Glutamine is a naturally occurring amino acid which is produced in abundance by the human body. It is also one of the few to actually cross over the blood-brain barrier. It can be found circulating via the blood stream, as well as stored in skeletal muscles. However, if the body is not getting enough glutamine to supply the rest of the body, it will steal it from the muscles stock. Glutamine then becomes what is considered as conditionally essential.

During periods of stress, including extreme exercise, glutamine is literally torn away from the muscles. This weakening can cause muscle wasting while also lowering your immune function. This results in the need to replenish the depleted amounts following exercise, as well as prior to bedtime.

There are many positive uses for glutamine. Not only is it used by athletes and body builders after intense training sessions, but there are several medical uses as well. Over the past fifteen years or so there has been extensive study on the usefulness of glutamine in the treatment of serious illnesses, burns, trauma, wound healing in post-operative patients, as well as cancer and the side-effects of its treatment.

Glutamine can be abundantly found in the proteins of both animals and plants. Some of the dietary sources of glutamine include poultry, beef and pork, cottage and ricotta cheeses, milk and yogurt. The vegetables with fairly high levels of glutamine are raw spinach, parsley and cabbage.