What Is Glutamate?

What is Glutamate?

Glutamate is an amino acid neurotransmitter.

Glutamate is a naturally occurring amino acid that serves as a fundamental building block for proteins in the body. It also functions as a neurotransmitter, playing a crucial role in transmitting signals between nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. In its free form, known as glutamic acid, it contributes to the umami taste sensation in foods. Glutamate is widely distributed in both plant and animal proteins, and it’s also used as a flavour enhancer in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in many processed foods.

• The building blocks of proteins are amino acids.
  • Glutamate is a Non-essential amino acid.
    • Our bodies can produce glutamate, so we don’t need to consume any.
  • Glutamate can be bound to proteins as glutamic acids or released as MSG.
• Neurotransmitters (also known as neurotransmitters) are molecules that transmit messages from nerve cells to muscles and glands.
  • Neurotransmitters can elicit stimulatory, inhibitory or modulatory responses.
  • Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that stimulates cells to act.

To perform vital functions, the body requires glutamate. For example, glutamate:

• Sends signals between nerve cells
• It is important for memory and learning
• Can improve gut function
• Immunity boosting helps

What are the symptoms of a glutamate imbalance?

Let’s first discuss the physical and mental symptoms that may appear when there is a glutamate overload in the brain.

Emotional symptoms

• High Anxiety
• Restless Mind
• You cannot turn off your brain when you want to relax
• Attention disorganized or inability to focus
• Do not worry about things that you shouldn’t.
• Feels overwhelmed easily
• The following are some of the ways to reduce your risk:
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

Physical Symptoms

• Autism is characterized by certain behaviours, including:
  • Complex Motor Stereotypies – Looks like flapping or stimming
  • Tics
• Migraine
• Seizures
• PANDAS/PANS Symptoms
• You cannot handle folate supplements
  • Folates are a mixture of glutamic acid conjugates.
  • The glutamate level increases when you take a large dose of folate.
  • Since glutamate excites, you might experience excessive stimming, headaches or even aggression when taking high doses of folate, until the glutamate levels out.
  • It is important to note that B6 converts excess glutamic acids into glycine which is calming.
  • Sometimes B6 (p5p), which is a form of vitamin B6, can help to calm the folate reaction.

Why should parents care about glutamate?

Balance is key when it comes to glutamate. The problem arises when there is too much or not enough glutamate.

• Glutamate is an excitatory substance. GABA is a calming substance.
  • A balance between these two factors can lead to sleep problems, anxiety or difficulty focusing.
• Further, studies show that children with autism are more likely to have too little GABA and too much glutamate.
• If your child is suffering from PANS or PANDAS they may also have issues with glutamate regulation.
• Inflammation and glutamate are closely linked. If you have inflammation, then you probably have high levels of glutamate. If you have a high level of glutamate in your body, inflammation will likely occur.

What can labwork tell me if my child has an excess of glutamate?

You can use several methods to determine if the symptoms of your child are due to glutamate poisoning. One of the easiest and most effective ways to determine if your child’s symptoms can be attributed to glutamate toxicity is by observing behavioural changes.

You may wish to discuss with your child’s physician the possibility of running these labs to determine if the symptoms your child is experiencing are due to high levels of glutamate.

• Basic Lab Work
  • Urine Amino Analysis gives you a general average of GABA and glutamate levels. This test is not reliable because it cannot determine if there is a glutamate pool in certain brain areas, which happens to be the case.
  • Simple bloodwork can be used to test blood plasma glutamate. This test is unreliable because it gives you an average rather than a clear picture.
• Advanced Labwork
  • Lumbar puncture is the most reliable test because it measures the glutamate level in the cerebrospinal liquid. Cerebrospinal Fluid can only be obtained through a lumbar insertion, which is invasive.
  • Recent discoveries have shown that a Brain MRI with 5 Tesla resolution can show where glutamate pools in the brain. An MRI is reliable but can be difficult to obtain if you need your child to be sedated.

What can you do to manage excessive levels of glutamate?

There are many ways to reduce the excess glutamate levels in your body. Many of these are simple and cost-effective.

Dietary Interventions

Dietary intervention is one of the best ways to reduce glutamate toxicities. Certain foods contain large amounts of glutamate free. You can reduce or eliminate foods high in glutamate.

• Gluten, dairy products, and soy.
• Processed food
• Bone broth: Cooking broth for an extended period results in high levels of glutamate and histamine.
• Some fermented foods such as kefir cheese, preserved meats and soy sauce.
• Visit the following links for additional information and guidance on eliminating dietary sources of free glutamate.
  • REID program
  • Nourished Blessings

Medicines

Prescription medications such as:

• Namenda (Memantine)
• Amantadine

Supplements

Supplementation is another way to establish a healthy balance between GABA and glutamate in the brain. Some supplements reduce glutamate while others increase it.

Supplements that can help reduce glutamate:

• Magnesium Blocks the NMDA Glutamate Receptor
• Selenium is protective against glutamate
• B12 is protective against glutamate
• Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) helps convert glutamate
• Berberine is protective and helps to transport/convert glutamate.
• All herbs (cats-claw, licorice, ginseng and ginkgo biloba), are helpful
• Mitochondrial Support to Protect from Damage by Glutamate
• NAC (N-acetyl cystine), helps regulate glutamate

Supplements that can increase glutamate:

• L -Glutamine Supplementation of glutamine can lead to an increase in ammonia, while also affecting ammonia transport.
• Glycine is a calming substance, but in some individuals, it can be converted to glutamate.
• GABA – Supplementing GABA with GABA is not recommended as GABA in some individuals can be converted to glutamate.

Some people who have glutamate problems cannot take supplements. Consult your child’s physician before changing their supplement regimen. Particularly if symptoms of your child worsen after taking supplements.

Reduce Screen Time

Reduce or eliminate screen time. Research shows that EMFs can increase glutamate, despite how unlikely it seems.

• “Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure Causes Cognitive Impairment Associated with Alteration of the Glutamate Level”
• “Variations in glutamate concentration within the synaptic cleft when electromagnetic fields are present”

If you are trying to reduce excess glutamate in your child and know that screen time is causing them to stim, then consider reducing the exposure to EMFs.

Please consider that elevated glutamate levels in the brain could be the cause of your child’s symptoms such as increased anxiety, stimming or restlessness. Reduced free glutamate can help to eliminate these symptoms and improve your child’s quality of life.