Effects of Glutamine on Exercise Recovery in Exercising Athletes - Dissertation Example

All the findings from this review that are relevant to the hypothesis will be stated and conclusions will be derived from them. For years, athletes in pursuit of superior performance have been using supplements of all sorts to increase their efficiency and improve their results. Many supplements (Whey protein, Creatinine etc) have proven their value in improving sports performance (Candow et al. 2006, Volek et al 1999) The potential role of glutamine came as through various researches as glutamine supplementation displayed reduced hospitalization time, reduced number of infections, improved gut barrier function and nitrogen balance in critically ill patients.

(Houdijk et al. 1998, Ziegler et al. 1992, Van Acker et al. 2000) It was already observed that overtraining caused an increased number of infections in athletes, especially URTIs. It was because the catabolic state generates by exercise led to the usage of body glutamine stores for hepatic gluconeogenesis and hence a significant drop occurred in plasma glutamine levels (Parry-Billings et al. 1992). But this compromised the immune system leaving athletes vulnerable to infections. It was postulated that glutamine supplementation might be able to reverse these changes that occurred due to glutamine depletion.

Hence various studies were carried out to test the benefits of glutamine supplementation in athletes in improving sports performance. Effects on glycogen storage were studied, that whether glutamine has a role in increasing muscle glycogen storage. Effects on muscle growth and sports performance were evaluated. Plasma glutamine levels and various immune marker levels were studied after glutamine supplementation.