Macedo Rogero M, Noel Keane K, Curi R, Newsholme P. Glutamine: Metabolism and Immune Function, Supplementation and Clinical Translation. Nutrients. 2018 Oct 23;10(11):1564. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266414/

Glutamine: 7 Benefits, Uses, and 4 Side Effects, Food Sources (2025)
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