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This important amino acid is manufactured in the body and is therefore not a mandatory requirement in the diet... Though there are lots of foods that supply the body with glutamine, the body still requires manufacturing lots of this amino acid because of the sheer magnitude of demand... The body’s main site of glutamine manufacture is in the muscle cells... Glutamine is made through the chemical reaction that involves the combination of ammonia and glutamate (an amino acid)... The manufacture of glutamine takes place on a very large scale such that this substance occupies more than sixty percent of the storage space set aside for free amino-acids in the muscle cells... It is these large reserves that supply glutamine to the blood plasma and to the other tissue sites that require the same... In previous times it was thought that glutamine had a direct role in the anabolic process... Research has since proven that the role of glutamine is indirect; it promotes anabolism through ensuring that the muscle cells are optimally hydrated... The volume of water in the cells is in a constant state of alteration between a hydrated and dehydrated state... Once the cell is dehydrated then the speed of metabolism especially in terms of turnover and protein synthesis is also decelerated... Conversely, when the cells are fully hydrated there is less incidence of protein, glucose and glycogen breakdown... The synthesis of both glycogen and protein is optimized... Once this is reversed, the trend changes almost immediately and a catabolic state is engaged where the cells begin breaking down the vital proteins... Experimental research has showed that when muscles cells are placed in a solution containing both amino acids and insulin, the amino acids are coerced into entering the cell walls... This brings about an elevated protein synthesis... This same effect is seen when muscle cells are dipped in pure water... The protein synthesis also occurs at an accelerated pace... The reverse is experienced when the first two mediums are replaced by a solution of salt... The cells start losing water and as they do the cells enter into a catabolic state where the vital proteins are broken down real fast... When the muscle cells contain sufficient amounts of glutamine then the doorway for other varieties of amino acids is opened... Amino acids cannot access the cell walls on their own; they have to be transported in a specialized manner... This unique transport system will not only allow for the entrance of the amino acids but it will also allow for the entry of sodium... As the cell content of sodium and these amino acids increases the cell begins to absorb more water and becomes more hydrated... This hydration as mentioned above spurs the onset of real anabolism... During the periods of strenuous exercise, the body muscle cells are severely depleted of amino acids... This depletion serves to reverse the aforementioned transport system such that sodium and amino acids are driven away from the cell... This triggers the onset of a catabolic state... __________________