Newfield Nutrition Corporation. Aminopure 100 percent pure USP Grade L-Glutamine

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The Protective Barrier of the Body
The world would be a dangerous place for humans if it weren’t for the existence of the body’s complex system of protection from a potentially harmful environment. Chemical toxins and microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa and parasites from the environment will readily enter the body without a barrier to the outside world. The main components of this barrier are the skin, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the immune system. As summarized below, these protective systems of the body all rely on the amino acid glutamine for their optimal function.

Glutamine and the Skin Barrier
The first barrier of protection is the skin. The skin is the largest organ in the body and without it people would be constantly invaded by microorganisms and adversely affected by environmental toxins. Examples of people who are not fully protected include those who have had a break in their skin caused by a burn, or an accidental wound or an incision following surgery. People who have had extensive damage to their skin from burn injuries have basically lost the first protective barrier against bacteria, viruses and toxins. Studies have shown that in patients who had major burns to their bodies, healing of the wound and discharge from the hospital was significantly improved in those who received glutamine compared to those who did not. Because of these findings, many people take glutamine when they have a skin wound or following surgery or burn injury.

The Gastrointestinal Barrier
The next line of defense is the GI tract, which is basically the long tube that runs from the mouth (where food and liquids are ingested), to the anus (where waste is eliminated. As food moves through the GI tract nutrients and water are extracted while disease producing bacteria are excluded from the body. The GI tract absorbs nutrients to sustain the body while acting as a barrier to prevent microorganisms from crossing into the blood stream.

Glutamine and the Digestive System
The digestive system depends on glutamine for its health. The digestive system includes the gastrointestinal tract (the mouth, esophagus, stomach, the small and large intestines) and the gall bladder, liver and spleen. Cells lining the GI tract are in a constant cycle of dying and replacing themselves every two to three days. This process requires both energy and a signal for the cells to start the replacement process. Glutamine is the primary substance that drives this process to maintain a normal healthy intestine. When people are ill or under physical stress, the body often cannot supply enough glutamine to keep the GI tract healthy. In this environment bacteria, viruses and toxins can cross the intestines, enter the blood stream and causes infections throughout the body. Innumerable studies have shown that glutamine increases the protective barrier of the GI tract. This protection is associated with a decreased rate of infection in critically ill people who received glutamine compared to those who did not receive it. In patients who have diarrhea caused from infections, glutamine reduces or eliminates diarrhea.

The Immune System Barrier
When a breach occurs through the skin or GI tract and foreign substances enter the body, the immune system is activated. The immune system is comprised of white blood cells, categorized as the macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes. These cells are found in all tissues of the body but they are concentrated in the blood, where they can easily travel to a site of infection, in the lymph nodes and throughout the liver and spleen. In the GI tract, large masses of immune cells surround the intestine and are known as Peyer’s patches that are responsible for isolating and destroying pathogens that might have escaped the physical barrier of the GI tract.

Glutamine and Immune Cells
Like the GI tract, blood cells are dependent on glutamine energy for optimal functioning and for their production in the bone marrow. Glutamine helps macrophages (big eating cells) engulf and destroy bacteria. Lymphocytes, another type of white blood cell, produce substances called immunoglobulins. Of the many immunoglobulins, IgA is found in tissue that comes in contact with viruses like the lining of the nose. When glutamine was provided to normal athletes the IgA levels in the nose increased. Since this is the way the cold virus enters the body, taking glutamine may help to protect against getting the common cold.

Glutamine in Illness
Individuals who have major injury or illness have low blood glutamine concentrations. When glutamine is provided to these people, the blood levels rise, the immune cells function better and there is a significant decrease in infections. Studies have reported fewer deaths in groups of people who received glutamine compared to groups of people who did not receive glutamine.

Antioxidants for Protection
Individual cells are protected in a variety of ways. Neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, secrete powerful chemicals that destroy harmful microorganisms. These chemical agents are so powerful that if they are not neutralized, they can also be harmful to the body. The substances produced are known as oxidants or “free radicals”. The body deals with these oxidants by reducing or neutralizing them and uses antioxidants for this process. Most people have heard of vitamin C and E. These are well known antioxidants that humans cannot make in their bodies but can extract from the food that is eaten.

Glutamine and Antioxidants
Some vitamins, such as niacin, which is also obtained from food, form antioxidant-like compounds in the body that help neutralize the oxidant materials. The niacin antioxidant compound, NADH, plays a major role in protecting cells in patients with sickle cell anemia. Another antioxidant made in the body is glutathione. It is the body’s most important antioxidant because it is so effective in aiding other antioxidants in destroying harmful microorganisms and neutralizing toxins. Glutamine is essential to glutathione by contributing to its formation and to NADH by keeping it in its reduced form.

Summary of Glutamine’s Role in the Protection of the Body
Glutamine supports the entire protective process of the body from the largest barrier, the skin, to the smallest antioxidant compound, glutathione. In states of illness or physical stress, when maintaining high levels of glutamine is most important, glutamine levels in the blood actually decline. In these situations, when glutamine in taken, it supports general improvement in health by enhancing the body’s natural defenses, preventing infections, healing wounds, reducing diarrhea caused from infection, and decreasing the number of people who die of critical illness. Glutamine is truly a most special nutrient.

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