Is There L-Glutamine in Pea Protein?

Reputable sources only list glutamic acid, a nonessential amino acid, in pea protein, which the body readily synthesizes and that readily converts into l-glutamine inside our bodies. Glutamine and glutamic acid typically comprise between 5% and 15% of dietary proteins, but we require so much of these two amino acids that most of our fairly large body stores are actually synthesized endogenously (internally). 

Glutamine is used to make glucosamine and is required by the immune system, for wound healing, for acid-base balance, for brain function, and for gluconeogenesis. Both amino acids are conditionally essential during pregnancy, lactation, and growth phases. 

Commercially produced MSG is related to, but not identical to, glutamine because it is a salt of glutamine; a glutamate, rather than an amino acid found in common proteins. Glutamate has been classified as an excitotoxin that can overexcite our nervous systems; but that is dependent on the brain lacking proper controls, such as can be provided by the essential nutrients magnesium and antioxidants. 

This study indicates that pea protein contains glutamic acid, not l-glutamine:  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6245118/

Protein content and amino acid composition of commercially available plant-based protein isolates (nih.gov)

Foods and Supplements for a Ketogenic Diet

Ketosis occurs when the body is largely starved of carbohydrates but has an alternate energy source. Ketogenic products encourage the burning of fat in place of sugar/carbohydrates as a caloric source. The key is to avoid rises in blood sugar and insulin, while providing alternate fuels.

There are numerous keto-friendly products; these are considered to be those that contain fewer than 10 calories per serving of net carbohydrates (minus fiber). Fiber doesn’t raise blood sugar and insulin response, so is neutral and not counted when looking at labels. Most dietary supplements fall into the category of being ketogenic neutral; that is, they neither contain significant carbohydrate sources nor directly contribute ketogenic stimulating substances like fat. The main ketogenic products are fats: MCT and coconut oils (both contain MCTs) are the most important ones. Some take beta-hydroxybutyric acid, a ketone, directly.

Ketogenic diets tend to decrease electrolytes and increase the need for water. This increases the need for magnesium, potassium, and even sodium. If blood sugar drops too low, the kidneys can create blood sugar by converting the proteins (i.e. the amino acid glutamine) into glucose (gluconeogenesis), so high protein diets are also discouraged. This leaves non-starchy vegetables and fats as the most desirable parts of the diet, along with some protein and fiber. Nuts and seeds are often okay, but some are more starchy; check the labels. Dairy is largely out due to its lactose content, but non-dairy foods and beverages may be okay if also low carb. Fish oil supplements are desirable. Green foods are important; supplements like chlorella or spirulina can be very useful, as can wheatgrass or barley grass.

Other supplements used on a ketogenic regime include green tea and EGCg capsules, L-glutamine if exercising (it can convert to sugar, so use sparingly), 7-keto DHEA, collagen or gelatin or bone broth. Anti-inflammatory substances may also be helpful: turmeric and curcumin, ginger, etc.

Unless eating natural or fortified sources of vitamin D, or getting adequate sun exposure, supplementation of this vitamin is recommended. A multiple vitamin is the best source, assuming it has enough for your needs,  as it also supplies other nutrients needed for metabolism of fats and energy production. Calcium supplementation may be needed unless consuming lots of green vegetables. Look for digestive enzymes that supply lipase if consuming lots of fat (not needed for MCT oil). Supplements containing ox bile (also in some digestive enzyme formulas) may be needed if inadequate gall bladder function is suspected or known. Don’t forget the electrolytes!

Proteins, Protein Isolates, and Amino Acids

Protein isolates are rich in amino acids; note the word “acid”. Isolated proteins are acid-forming (systemically acidic), regardless of whether the whole plant may be alkaline-forming. Hence, brown rice protein isolate is a product isolated from brown rice; hence, it is no longer whole brown rice since the germ and fiber are removed, and is now rich in acid-forming protein. It is no longer an alkaline whole grain as the name, and product marketing, may imply. The same logic would apply to other protein isolates. If only whole grain powders are used, without protein concentration or isolation, the alkaline-forming claim would still be reasonable; otherwise not so.

Raw proteins are typically harder to digest than cooked ones, but that depends on how much the heat denatures the proteins. Denaturing = digestion and is normally necessary to make the amino acids bioavailable and to reduce the likelihood of developing food sensitivities due to incomplete digestion triggering immune (IgG) reactions. There is nothing wrong with denaturing proteins, unless you are trying to preserve certain structures like immunoglobulins in whey protein. But the nature of whole plant foods is to lock up nutrients by binding them in a food matrix, requiring a process of digestion, or denaturing, to separate them from their food matrices for optimal absorption from the gut. It is also questionable exactly how “raw” these proteins are. Some companies ferment so-called raw materials and only count the presence or absence of heat after fermentation when labeling them as “raw”. This may be as inaccurate as labeling yogurt with live cultures as “raw” even if pasteurized milk was used as a sterile culturing medium.

There is some evidence that animal proteins can better promote cancer growth (The China Study) than plant-based proteins, but otherwise are considered excellent protein sources.

Plant proteins each have their own issues: Rice protein tends to have heavy metal contamination. Chia protein is very gummy and thus hard to use in a liquid mixture intended for drinking. Hemp protein doesn’t taste very good. Etc.

Protein digestion is obtained by actions of stomach acid (low pH) and enzymes both in the stomach & intestines (pancreatic protease). In the acidic environment of the stomach, the negatively charged side chains are removed by pepsin. In the stomach, Pepsin helps to "unwind" the proteins and breaks the bonds between the amino acids in certain places. In the more alkaline environment of the intestine, the positively charged side chains are removed by trypsin. In the small intestine, other enzymes break the bonds between different amino acids that pepsin can’t break. Because proteins are such complicated molecules, it takes a long time and more than one enzyme to completely digest them (break them down into amino acids). Digestion results in about 60% small peptides (or peptide-bound), which are chains of amino acids, and 40% free amino acids (or free form). Peptides can be further broken down by hydrolysis in enterocytes (intestinal absorptive cells, simple columnar epithelial cells found in the small intestines and colon).

Plant enzymes (proteases) can also digest protein in a wider range of pH, to help compensate for low stomach acid. But plant enzymes don’t compensate for other functions of stomach acid:

• Acidic immune barrier
• Environment to promote Acidophilus (literally: ”acid loving”)
• Digestion (liberation) of minerals from food, water, and non-chelated supplements
• Digestion (liberation) of vitamins from food matrices

Mercola, Weston Price wrong on Soy "dangers"

I regularly see research on soy and the vast majority of research papers prove the health benefits of soy. Based on the body of science and the errors evident in his "Facts", what Dr. Mercola has stated is undocumented, unreferenced bull recycled from Weston Price.

All legumes contain significant levels of phytoestrogens; why is soy singled out for this abuse using cherry-picked out-of-context "facts" that aren't really backed them up when the research is reviewed. Do you ever hear such slanders against the #2 source of phytoestrogens (pinto beans)?

In fact, many of the negative studies cited come from the animal feed industry and refer to raw defatted soy meal, the pulp left over after extracting soybean oil. This is not what humans eat! We aren't fed raw defatted soy meal as the major protein source in our diet, and many of the negative issues with raw dried soybeans disappear with proper food preparation (i.e., cooking). They also don't apply to edamame (raw soybean pods with the beans inside), since some of these "anti-nutrient" factors form during drying and are removed during cooking (except for genetically engineered soy that contains exceptionally heat-resistant anti-nutrient compounds).

Here are some actual facts about soy (in contrast to the Mercola/Weston Price data dump of uncritically collected studies); and I have the studies to back this up:

 

• Phytates are common in grains, less in legumes; the supplement IP-6 is this exact compound, useful to stimulate NK cells and immunity
• Trypsin inhibitors are only a problem in raw soy flour and GMO soy products, not the typical uses of non-GMO soy
• Phytoestrogens such as isoflavones are not endocrine disruptors, this is nonsense; have you ever heard of these problems with pinto beans, the #2 most abundant food source and a major component of the Mexican diet? Of course not.
• Soy, like cruciferous vegetablles, only affects thyroid function if one is iodine deficient and the addition of iodine to the diet corrects this symptom. The real problem is a nutrient deficiency.
• Most plant foods are known to be poor sources of bioavailable B-12, not just soy, and this is common knowledge so why single soy out? Bias?
• D-2 is a natural compound found in the food supply and is neither toxic nor a synthetic form; all vitamin D is produced by chemical synthesis, whether in the body or in a lab, but the forms of D-2 and D-3 utilized in supplements and food fortification are both nature-identical natural forms synthesized in labs.
• Most soy protein isolate is not denatured; by the way, another term for denaturing is "digestion" and this is good unless you need intact proteins from food (as in whey protein isolate's valuable immunoglobulins).
• All proteins when digested produce free glutamates; this is natural. Only susceptible people who have had severe chemical exposure or are low in protective nutrients like antioxidants and magnesium suffer from this. I have spoken with and attended lectures by Russ Blaylock for about 20 years and am well versed in this mechanism and its causes and solutions.
• Soy proteins do not test high in heavy metals; rice protein is actually far higher in actual tests at parts-per-billion detection levels.
• Asians consume far more soy products than is claimed by your sources; the typical isolflavone content of the diet there is established to be about 50 mg daily, the amount found in a couple ounces of soy protein at 90% strength, which represents several ounces of unconcentrated soy at about 30% protein.
• Soy is not carcinogenic; review studies confirm that soy protein isolate, not fermented soy, has been proven to reduce cancer rates from breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers by about 30%.
• Soy upregulates Phase 2 liver detoxification, much like cruciferous vegetables, and is actually a detox aid rather than a source of toxins.
• Long term studies of infants fed soy formula find no differences in age of puberty, sexual maturity, or other hormonal measures; soy is 'implicated" only by those unwilling to openmindedly review the research to confirm or prove false their wild theories.
• PS, I was in China recently and they eat plenty of tofu and edamame, both unfermented soy foods, in greater quantities than fermented soy.

Some of Weston A. Price Foundation's citations listed as "evidence" of soy's "toxicity" include these titles that obviously don't fit the negative label; that's why I characterize their list as a "data dump":

 

• "Salt poisoning due to ingestion of soy sauce." (How does this prove that non-fermented soy is toxic?)
• "Hypothesized health benefits of soybean isoflavones." (A study that is positive of soy's health benefits)
• "Rhinitis and dermatitis caused by exotic woods." (This is a non-soy herb: Pterocarpus soyauxii)
• "A nutritional comparison of rapeseed oil and soybean oil."
• "[Concerning the absence of goitrogenic factors in soybean oil for cooking.]" (Exonerates soybean oil from thyroid issues)
• "Eastern black nightshade: An increasing concern for soybean and forage producers." (A farming issue, not a nutritional one)
• "Medicinal Plants of lndia and Pakistan." (Actually refers to a non-soy plant: Indian red wood tree, Soymida febrifuga Adr. Juss.)

How proteins are digested to liberate amino acids

Digestion is obtained by actions of stomach acid (low pH) and enzymes both in the stomach & intestines (pancreatic protease). In the acidic environment of the stomach, the negatively charged side chains are removed by pepsin. In the more alkaline environment of the intestine, the positively charged side chains are removed by trypsin. In the stomach, Pepsin helps to "unwind" the proteins and breaks the bonds between the amino acids in certain places. In the small intestine other enzymes break the bonds between different amino acids than pepsin does. Because proteins are such complicated molecules it takes a long time and more than one enzyme to completely break them down into amino acids. Digestion results in about 60% small peptides (or peptide bound), which are longer chains of amino acids, and 40% free amino acids (free form). Peptides can be further broken down by hydrolysis in enterocytes (intestinal absorptive cells, simple columnar epithelial cells found in the small intestines and colon).

All proteins are naturally hydrolyzed by stomach acid during normal digestion and the amounts in mineral chelates are in milligram, not gram, strengths. Fermentation to make healthy foods like cheese, vinegar, yogurt, miso, etc. also digests proteins and liberates amino acids, which are of course essential to human nutrition.

Although the excitatory amino acids aspartic acid and glutamic acid are not essential amino acids, the body can create them from numerous sources. In fact, glutamine is the major circulating amino acid and the brain will break down muscles to get it for fuel if the blood sugar is too low to support brain function. Glutamine also fuels some intestinal cells.