Bodybuilders like glutamine because taken with food it helps to build muscle. IBDers like it because taken on an empty stomach it helps repair inflamed intestinal tissue.
According to Dr. Robert Atkins, the Atkins diet guru, not only is glutamine effective for healing the digestive tract, but that it also snuffs out cravings for sugar.
On page 168 in his book,
Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution, he talks how glutamine "maintains the structural integrity of the intestines to such an extent that it is dubbed 'intestinal permeability factor.' No other nutrient is as important for gastrointestinal integrity."
But I stopped taking it after more recent studies such as what are listed in the thread below, show that daily glutamine intake can be problematic. But after my last flare I found that taking some glutamine seemed to speed up recovery. That is why my signature says I take glutamine only when I feel gut repair is needed after a flare, not regularly at all.
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