Vol. 37–Inconvenient Truth: How Hidden Fatigue is Sabotaging Your Success (and How Glutamine and L-Theanine Can Help)

Quick Look 👀

1 oz of water to garden your health

1 Budding Tweet

2 Weeds to avoid

2 Websites to cultivate your garden

Random Musings

Reading Time: 5 minutes and 40 seconds

Action to water your health

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by L-Glutamine and L-Theanine.

In last week’s newsletter, Vol 36 I discussed nootropics and adaptogens. I figured I’d go into these two ingredients since they are in so many supplements.

Let’s dive past the superficial and see what the research says about these two ingredients.

What is Glutamine (aka L-Glutamine)? Is an essential amino acid that supports the immune system, gut health, muscle growth and recovery, and wound healing. It may also improve mental function and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.

This literature review “Glutamine as an Anti-Fatigue Amino Acid in Sports Nutrition” found:

• Glutamine supplementation may delay the onset of fatigue and improve athletic performance.

• Athletes with chronic fatigue and overtraining syndrome have reduced glutamine concentrations.

• Glutamine supplementation has been shown to improve some fatigue markers, such as muscle ammonia and glycogen.

• Amino acids administration increased parameters of oxygen-carrying capacities, such as hemoglobin, red blood cells count, hematocrit, and serum iron.

Glutamine was also found to reduce symptom scores of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) alongside a low-FODMAP diet [1].

This study [2], had 30 healthy males randomly assigned to either a control or intervention group. The intervention group received 0.3 g of glutamine per kg of body weight per day for 14 days.

Blood samples were taken after exhaustive exercise to test serum levels of atherosclerosis markers.

Results showed that serum levels of leptin, cholesterol, and oxidized low-density lipoprotein were lower in the intervention group.

Their conclusion found that:

• Glutamine supplementation has potentially beneficial effects for athletes in reducing atherosclerosis-related biomarkers and may help in decreasing the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.

No single study is perfect and this one is no different. They used a small sample size, the participants were already healthy, and young. But the fact that it reduced certain biomarkers associated with atherosclerosis, is promising.

If you want a refresher on cholesterol and their lab test read Vol. 32. I spend hours condensing the information so you don’t have to.

Where can you find glutamine? Glutamine is found in high amounts in most meat and animal products, as well as any dairy product or by-product such as whey, or casein protein.

Levels of glutamine in various foods range from, beef, skim milk, white rice, corn, tofu, and eggs.

How much is too much Glutamine? The highest amount of glutamine supplementation that has been suggested to be free of side effects is referred to as the Observed Safety Limit (OSL), which is 14g/d when consumed as a supplement in addition to dietary intake [3].

L-Theanine. Is a non-protein amino acid (does not contribute to protein synthesis and is classified as a non-protein amino acid.), that is primarily found in tea leaves, particularly green tea (Camellia sinensis).

It is known for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety levels without causing drowsiness, which may contribute to improved sleep quality.

Has been found to have positive effects on cognitive function, especially when taken in combination with caffeine.

Wait, how does it work in combination with caffeine? When L-theanine is consumed, it can cross the blood-brain barrier and affects brain activity. This is because L-theanine promotes increased alpha-waves, which is a pattern of brain activity associated with a more relaxed state.

So when L-theanine is taken with caffeine, it can counteract the jitters and anxiousness sometimes experienced with caffeine use by promoting relaxation [4][5].

This study examined the effects of L-theanine, caffeine, and their combination on sustained attention, inhibitory control, and overall cognition in boys with ADHD [6].

The results showed that L-theanine improved overall cognition compared to placebo, while caffeine worsened inhibitory control. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improved overall cognition, and d-prime in the Go/NoGo task, and showed a trend of improvement in inhibitory control.

Take Action:

• Vegans and vegetarians can get glutamine from plant-based sources such as beans, lentils, tofu, spinach, parsley, cabbage, and nuts. But is highest in animal products so adding glutamine could be the answer.

• Athletes: Yes any kind. Glutamine is important for muscle recovery and growth, and athletes who engage in intense training may benefit from supplementation. If you take a protein shake it should be covered. But you might consider taking it during your workout. Do you feel any different?

• Individuals with gastrointestinal issues: Glutamine is the primary fuel source for the cells lining the small intestine and colon, and it has been shown to help heal damage to these tissues. At least that’s what the literature says. I don’t have first-hand experience.

• I am sensitive to caffeine and take L-theanine to combat the jitteriness and anxiety I get from it. How well does it work with anxiety or stress-related disorders? I don’t know. Rarely is it a panacea but does help.

Budding Tweet

Cabbage juice? to try and get the benefits of glutamine? Have you ever tried juicing before?

There was a point when I juiced and the process was time-consuming and the clean-up a mess. There is a much better alternative to get your glutamine.

Weeds to avoid

1️⃣ Not writing down every little thing you do in a day, at least once a month. You’ll quickly see where your energy goes, the optimal time to plan things, and habits to change to praise. I found myself spending unnecessary time on getting “inbox zero”, now I only check my important emails.

2️⃣ Beating yourself up. You wouldn’t let other people talk to you like that! why are you doing it? Learn, understand, and grow. Take some time if you need it but don’t be your own bully.

Websites to cultivate your garden

WTF Does This Company do? The name tells you all. You input any website name and it tells you what they do. Check it out.

Literature Clock. Tell you the time, using books! something about it is soothing.

Random Musings

1. The amount of protein powders in the market is insane! You can find anything, made out of anything (almost). Take for example Spacemilk made from non-GMO baker’s yeast and purified water 😮. I actually plan on reviewing this (LMK if you’re interested).

2. If you’re taking a coffee hiatus remember, coffee withdrawal headaches are the dilation of blood vessels in the brain due to decreased levels of caffeine. As caffeine usually constricts blood vessels in the brain. So you can gradually taper, hydrate, sleep & rest, and be ready!

3. Would you try this Plant-based chicken? Rebellyous Foods raised $9.5M to launch latest production tech.

4. I hate when you have a “cheat meal” and the place you end up going to sucks. What a waste.

5. I have this fidget spinner thing, that oddly enough helps my erratic thinking.

6. Do you want 24-pin needles to the face and neck? So painful that you will likely need an anesthetic? Here’s a video, it’s suppose to use radiofrequency to stimulate deep layers of skin and fat that trigger the skin’s natural healing response to promote tightening and lifting. Sounds painful!

You're an awesome human

Martin, CEO of braincrumbss

Stuff I created, that you might find helpful.

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