NOW Foods Glutamine

NOW Foods Glutamine has recently been the focus of much scientific interest. A growing body of evidence suggests that during certain stressful times, the body may require more Glutamine than it can produce. Under these circumstances Glutamine may be considered a "conditionally essential" amino acid. NOW Foods Glutamine is involved in maintaining a positive nitrogen balance (an anabolic state) and also aids rapidly growing cells (immune system lymphocytes and intestinal cell enterocytes). In addition, NOW Foods Glutamine is a regulator of acid-base balance and a nitrogen transporter.

• Exercise Recovery
• Supports Immune Function
• Supports Muscle Mass

What is Glutamine?
Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid; non-essential because it can be made in the body from another amino acid (AA) in the diet called Glutamic Acid. It is more appropriately considered a “conditionally essential amino acid” since some people may benefit by supplementation. Glutamine is the most abundant AA in human plasma and muscle.

What are the functional properties of Glutamine?
Glutamine is unique in that, along with glucose, it is one of the preferred energy sources utilized by rapidly growing cells. It is a major fuel source for the brain and - together with the stimulating neurotransmitter Glutamic acid and the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA - they form the most abundant amino group in the human brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals used by nerve cells to communicate with each other. Glutamine also supports intestinal cells’ health and normal function. It has been used clinically to improve nitrogen balance and minimize protein loss in those suffering with catabolic states (muscle breakdown) caused by surgical stress and gastrointestinal illness. In combination with N-Acetyl Cysteine, Glutamine promotes the production of a powerful cellular antioxidant called Glutathione that plays a critical role in the defense against free radical damage.

Will Glutamine help me with my health maintenance and exercise program?
Glutamine plays a major role in DNA synthesis and serves as a primary transporter of nitrogen into the muscle tissues. It serves to replenish nitrogen loss due to excessive muscle training and speeds up recovery. It is so vital to the building and maintenance of muscle tissue that 60% of the human intracellular amino acid pool is Glutamine. The very fact that muscle is the most important tissue for Glutamine synthesis and storage is evidence of Glutamine’s vital role in maintaining positive nitrogen balance and building these important support structures. Glutamine is utilized at a high rate by the cells of the immune system. It is also necessary for the production of hormone-like proteins secreted by immune cells that regulate the intensity and duration of an immune response to foreign organisms.

NOW's Mission
The NOW mission is - To provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW Foods is an award-winning and highly respected manufacturer of vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and natural foods.

In 1948, with the natural food and supplement industry in its infancy, entrepreneur Paul Richard paid $900 for the purchase of Fearn Soya Foods-a Chicago based manufacturer of grain and legume-based products. This began a six-decade legacy of providing health-seeking consumers with high-quality, affordable nutrition products.

History of NOW
In 1968, NOW Foods was founded under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty years, NOW has made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them. Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while NOW has grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed - NOW's commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW Commitments

• Customer Focused and Information Driven - NOW believes that their products, services, and the decisions they make should be primarily influenced by the desires and needs of NOW customers. The decisions that NOW makes should be based on accurate information and therefore NOW places a high value on knowledge and learning within their organization.
• Quality and Value Oriented - Acting in the best interest of NOW customers, NOW endeavors to produce the highest quality products at competitive prices. NOW's first priority is to maintain quality where it counts the most - in the products. NOW's exceptional cost-conscious team of employees then focuses their energies on driving costs down. Nurturing this competency of value drives NOW's ability to provide high quality products at the very best prices.
• Natural is Better - NOW is convinced that natural products are better than their synthetic counterparts and produce better results in human health. Therefore, wherever possible, NOW strives to provide products that contain natural ingredients because they are better for their customers.

NOW Science
NOW's experienced professional and technical staff formulates their products to be of the highest quality. NOW has a group of biochemists, chemists, nutritionists, and food technologists who review current science and nutritional parameters, and formulate our products to be effective for the intended use. NOW's structure/function claims are based on science for active ingredients, and on nutritional science for nutritional content. Serving sizes are based on doses from clinical studies and other published data. NOW's contemporary formulas are designed to meet the health and wellness needs of today's consumers. NOW uses ingredients that have been tested for effectiveness in clinical trials and laboratory studies. The heart of NOW science is third party independent research. NOW investigates and review clinical studies and other lab studies conducted on their ingredients and their formulas. Best science is used to support best formulations which lead to best quality. NOW products are constantly being tested in clinical trials conducted at top universities and research centers around the country and in various parts of the world. NOW products are being tested to determine such things as effectiveness for joint support, quality of life for cancer patients, cardiovascular support, and athletic endurance. Effective products mean health and wellness benefits, which mean quality.

GMP Quality Assured
NOW's GMP certification covers standard operating procedures, employee training, product specifications, expiration dating, vendor certifications and much more. Standard operating procedures include sampling and testing incoming materials according to NOW Foods specifications, inspecting manufacturing processes, and testing finished products to specifications. Tests include organoleptic evaluation (human senses such as sight, taste, smell), physical testing of tablets and capsules, chemical identity of ingredients, potency and contamination testing by the company's in-house state-of-the-art analytical testing lab, as well as microbiological testing by NOW Foods' in-house rapid analysis microbiological lab.