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Enterically coated L-Glutamine

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Posted 4/26/2012 4:25 PM (GMT -7)
I now have the reason why Elite XT is so beneficial to me. Nearly 7 grams of L-glutamine per scoop. Previous attempts to consume L-glutamine resulted in no benefit. I think the enteric coating is why it is working this time. Solid perfectly formed waste every morning after coffee/stimulants. No stims - skip a day.

The gastrointestinal tract is by far the largest user of L-glutamine in the body. The small intestine accounts for the largest uptake of L-glutamine of any organ, absorbing this amino acid from the lumen of the gut as well as from the bloodstream. Epithelial cells that line the small intestine (termed enterocytes) use L-glutamine as their principal metabolic fuel, eventually converting it to ATP and energy. Since enterocytes have little L-glutamine synthesizing activity and contain a great amount of glutaminase (metabolizes L-glutamine), these cells of the gastrointestinal tract are very dependent on a constant supply of L-glutamine.

The gastrointestinal tract is continuously exposed to the exterior environment of the body via food, liquid, and swallowed salivary and mucus secretions, and therefore contains a large number of immune cells along its length. L-glutamine's positive effects on the GI tract appear to stem from its ability to "feed" immune cells as well as mucosal cells. A decrease in L-glutamine can result in atrophy of the gut mucosa, decreased gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), and increased intestinal permeability. Injury of any tissue excluding the intestines shunts L-glutamine away from the blood and into these tissues, making less L-glutamine available for the intestines. As L-glutamine is depleted, wound healing is impaired, intestinal permeability increases, and the risk of microbial translocation, sepsis, and multiple organ failure increases significantly. Intestinal permeability can be caused by a variety of factors, including trauma (surgical, burns, others, antibiotic use,and some common food allergies such as cow’s milk and gluten (wheat) sensitivity.

It has been reported that intestinal mucosal cellular levels of L-glutamine are decreased in problems associated with the GIT, including ulcerative colitis, IBS, and Crohn’s Disease. L-glutamine has been reported effective in these problems associated with the GIT. Although current studies with L-glutamine in the treatment of ulcers are lacking, an older double-blind study reported that 22 of 24 ulcer patients treated with L-glutamine, 400mg, four times daily, exhibited complete healing within four weeks, which was documented and verified with x-rays.
Posted 4/26/2012 9:49 AM (GMT -7)
Thank you for posting this, this is the best explanation of the relationship between L-glutamine and the gastrointestinal tract I've read. I've been taking L-glutamine for some time now and I do believe it helps... and now I have a much better understanding of why.
Posted 4/26/2012 10:01 AM (GMT -7)
I am not clear. Are you saying the enteric coating allows more of it to get to the colon instead of feeding the cells in the small intestine?
Posted 4/26/2012 11:28 AM (GMT -7)

DBwithUC said...
I am not clear. Are you saying the enteric coating allows more of it to get to the colon instead of feeding the cells in the small intestine?

The enteric coating is not intended to release in the large intestine. It occurs somewhere in the small intestine at PH change. Perhaps my stomach destroys l-glutamine ?

I only know the before and the after. Nailing down the why is elusive. Before was good, after this I am yet another notch improved. I would say I felt 100% pre-UC in the lifestyle metric before. 95% pre-UC in stool quality metric but not exactly all the way there before taking this. Now I would say it is still not 100% but its more like 98%.

In my new home with big fancy kitchen our first meal was a disaster. Apparently I can eat bread etc but flour tortilla's induce flare/fever. I was in freefall and threw the quesadilla's out.

Since then I used apple pectin, curcumin and good food to zoom right back to 95% in just a day or two ( and one VSL#3DS ) then this got me even further and I have dropped pure green protein for the duration of the experiment because this is about 4x cheaper, at least that much cheaper maybe more.

I have had nothing but good results from this so I am adding it to my permanent list.

The detailed explanation on glutamine absorption coupled with my experience might mean my small intestine is what needs help and downstream the large intestine suffers from injury above. The SCD lays this out exactly if my memory serves me right. Injury to small intestine results in undigested food which feeds bad bacteria in large intestine.

I should add a warning that I began with a different protein blend. It did deploy in the large intestine and caused 2:00 am urgency the first night so I promptly returned it telling them this product is retarded that it even says in small print its deploying to the large intestine. However I kept an open mind and tried another one. Elite XT is the one I find to work wonderfully. Hoping to add some muscle with the blend of slow and fast digesting proteins - the positive effect on UC was an unexpected bonus.

Post Edited (aguywithuc) : 4/26/2012 12:33:40 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/26/2012 11:36 AM (GMT -7)
That Elite XT looks like good stuff, except for me the sucralose in it rules it out. It is tough to find a bb supplement without sucralose these days!
Posted 4/26/2012 1:32 PM (GMT -7)
Ok, I'm learning something. I only encountered the term "enteric" when I came to understand pills like Lialda had an enteric coating to make sure they only release in the colon. Since my reading was focused on understanding UC, I did not push to learn more about enteric.

I see now the enteric coating resists the acid of the stomach, but starts to dissolve in the more basic intestine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_coating

I also see that they use a thick coating to gain an extra 4-5 hours to remain undissolved in the small intestine and get to the colon: http://public.carnet.hr/acphee/Sinha.pdf

... and it appears that the colon is more neutral pH ~5.5-7.0 than the small intestine pH ~8.5, but both of these are more basic than the acidic stomach which varies from pH 1-2 up to 4-5.


So you think previously stomach acid was destroying the L-Glutamine?
Posted 4/26/2012 2:18 PM (GMT -7)
aguywithuc,

I've been using L-GLutamine powder @ 10-15 grams per day for some time now, with great success.

Glad you've found something that works for you.

Posted 4/26/2012 8:42 PM (GMT -7)

DBwithUC said...
Ok, I'm learning something. I only encountered the term "enteric" when I came to understand pills like Lialda had an enteric coating to make sure they only release in the colon. Since my reading was focused on understanding UC, I did not push to learn more about enteric.

I see now the enteric coating resists the acid of the stomach, but starts to dissolve in the more basic intestine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_coating

I also see that they use a thick coating to gain an extra 4-5 hours to remain undissolved in the small intestine and get to the colon: http://public.carnet.hr/acphee/Sinha.pdf

... and it appears that the colon is more neutral pH ~5.5-7.0 than the small intestine pH ~8.5, but both of these are more basic than the acidic stomach which varies from pH 1-2 up to 4-5.


So you think previously stomach acid was destroying the L-Glutamine?

I really do not have a clue. There were many indicators strongly advising multi-gram l-glutamine multiple times per day. I bought several brands. Yet I never saw an improvement. InSoFlo must have seen improvement because he keeps taking it. I have several tubs of unfinished l-glutamine in my new walk-in pantry. I thought about posting a pic here - shelves full of all kinds of things and most are falling to the wayside for lacking effectiveness.

Now I doubt this improvement is from the other proteins...when I noticed that it was nearly 7 grams out of a 33 gram scoop it clicked. I do know that I have a very fast transit time and for whatever reason I think its absorbing better with this product. Turmeric + apple pectin resulted in good solid waste that would break apart. Now I am going long continuous tubes and if I cut back on stims they get compressed and knotty and almost back to not needing the paper. That is where I want to be - like when I was pre-uc.

It is a mystery, perhaps its not the stomach perhaps it was triggering too much bile or other pancreatic or liver enzymes and getting destroyed. It seems to be sneaking past the stomach and start of the intestines where a lot of digestive juices get added.

I too thought enteric meant colon but it does not. The bad blend advertised "12 Hour" protein supply. That was nuts, this one just says it doubles it. I think moving away from fast digesting whey is a great idea, I had already done that. But the blend has to be the way to get steady supply of protein and nitrogen-balance for muscle building.
Posted 4/26/2012 8:45 PM (GMT -7)

Gonk said...
That Elite XT looks like good stuff, except for me the sucralose in it rules it out. It is tough to find a bb supplement without sucralose these days!

NO*Shotgun. Got some in the kitchen and there is so much sucralose in that its terribly sweet and if I take a scoop of that every day I will be flaring in a week. I take half a scoop with 2 psyllium capsules and one apple pectin plus follow with water to counteract the sucralose. My theory is the sucralose mucks up the acidity and favors the bad bacteria unless I take those countermeasures.

If there is sucralose in the Elite XT it is really minimal, I have taken a scoop 4 times in one day and it never bothered me. It does not taste that sweet and the after taste is horrible.

IOW if it does not bother me - it probably will not bother you.
Posted 4/26/2012 8:47 PM (GMT -7)

InSoFla said...
aguywithuc,


I've been using L-GLutamine powder @ 10-15 grams per day for some time now, with great success.



Glad you've found something that works for you.


Glad that helps you. I think I read a world powerlifting coach say take 100 grams per day for a week if your not gaining muscle since it must be a GI absorption issue and this will heal you. It just never did anything for me. Now it seems to work in this form.
Posted 4/27/2012 3:53 AM (GMT -7)
The sucralose doesn't bother my UC but rather my supposed IBS (as per my GI). It turns my bowel to liquid so I take that as a sign that my body is telling me to stay away. And I have taken many, many of the pwo supplements and I think they are what caused my sensitivity to sucralose - which is a new thing for me this year since my last flare. My favorite was C4. Now I'm using stuff from muscle feast and STS sports, no artificial sweeteners, "all natural".
Posted 4/27/2012 1:54 PM (GMT -7)

Gonk said...
The sucralose doesn't bother my UC but rather my supposed IBS (as per my GI). It turns my bowel to liquid so I take that as a sign that my body is telling me to stay away. And I have taken many, many of the pwo supplements and I think they are what caused my sensitivity to sucralose - which is a new thing for me this year since my last flare. My favorite was C4. Now I'm using stuff from muscle feast and STS sports, no artificial sweeteners, "all natural".

The worst is NO*Explode old formula. It did not seem to doom me right away so I kept going back to it.

What I avoid now more than even sucralose is CREATINE.

Its evil and probably caused UC.
Posted 4/27/2012 7:01 PM (GMT -7)
Funny, like everything else with uc, what is bad for one person is fine for another. I take creative regularly, have for years, no issues.
I think Jack3d put me in a flare in 2010.
Posted 4/27/2012 10:03 PM (GMT -7)

Gonk said...
Funny, like everything else with uc, what is bad for one person is fine for another. I take creative regularly, have for years, no issues.
I think Jack3d put me in a flare in 2010.

No immediate issues other than instant dump each morning. Since getting it out of my supps, I am doing so much better but have also added in good healing foods and cutout a lot of bad cheats. Hard to say but as I am right now creatine = bad.

The all time worst is 'Assault' I will lift a lot tomorrow and may take 1/2 scoup with counter measures but it messes me up. Once per week maximum. Lots of regular arginine and creatine.
Posted 5/6/2013 4:07 PM (GMT -7)
aguyw/ how often do you take this shake a day and how much?

I went out on a limb with this one since I have yet to find a protein shake that agrees with me, I mean whey, rice, vegan, etc I have tried at least 9 different ones. I am pleasantly surprised that so far this one hasnt caused any problems, in fact I think its helping.
Posted 5/7/2013 5:44 PM (GMT -7)
I have used L-Glutamine successfully for years for Crossfit and other endurance sports. It is suggested that you use 100% pure L-Glutamine as many brands have fillers that will likely be problematic for many on this board. I use Jarrows Formula and it is 100% pure with nothing added. Also, many foods contain L-Glutamine including Spinach. Keep in mind, L-Glutamine is the most plentiful amino acid in the human body and is naturally occurring.

Best...
Posted 5/7/2013 5:47 PM (GMT -7)
Danthaman-Try Dr. Mercola all natural Pro-Optimal Whey. It is formulated for for people like us and is easy to deal with. It is awesome with Almond Milk in the morning(with L-Glutamine).
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