Glutamine is one of the most important amino acids for people who are physically active. It is involved in muscle maintenance, and it is depleted during strenuous exercise. The body can also be depleted of glutamine when you are ill. Things like a common cold, or the flu, will deplete the body of glutamine.

Some of the popular sources of glutamine are pork, chicken, beef, and fish. However, these are not an option for bodybuilders or athletes who are vegetarian.

Vegetarians can fund glutamine in eggs and milk. However, you can also find it in vegetables. Cabbage, spinach, kale and parsley are the four best vegetable sources. Additionally, beans have are a good source.

There are some people who advocate taking supplemental glutamine, but it’s always better to get your nutrients from real food.

If you don’t feel like adding more milk and eggs to your diet, then you should consider upping the greens or beans. They both provide clean, heart healthy protein.

An important aspect to remember is that the leafy greens need to be raw. If you cook them you can destroy some or all of the glutamine content.

Here are two vegetarian solutions that are rich in glutamine:

 

Raw Salad With Brown Rice And Beans

 

Instead of a lettuce salad, try one that is made with shredded organic cabbage, spinach leaves, walnuts, organic tomatoes and sliced red onion. Use a olive oil , Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinaigrette. This is a salad that is rich in glutamine. Besides helping you recover after a workout, it provides an awesome amount of fiber. That will keep you full, so you’re not tempted to eat something that puts you over your calorie requirements for the day.

 

The brown rice and beans are protein rich, including the amino acid glutamine. You can cook it in vegetable broth and a touch of salt to add flavor. A bit of olive oil will provide excellent fat, rich in omega fatty acids.

 

Fresh Green Juice

 

An alternative to eating a whole meal is to make a green juice. Cabbage, parsley, and spinach are the three important ingredients. Don’t worry about cabbage; it has a very mild taste. You will be adding fruit to give it a more palatable flavor anyway, so it’s not a big issue.

I would suggest adding an organic lemon, including the peel. It’s important to choose an organic lemon because you will be juicing the skin. The lemon peel has the most flavor due to the presence of the oil. Lemon oil will mask any vegetables you have in your drink. I’d also add one small apple.

The benefit to making a green drink is that it is super easy to digest and is rich in muscle repairing nutrients. So if you get home from a heavy workout, then this is a fantastic juice to make. A bit of cabbage, a little bit of parsley, some baby leaf spinach, a whole lemon and a small apple. Make sure everything you get is organic. This allows you to juice the skin of the apple and lemon, which has a lot of nutrients. Plus it’s very healthy.

One thing to consider is that you should not make the juice ahead of time. It’s best to make this juice right before you drink it. That limits the amount of nutrients that are lost to oxidation. Secondly, you should never use a high heat juicer. You should only use a auger style juicer, the ones that are designed for leafy greens. These prevent oxidatative, heat related damage.