Secret DD weapon: L-Glutamine?

[piratejenny]

I take several supplements, so it *might* be something else, but I *think* L-Glut is killing my appetite!

It seems especially effective if I take a dose shortly before bed...I've taken it sporadically over the last couple months, but lately have been taking 2-3 scoops (5g each) throughout the day. Although I take it for other reasons*, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't having the craving- and appetite-suppressing effect I'd heard of, but then a few days ago I took it later than usual and oh man! Not hungry for about 8 hours after waking up the next day....even after exercising!

*I became interested in L-Glut because I'm diabetic, and it is supposed to make the liver & muscle cells insulin sensitive while making fat cells insulin resistant--in the condition people commonly refer to as insulin resistance, the above is reversed--fat cells are actually *not* IR! When they are, they just can't store fat...sounds kinda like what the successful JUDDDers around here experience!

Google "insulin resistant adipocyte" if you're interested in more info.

If you've taken L-Glutamine, what were your results?

[SoHappy]

Hope that's what it is and that it continues for you. That would be pretty easy! LOL

The only thing that did it for me was just doing JUDDD, as written, and giving it some time to work. That has seemed to return me to a normal appetite level and taken away any overly-strong food cravings/urges. My DDs are easy and actually pleasant.

Continued good luck on your journey!

[Damazon]

Hey, that is neat about LG. When I was having GI troubles I purchased some and was informed it is helpful in easing sugar with drawl symptoms and sugar cravings in general. Also, it is used in the treatment for alcohol addiction (again, I was told buy as yet have not confirmed) but it makes sense, no?

Certainly helped me tame the sugar monster, that and b vitamins, magnesium citrate as well.
*My sugar monster was REALLY big. And it had a temper!*

SOW, magnesium citrate can be helpful in encouraging 'whoosh'es. In my experience. That and a few extra hours of sleep.

bon nuit!

D

[sungoddess]

I started taking L-glut years ago when I read Dr Atkins vitamin book. He recommended taking some with heavy cream to kill cravings. That did work for me with sugar cravings. A friend of mine took it to kill alcoholic cravings.

When I was diagnosed with IBD, I started taking powdered L-Glut, like 20 grams a day, to help heal my gut. I did not find it ever to be an appetite suppressant, but it does work on killing my sugar cravings. It is a great gut healer.

Appetite suppressants that help me are saffron and also pine nut oil. But with JUDDD now, it brings a wonderful appetite suppression all on its own!!

[Seabreezes]

Originally Posted by Damazon

Hey, that is neat about LG. When I was having GI troubles I purchased some and was informed it is helpful in easing sugar with drawl symptoms and sugar cravings in general. Also, it is used in the treatment for alcohol addiction (again, I was told buy as yet have not confirmed) but it makes sense, no?

Certainly helped me tame the sugar monster, that and b vitamins, magnesium citrate as well.
*My sugar monster was REALLY big. And it had a temper!*

SOW, magnesium citrate can be helpful in encouraging 'whoosh'es. In my experience. That and a few extra hours of sleep.

bon nuit!

D

If you are interested in more info on this read Julia Ross's "Diet Cure" Yes, it was used to help battle alcohol addiction and the studies went from there. She now recommends several supplements including L-Glut. I take it when I remember and I do think it helps. I'll definitely take it before bed tonight and see how that helps - Thanks Pirate Jenny

[mykidsteacher]

I just started taking an intestinal healing supp that has l-glut in it. Haven't noticed hunger suppression, in fact I'm starving today, but am only taking one scoop in the morning. Maybe I'll try morning and night. I'm taking it for gut healing due to damage from allergies.

[sunday]

What is the recommended dose if you just want to take it for appetite suppression?

[piratejenny]

I did a bit of Googling and it seems to be anywhere from 5g (not mg) to 30g per day. Also, that it can take about a week to notice appetite suppression. So the fact that it's been working for me lately could have more to do with that than with taking it at night.

If you shop around, you can find 1lb jars for about $20. That's approx 100 5g/1tsp doses. For me, that's pretty affordable! Especially since it's helping me skip so many meals!

I put 1tsp in my 24oz water bottle 3x/day. I notice no flavor at all unless I use less water.

[sunday]

Originally Posted by piratejenny

I did a bit of Googling and it seems to be anywhere from 5g (not mg) to 30g per day. Also, that it can take about a week to notice appetite suppression. So the fact that it's been working for me lately could have more to do with that than with taking it at night.

If you shop around, you can find 1lb jars for about $20. That's approx 100 5g/1tsp doses. For me, that's pretty affordable! Especially since it's helping me skip so many meals!

I put 1tsp in my 24oz water bottle 3x/day. It notice no flavor at unless I use less water.

Thanks Jenny! I have been taking 1000 mg per day, so I guess I need to up this to 5,000!

[SoHappy]

May I ask a question here? I see that this supplement is found in our diets in meat, poultry & fish, and eggs. Is this a form of the stuff that can be more readily utilized in our body if we, for some reason, aren't getting it from the meat in our diets? I guess my question would partly be, why do we need more? Would this be a supplement that might have more value to a vegan, as example, than to somebody who eats daily animal flesh protein. TIA for more info here. I have The Diet Cure by Ross, but didn't find any answers there about this question.

[annefran]

Piratejenny,

Thanks for posting this! I'm going to try L-G. It sounds like it could have many benefits and anything that is going to help me melt off my fat...I will give it a go!

[dawnyama]

You asked about experiences with l-g. I have taken it and not gotten any useful out of it. But maybe it was because I didn't take it long enough. I know that I also forget to take it. I have heard it is best to take it on an empty stomach too. I should get it out and try it at nighttime too.

[circusgirl]

Originally Posted by mykidsteacher

I just started taking an intestinal healing supp that has l-glut in it. Haven't noticed hunger suppression, in fact I'm starving today, but am only taking one scoop in the morning. Maybe I'll try morning and night. I'm taking it for gut healing due to damage from allergies.

I suspect you won't have the appetite suppression if you're dealing with a damaged gut. That nifty side effect is generally only present if you are able to digest what you're eating fairly well.

Those taking it to heal the gut generally will be driven to eat more because the body has a harder time accessing the nutrients in the food until healing happens. Just my two cents.

[mykidsteacher]

Thanks circusgirl. That will keep me from getting frustrated with no appetite suppression. But I will keep taking it for the healing.

[KathyL]

Interesting.....I may try it to help with sugar cravings. I don't understand how I have been able to completely eliminate sugar for 6 months at a time with no cheating and now there are days that it's all I can think about. :/

[dawnyama]

Originally Posted by KathyL

Interesting.....I may try it to help with sugar cravings. I don't understand how I have been able to completely eliminate sugar for 6 months at a time with no cheating and now there are days that it's all I can think about. :/

I think it is because of my restricted diet. I am so focused on chocolate it is all I can see If my WOE allowed 500 calories from anything we could eat I would be all set. But of course 500 calories from protein/fruit/veggies are very different from chocolate calories Cannot wait to get started with JUDDD so I too can enjoy chocolate once again. Just another week or so.

Good for you for going without for 6 months. I really wish I could do that!!

[sunday]

Originally Posted by dawnyama

I think it is because of my restricted diet. I am so focused on chocolate it is all I can see If my WOE allowed 500 calories from anything we could eat I would be all set. But of course 500 calories from protein/fruit/veggies are very different from chocolate calories Cannot wait to get started with JUDDD so I too can enjoy chocolate once again. Just another week or so.

Good for you for going without for 6 months. I really wish I could do that!!

Dawn, I have 1/2 of my fav chocolate bar (Chocolove's Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt)every single UD and sometimes 2/3.

BUT the best thing is....if you really, really, really want it on a DD, it is perfectly fine as long as it is counted in your DD cals. And I can vouch that even one square has been a wonderful end to a really rough DD.

[mykidsteacher]

Kathy, it's truly addictive. And like any addictive substance, it can take only a small amount to trigger the cravings and desperate feeling of need for it. Going through the withdrawals and getting to the other side can tame the beast--but it's tough to get there.

For me, it usually starts out as just a taste or 2 of something. And then the next time it's a little more, and before you know it, I'm looking for something sweet every day after lunch. I was just there again last week. I stopped the grain free vegan baking for now, because it was getting out of hand for me again. It seems to be better again.

If you've done it before, you can do it again though.

[KathyL]

Yeah.....I've done it three or four times....gone that long without sugar completely. The difference between then and now is that before I did it as part of what I needed to do to lose weight. Now that I don't need to lose weight I just don't seem to have enough motivation. Knowing that it isn't healthy for me doesn't seem to be enough. At least I am limiting myself to weekends and special occasions. But that is still too much.

[piratejenny]

Originally Posted by KathyL

Interesting.....I may try it to help with sugar cravings. I don't understand how I have been able to completely eliminate sugar for 6 months at a time with no cheating and now there are days that it's all I can think about. :/

Candida overgrowth, possibly? Do you take probiotics?
And/or have you taken antibiotics since the last time you successfully eliminated sugar?

[KathyL]

I eat plenty of organic yogurt and when I'm not I do take probiotics. Have not had an anitbiotic in many years.

[piratejenny]

You'd have to eat a LOT of yogurt to get therapeutic amounts, and the naturally occurring sugars in milk might feed candida and therefore offset some of the benefit.

That is, *if* candida's the problem. But if you have a bottle of probiotics lying around anyway, you could try taking extra to see if it helps reduce sugar cravings.

[circusgirl]

Originally Posted by piratejenny

You'd have to eat a LOT of yogurt to get therapeutic amounts, and the naturally occurring sugars in milk might feed candida and therefore offset some of the benefit.

That is, *if* candida's the problem. But if you have a bottle of probiotics lying around anyway, you could try taking extra to see if it helps reduce sugar cravings.

I agree. if it's candida then yogurt won't do much. It will help you to maintain a good balance, but generally won't repair an imbalance. Even the probiotics you get in the store have pretty small amounts if you have an overgrowth. You can often tell though by playing with the dosage. The more you can tolerate the more of an imbalance you may have.

Now it's not that black and white because sometimes you just need a particular strain, but it's a place to consider starting! At my worst I could easily take 500 BILLION cfu's a day with no gastric distress. That a LOT given that most probiotics available in the store have about 9 billion cfu's per dose. Nowadays I can't take more than 80 billion, so that's WAY better!

Other reasons to crave sugar can be:
that your body is attempting to artificially raise seratonin.
that you don't have quite enough dietary protein.
that you don't have quite enough dietary fat.
that you're not getting enough water-the body will go for both salt and sugar in an attempt to hang on to the hydration in that case.

Of course there are others, but I figured I'd throw those out to see if they made sense!

[KathyL]

Hmmm, I think I need to do a little research. I had been taking probiotics daily (15 strains/35 billion) but then I read somewhere that it would never be as good as eating live culture yogurt and kefir (we do both and make our own kefir) so I quit taking the pill form and only took it when I wasn't getting the other. I think I read that on Mercola's website. Maybe I got it backwards. LOL

I doubt it's water....I drink plenty.

But now the protein and/or fat is a possibility. I admit since I'm counting calories I don't get as much fat in as I used to. I have just started this week adding CO to my smoothies on a regular basis.

I get plenty of protein on UDs (I shoot for 80-100 grams). But on DDs, no way. And I have been fasting completely for many DDs but I'm changing that this week too because I haven't been able to take my regular supplements and I'm feeling the difference. So I'm cutting back my complete fasts to just once per week and my other DDs I am just having a dinner time protein smoothie with the added CO. That's enough of a meal for me to take my supps. but still not a regular day's worth of protein. Hmmm, maybe I should throw in a salad with tuna or shrimp. Then I'd get some veggies/fiber too. Will have to think on this.

[circusgirl]

it's true you'll get more from yogurt or kefir....IF they're homemade and cultured for a good 24 hours. Then yes, you're getting a LOT. Storebrand, not so much.

[tobelowcarber]

Originally Posted by sungoddess

Appetite suppressants that help me are saffron and also pine nut oil. But with JUDDD now, it brings a wonderful appetite suppression all on its own!!

Beverly- is this saffron oil or spice that susppresses the appetite. TIA
(I know this is an old thread, hopefully you will open it)

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by tobelowcarber

Beverly- is this saffron oil or spice that susppresses the appetite. TIA
(I know this is an old thread, hopefully you will open it)

I buy this in capsule. You can do a search on it--
Optimized Saffron with Satiereal

This is what they say about it-
Satiereal is a clinically studied, proprietary extract of saffron … a spice that's been prized since ancient Persia as a way to enhance mood and relieve stress.

Previously available only in Europe, this standardized saffron extract provides support for healthy body weight by targeting some of the emotional factors that make you eat more when you're trying to eat less.

Just two 88.25 mg capsules of Optimized Saffron with Satiereal delivers the active constituents safranal and crocin, shown to modulate certain serotonergic receptors in the brain to support mood.

In clinical studies,76,77 women taking Satiereal experienced:

1.100% reduction in the desire to snack
2.50% fewer instances of eating between meals
3.Less hunger
4.Moderate weight loss
5.More energy
6.Better mood


Many products do nothing for me, but this one does help me out!

[tobelowcarber]

Thank you Beverly! Do you take the LifeExtension brand or something else?

[lynne2u]

On the L-glut question - I noticed something odd happening on my DDs when I started having only protein powder shakes for DD. They became really, really easy. Ridiculously easy.

I thought it was the protein. But this post made me go look at the label of the protein powder shake, and it's got 3500 mg of glutamic acid per serving. I've been doing this for several weeks now, and there's been NO variation in the ease of DD. It's a whole new ball game for me. Coincidence that my system adjusted to DD at the same time I started using the shakes with all that glutamic acid in them? I guess not! Thanks for helping me put it together.

BTW, the protein powder shake I use is CHOCOLATE, and delicious. My DDs are an all-day chocorama.

Lynne

[KeirasMom]

Lynne, what brand do you use, and do you know off the top of your head if it has soy protein?
Thanx!!