Glutamine and Leaky Gut

Have you ever read about taking a glutamine supplement to help with your IBS or Leaky Gut?

I read about this around two years ago and did nothing about it until I saw it again recently and thought I'd give it a try.

A little more about me and my symptoms

I'm in my early thirties and I've suffered from stomach and gut issues since I was at least a teenager. I grew up with a low-sugar diet as my parents did not allow fizzy drinks and were always conscious of sugary foods, but I followed no strict diet restrictions apart from that. In fact, my Mum has followed a gluten-free diet since long before it was fashionable and I would tease her for it's 'silliness'.

As an early teenager I started to regularly have a chocolate bar at break during school, and I remember sometimes feeling slight stomach pain and heartburn in the hours afterwards. This same slight pain started to occur later too after other meals but I never thought much of it.

As I got into my early twenties these pains and cramps got worse and I started to notice a connection - they would be more severe after certain meals.

I never spoke to a health professional, so it took me years to find that cutting-out both gluten and dairy dramatically reduced my symptoms. The symptoms did not completely disappear, but I was feeling much better most of the time.

This really caught my interest so I started keeping a journal of what I was eating and how I was feeling.

I learned that cutting-out all 'added sugar' also helped reduce my symptoms - biscuits had become a favourite post-dinner treat of mine.

I continued to experiment with many fad diets, and each had differing effects but nothing totally solved my stomach pains and cramps.

My more recent symptoms

It's hard to explain my symptoms, and I have only had passing discussions with dieticians and health professionals, but I will give it a try:

Sometimes it would feel as though my gut became more sensitive - I would be able to feel everything as it made it's way through my stomach and intestines. The pain could be quite severe and I would often try to relieve this by standing or stretching to 'get things moving'.

I would often suffer from bad constipation - sometimes without a bowel movement for 3-4 days, or sitting on the toilet for over an hour with nothing except pain.

Glutamine

As mentioned, I have tried many diets. I have tried low-FODMAP; various low-carb and high-protein diets, but none of these really had any lasting impact. I have also tried many supplements including various pre- and probiotics, but again with no success.

I then came across the Charles Poliquin Glutamine Protocol - this was a game-changer.

I adapted it to fit my own routine, starting with taking 2x 60gram servings per day for 10 days. This worked wonders - within days my symptoms were almost completely gone. I the reduced it to 1x 30gram serving before breakfast, and my symptoms were still nearly totally non-existent.

I kept reducing it, right down to 5g per day but my symptoms crept back.

Through trial-and-error I have found that 30-35g per day before breakfast works great for me. I weigh approximately 70kg, so it works out at around 0.5g per kilo of bodyweight.

Conclusion

I am no health expert, and I am not qualified in any such way. This is a personal story and journey.

I am however delighted that after two decades of struggling with stomach and gut cramps that I am finally (almost) symptom free. Like most people, I still suffer from occasional heartburn and other mild stomach issues.

I now eat a pretty normal, broad and 'healthy' diet, although I have not re-introduced gluten, dairy or sugar.

In summary, supplementing 30g of l-glutamine before breakfast has certainly helped me to enjoy food again.

- this is a customer's own words