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Does taking glutamine cause more glutamate?

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
i love glutamine but don't want more glutamate... does the former result in the latter?

I read that glutamate creation requires an extra ion, but I don't know how easily this happens.. not good at chemistry!
 

keenly

Senior Member
Messages
814
Location
UK
i love glutamine but don't want more glutamate... does the former result in the latter?

I read that glutamate creation requires an extra ion, but I don't know how easily this happens.. not good at chemistry!

Good question. The answer is possibly. Not guaranteed though.
 

ChrisD

Senior Member
Messages
472
Location
East Sussex
Whenever I use Glutamine (for attempting heal Gut), I get headaches, anxiety, tightness in chest and disorientation. Hence after a few attempts, I will not use it any more and presume this is excess glutamate
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
@ChrisD i feel great on it... in fact it's one of the few things that clears my brain fog ..not completely, but it makes my head feel calmer, oddly enough... which is confusing, based on what I've read about glutamate! Your reaction sounds more likely than mine
 

ChrisD

Senior Member
Messages
472
Location
East Sussex
@ChrisD i feel great on it... in fact it's one of the few things that clears my brain fog ..not completely, but it makes my head feel calmer, oddly enough... which is confusing, based on what I've read about glutamate! Your reaction sounds more likely than mine

The only benefit I do notice is that all of my joints and muscles become much stronger and I have no cracking/crepitus as per usual... very bizarre
 
Messages
67
Please proceed very carefully.. I had severe excitotoxicty issues after taking supplemental L Glutamine. Dr Martin Pall feels excess glutamate is a key part of CFS and chemical sensitivity.
 

renski

Senior Member
Messages
338
Location
Honolulu
Please proceed very carefully.. I had severe excitotoxicty issues after taking supplemental L Glutamine. Dr Martin Pall feels excess glutamate is a key part of CFS and chemical sensitivity.

So whats the solution, go slow with it? Use other things to help heal the gut? I thought glutamine was critical to healing the gut.. I had a reaction to glutamine a few days ago that felt like a detox of toxins which made me wonder if it was moving metals out of my body.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
I don't think taking glutamine has been shown to increase glutamate in the brain.

When they gave it to the TBI patients in high doses in this study IV, it did not increase glutamate levels.

I've taken up to 30g a day during times of increased activity and I feel like it helps me recover better. It has never made me feel worse.
 
Messages
18
I don't think taking glutamine has been shown to increase glutamate in the brain.

When they gave it to the TBI patients in high doses in this study IV, it did not increase glutamate levels.

I've taken up to 30g a day during times of increased activity and I feel like it helps me recover better. It has never made me feel worse.

Emma, unfortunately Glutamine CAN increase Glutamate in people who have an unbalanced Gaba:Glutamate ratio.

When the balance is tipped to one side, the body usually compensates by increasing one slightly over the other. That is why some people who take GABA report worse anxiety (due to leaky blood brain barrier, as well). You would assume that by taking GABA one would feel calmer, right? Wrong. What happens is that the body converts that GABA into Glutamate.

When the body sees an excess, it will ALWAYS try to balance itself even if we feel far far worse afterwards. The body does this type of conversion for different processes all the time. It's not just neurotransmitters.

It seems you did not have this unbalance, so you did well. Others however should proceed with caution. People with sleep problems and anxiety may have too much Glutamate to begin with... Again, experiment but be cautious.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Emma, unfortunately Glutamine CAN increase Glutamate in people who have an unbalanced Gaba:Glutamate ratio.

When the balance is tipped to one side, the body usually compensates by increasing one slightly over the other. That is why some people who take GABA report worse anxiety (due to leaky blood brain barrier, as well). You would assume that by taking GABA one would feel calmer, right? Wrong. What happens is that the body converts that GABA into Glutamate.

When the body sees an excess, it will ALWAYS try to balance itself even if we feel far far worse afterwards. The body does this type of conversion for different processes all the time. It's not just neurotransmitters.

It seems you did not have this unbalance, so you did well. Others however should proceed with caution. People with sleep problems and anxiety may have too much Glutamate to begin with... Again, experiment but be cautious.
Except that study...