Eating amino acid-rich foods

As L-glutamine is found in high-protein foods, it’s totally possible to consume enough through your diet without the need for supplements. “It can be highly beneficial to eat foods that are high in this amino acid. The likes of fish, poultry, dairy and green vegetables should be incorporated regularly into a healthy diet anyway, so it should not be hard to take in additional levels of L-glutamine through the food you eat,” Abdeh says.

Consuming extra protein

The recommended intake of the amino acid for gut health is around 5g. To put that in context, 100g of beef contains around 1.2g of L-glutamine, while 100g of tofu contains 0.6g of the amino acid. Consuming extra protein sources could be beneficial during times of digestive discomfort (as long as it’s not in place of fibre or veggies).

L-glutamine supplements

“If you suffer from IBS and are looking to improve your gut lining integrity and supplements are deemed suitable for you, you could take an additional one to five grams of L-glutamine supplements per day in divided doses, at least 30 minutes before meals or before bedtime,” says Gray.

However, she warns that anyone living with kidney disease or Reye’s syndrome should avoid supplementing L-glutamine.

More research may be needed, but watch this space; L-glutamine sounds like a promising way to look after your gut health.

L-glutamine for gut health: can the amino acid supplement improve digestion?