Glutamine No Help for Dieting Athletes

Some wrestlers and other athletes take glutamine supplements to maintain muscle mass while losing weight, but the approach does not seem to work, at least in the short term, researchers report.

In a new study, wrestlers who took supplements of the amino acid while on a weight-loss program did not maintain more muscle than wrestlers who took a dummy placebo.

"The findings of this study indicate little benefit for retention of muscle mass with oral supplementation of glutamine during a short-term weight reduction program commonly used in wrestling," Dr. Kevin J. Finn of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and colleagues report in the December issue of the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.

Most naturally occurring glutamine is stored in muscles, which release it into the blood when necessary. Some research suggests that glutamine supplements can help maintain muscle mass.

This possibility has made glutamine supplements appealing to some athletes, particularly wrestlers, who compete in weight classes. The hope of athletes who take glutamine is that when they go on a weight-loss program, they will lose mainly fat, not muscle.

In the present study, Finn and his colleagues set out to test the effect of glutamine in 18 college wrestlers who were enrolled in a 12-day weight-loss program. All athletes consumed the same high-protein diet, but some wrestlers also took glutamine supplements. The other athletes received an inactive placebo instead.

All participants lost a significant amount of weight during the study, researchers report. Although the aim was to lose fat, not muscle, all athletes lost similar amounts of fat-free mass.

In fact, glutamine supplements did not have a significant effect on how much muscle was maintained.

Although the study did not support the claim that glutamine helps maintain muscle mass, it is not the final word on the topic, according to Finn and his colleagues. They point out that the high-protein diet used in the study may have helped both groups maintain muscle mass.

Another possibility, according to the report, is that the weight-loss program did not last long enough for the benefits of glutamine supplements to kick in.

SOURCE: Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, December 2003.

Reference Source 89

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".