Has anyone used L glutamine to help with blood sugar issues?

[sianrecovery]

I read a mail out from Rockwell Nutrition saying L glutamine was helpful in managing up and downs in blood sugar levels.

Has anyone else used this supplement, and has anyone any thing to say for or against it?

Thanks

 

[place]

I struggle with my blood sugers, I did. I tend to not have issues when doing methylation protocol

 

[AFCFS]

I also struggle with blood sugars; I found low carb lifestyle works best for me at this point. I did try L-glutamine at one time and all I can say is that it made me feel "odd." I have had benefit with chromium. Can see this thread: Chromium Picolinate anyone? (http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/chromium-picolinate-anyone.20133/#post-308175) as well as searching on chromium, if you like.

I ended up using Pure Encapsulations Nutrient 950 Without Iron (without iron is typically for men, they have others available, and there are many other sources available as well) as it has chromium (as chromium polynicotinate) 200 mcg.

I think there is much of a market push for L-glutamine as an aid under the rubric of weight loss supplemnts, but am not sure how well founded the actual results are.

 

[sianrecovery]

It does seem to give me stomach pain, never a good sign. Think you are right on the market push thing. Thanks for your response.

 

[heapsreal]

on low carb diets which also help, when i get a carb craving a tsp of glutaine in a glass of water kills the craving within a few mins. Other then sugar, the brain likes glutamine as a fuel??

 

[sianrecovery]

it does seem to help with craving

 

[heapsreal]

it does seem to help with craving

bugger, maybe a block of chocolate lol.
do u eat carbs in your diet too?
Im the sort who can eat much carbs or it sets me of on a binge, go back to my warrior days as a viking(my avatar)

 

[sianrecovery]

I've done low carb, paleo type diets, mcdougall, metabolic typing and various variants of the above. Eventually, I recognised there is no one diet out there that fits my needs as someone with ME, medullary sponge kidney, protomyxzoa and abnormal metabolism of calcium. I have settled back into eating that seems relatively balanced in light of those conditions. The sugar cravings have never gone, whatever I do - I suspect that's because I have never managed to clear blastocytosis.

 

[triffid113]

I read a mail out from Rockwell Nutrition saying L glutamine was helpful in managing up and downs in blood sugar levels.

Has anyone else used this supplement, and has anyone any thing to say for or against it?

Thanks

To me these are different experiences:
(1) I did try glutamine and I love it. However the WAY that I tried it is via Brewer's Yeast on a no-protein stomach (empty stomach or with a non-protein food source, such as banana). Brewer's Yeast is very high in glutamine and low in other aminos, which allows the glutamine to pass the BBB, which causes euphoria. I never noticed that it did anything for my blood sugar.
(2) For my blood sugar, which I have always had issue with, I have done these 3 things that worked:
(a) under age 40: I ate 20 grams of protein at breakfast to help me even out blood sugar all day (I did not eat more protein, I just moved it forward in the day)
(b) age 40-50: Took Rhodiola (large dose) to increase glycogen stores. (If I did not take it I would have low blood sugar attacks from the most minor of stresses).
(c) over age 50: the above strategies no longer worked and I needed DHEA to control my blood sugar. If I were male I might have had to resort to testosterone replacement (they say DHEA doesn't have the same effect for them??)

My blood sugar has always been under control with the above strategies. I do get elevated blood sugar after meals (I think it is because I don't pay attention to details like getting enough chromium), but it always goes back to 80 and my fasting blood sugar is a perfect 80 despite genetic diabetes.

 

[sianrecovery]

That's really helpful Triffid, thank you very much. I may go back to protein at breakfast. Its a tough one if you're a kidney stone former to get that balance right, but maybe a less is more approach would restore balance. I took rhodiola for a while, maybe I'll put it back. I recently stopped DHEA due to high oestrogen levels, so its useful to have that link made between it and blood sugar.