Glutamine or Sheep Placenta?

By John|2013-02-03T04:11:28-06:00October 15th, 2011|Supplements, Talk to Me Johnnie, WTF?|19 Comments

Every time I buy creatine, they want to sell me glutamine as well. Should I buy it?

Adam

Yes.

Also, place an order for Branch Chain Amino Acids or BCAAs. I mix 5 grams of creatine, 5 grams of glutamine and 10 grams of BCAAs in my pre and post workout shake.

If they try to sell you Sheep Placenta…I would strongly advise against it.

About the Author: John

John Welbourn is CEO of Power Athlete and host of Power Athlete Radio. He is a 9 year starter and veteran of the NFL. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and for starter for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his career, John has started over 100 games and has 10 play-off appearances. He was a four year lettermen while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. John has worked with the MLB, NFL, NHL, Olympic athletes and Military. He travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition and records his podcast, Power Athlete Radio, every week with over 800 episodes spanning 13 years. You can catch up with John as his personal blog, Talk To Me Johnnie, on social media @johnwelbourn or at Power Athlete Radio.

19 Comments

Daz October 15, 2011 at 5:53 pm - Reply

I hear the All Black take it
Andrew October 15, 2011 at 6:03 pm - Reply

I heard creating and glutamine cannot be absorbed well at the same time, have you ever heard that?
Dan October 15, 2011 at 6:39 pm - Reply

What brand od bcaa’s? Everything that is 4:1seems to come in pill?
John October 15, 2011 at 7:09 pm - Reply

Is that why they beat your ass and have a cool war dance? I heard there are more sheep in OZ than in NZ.

I am on the fence. i have read maybe 50 studies for combing creatine & glutamine and another 50 for not. And the doctors of organic chemistry on BodyBuilding.com forums are on the fence. They like to quote research done by guys name “Raptor” and “Erectors 4 Life”, but I can’t find them credited in any scientific research papers. So I have contact Lalonde and he will make sense of it.

This the BCAAs I am taking right now. http://bit.ly/nq6dbw
And this is the one I would be taking but Vitamin Shoppe did not have it in stock so I ordered it http://www.scivation.com/XTEND.asp
Daz October 15, 2011 at 7:23 pm - Reply

there’s more sheep in NZ than people. Tough game tonight, aussies by 12
John October 15, 2011 at 7:28 pm - Reply

Daz – Cant find the score. Doesn’t come on until 1 am PST. i will be watching as I dont get much sleep anymore.
Tyson October 15, 2011 at 7:35 pm - Reply

I started taking ON BCAA + Creatine (has 5g of both) pre workout and a scoop of ON Hydro Whey with 8.8g of BCAA post workout. Is that a good mix? Just have to get some glutamine what’s a good glutamine only product?

Thanks for your blog. My favorite Robb Wolf podcasts are the one with your input. You should go on more often.
Daz October 15, 2011 at 9:30 pm - Reply

nuh thats my tip mate, it’ll be a great game
Mike Hollister October 15, 2011 at 10:20 pm - Reply

John you mix that with water? TrueProtein could make a mix like that. Problem is what to mix it in… I like mixing it with chocolate milk (8 oz) pwo but I don’t want that dairy in my during the workout. Right now I do jack3d pre workout and I like it. TP has a 4:1 in a powder. Just tough to make it taste good.
Nathan Greaves October 16, 2011 at 4:20 am - Reply

For anyone living in the UK, MaxiRAW do a decent Protein Complex which contains glutamine. I’ve found it to be superior to any other shake I’ve used.
Jim G. October 16, 2011 at 5:45 am - Reply

John, I’m guessing that this applies to my question about deer antler extract as well… what is the logic for the players in the NFL then?
manny October 16, 2011 at 6:33 am - Reply

yeah i take all the money i save on sheep placenta and spend it all on colustrum, and NO hyper whatever plode hard core (I need my pump)…
joking aside, I’m with John, lets say there is some credence that these are somehow co transported/maybe utilize a common protein in the transition from gut to bloodstream, it doesn’t add up in my head that there would be complete antagonism here, on a gross chemical level.
creatine is an ‘amino acid’ by class and structure (though not in the traditionally referred context of the ‘basic building blocks’ discussion, example IUPAC and systematic names, respectively,: 2-(Methylguanidino)ethanoic acid/2-(1-Methylcarbamimidamido)acetic acid.
it’s naturally occuring in vertibrates and I recall reading we can get some trace amounts in beef,fish, etc. i.e. dietary. I don’t see how it makes sense biologically for the GI system to cockblock the absorption of one to prefer the other. do we just poop out copius amounts of one or the other if we eat tons of beef? my guess even on the slight chance it is LESS EFFICINET in concominant adminstration via supplements, we probably (very probably) still get more in with supplementation vs under normal physiological conditions, I don’t see the downside for chugging down on such a cheap, safe, proven compound(s).
travis October 16, 2011 at 10:11 am - Reply

I swim on my lunch break, which gives me a 4 or 5 hour break before my weightlifting session. When should I take this cocktail of supplements?

I can give more details on either or both of my workouts, body comp, whatever, if need be.
John October 16, 2011 at 12:26 pm - Reply

Jim,

I am working on the deer antler question. I need to do some research on it.

Stay tuned.

John
Michel October 16, 2011 at 3:35 pm - Reply

Ive read numerous articles that debunk glutamine use, many of them claim that it would only benefit you if you were anemic and otherwise is just a waste of time. Is this true?
Chad October 16, 2011 at 9:41 pm - Reply

I don’t care that the research says glutamine doesn’t help with muscle building. It definitely helps keep things more “regular” and that’s a good enough reason for me to take it.

As for deer antler velvet, Dr. Andro from Super Human Radio did a pretty good write up on it.
http://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/07/ask-dr-andro-does-heath-evans-deer.html
AlexC October 18, 2011 at 7:27 pm - Reply

John, do you ever cycle off creatine? There seems to be a lack of studies evaluating the long-term effects of supplementing with creatine (at least in my searches), whether it’s pertaining to renal or cardiac health, or becoming dependent on supplemented creatine. I was wondering what your thoughts are on cycling off of creatine, maybe in a 2 month on, 1 month off cycle using 5-10g/day?
Kevin H October 21, 2011 at 7:49 am - Reply

John,

When is the best time to take BCAAs? I have heard conflicting things about during and post workout. And what about rest days?

Thanks
james V October 24, 2011 at 12:32 pm - Reply

John,
I’ve been using the Scivation BCAA’s for over a year. I love this product. But ive been attempting to cut out my artificial sweeteners. What are your thoughts on artificial sweeteners in suppliments? Should i just stop being a bitch about artificial sweeteners and continue taking this awesome product?