Glutamine is an increasingly discussed supplement lately. And although we covered it in our article series Supplements Under the Spotlight we've gone over almost every last component, there's one important thing we haven't mentioned at all. And that is taking glutamine after it expires.
So in today's article, let's take a look at how to even know if an expired glutamine has passed its expiration date.how the expiration date somehow affects the ability to use glutamine, and much more.
How to recognize expired glutamine?
Even if, for example, one of these protein after the expiration date can be a bit of a problem to recognize, it's not too much of a risk with glutamine. In fact, you can recognize old glutamine by smell. If you have taken glutamine before, you will have noticed that it is a very aromatic supplement.Well, if you have glutamine and it is well past its best before date, it smells even more, worse and more intense. To some of you, it may remind you of the smell of ammonia. In short, it 's not easy to describe this smell, but you'll recognise it without any problems.
It's a bit worse with glutamine, which has only been around for a short time (say, a few weeks). This is because the smell of the supplement is not yet apparent. Presumably, such a supplement should still be fine and its use should not be in any way unhealthy.
If you are using glutamine in capsules, it is probably best to split one capsule and try the glutamine smell again.
Is it safe to take expired glutamine?
It is and it isn't. As we mentioned above, the key criterion should be the length of time that the glutamine is expired. If it smells perfectly normal when opened, then I see no reason not to try it. But if you find something strange about it, it's better to avoid using it.
After all, glutamine is definitely one of the cheaper supplements, and therefore it's really unnecessary to risk health problems by taking expired ones. As with expired BCAAs, for example, you are at risk of nothing worse than intestinal problems in the extreme case.
Conclusion
Whenever a question is asked about taking expired supplements comes up in a social media discussion, there's a person who answers: "Try and see". And that's exactly what we would be inclined to do.
As long as the glutamine looks completely normal and doesn't smell weird in any way, it will be 99% perfectly fine. The worst thing that can happen to you after consuming expired glutamine is minor intestinal upset.
In this case, it's ideal to reach for a new glutamine. You can find it in our supplement catalogue.
Do you have other expired supplements at home?
- Is it safe to use expired protein?
- Is it safe to take expired BCAAs?
- Is it safe to use expired creatine?
Everything you need to know about glutamine (video):
Why can you trust us?
Hey! Hey! I'm Mirek and I've been working at World Fitness almost since the beginning, except for a small break. But before that I lived only in the gym for a few years, doing deadlifts and power triathlon, going to competitions and winning a few medals.
Probably the one I value the most is the national record in the WUAP federation. But besides working out, I was also interested in food and supplements, I liked to enjoy my free timeI used to read different researches and professional books in my free time to know as much as possible.