Glycine is the simplest amino acid (R) and occurs as a white powder with a taste and texture almost identical to white sugar. Its name even shares the same etymology as glucose. Glycine benefits health in a bevy of ways with a great safety profile.
This jack-of-all-trades has been noted by multiple researchers to be a semi-essential amino acid – particularly in a diseased state (R1, R2) – and that there are health benefits to raising blood glycine levels by as much as three-fold over the norm. (R)
Read on to learn the many reasons why supplementing with glycine is useful.
The glycine I take
BulkSupplements Pure Glycine Powder (Amazon)
Dosing: 3 grams twice daily
Glycine’s role in the body
Glycine is used in protein synthesis and detoxification. (R)
Glycine is necessary in the production of structural proteins including elastin. (R)
Glycine is essential to the production of heme, creatine, glutathione (the master antioxidant), nucleic acids, uric acid, and bile. (R)
Glycine is used to produce serine, sarcosine and purines, and is a major component of collagen, the most abundant form of protein in the body. (R)
Glycine is one of the two main inhibitory neurotransmitters in the CNS, (R) and is an important mediator of neuronal excitation. (R)
A reviewer hypothesized that mercury and lead neurotoxicity may be exacerbated by a disturbance in the homeostasis of glycine, glutamate, and/or GABA. (R)
Glycine benefits cells and tissues
A breathtaking number of studies and reviews have concluded that glycine has cytoprotective effects, guarding cells from death. (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6)
A number of reviews relate that glycine protects against shock from blood loss, endotoxin (bacterial components), and sepsis. (R1, R2, R3, R4)
Glycine is antibacterial
Glycine has been used as an antiseptic in animals and as an antibacterial agent in foods because of its safety profile. It inhibited growth of all 31 strains of bacteria tested in one study, including antibiotic-resistant H. Pylori. (R)
Glycine appears to inhibit signalling in gram-negative bacteria. (R1, R2)
Glycine benefits sleep
A review concluded that glycine can promote a deeper level of sleep. (R)
A second review related that glycine improved sleep in insomniacs, likely due to its core-temperature-lowering effect. Sleep onset is associated with a decline in core body temperature. (R)
Insomniacs who had their normal sleep period restricted had less fatigue and sleepiness the next day and improved their reaction speed when treated with glycine. (R)
Glycine benefits cognition
A study found that glycine improved memory in young students and middle-aged men, and significantly boosted performance on a sustained attention task in middle-aged men. Researchers speculated that glycine may benefit memory in Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and schizophrenia. (R)
One reviewer suggests that glycine acts as an important stimulatory transmitter in forebrain neuronal transmission. (R)
Glycine plays a significant role in neural function. (R)
Glycine receptors are present throughout the hippocampus and play an important role in short- and long-term plasticity. (R)
Glycine and schizophrenia
A review concluded that glycine improves symptoms when used as a supplemental therapy to most antipsychotics. (R)
Glycine may have mild benefit in the treatment of schizophrenia, but results are not conclusive. (R)
Glycine significantly ameliorated symptoms of schizophrenia in one study. (R)
Glycine may improve memory in schizophrenia. (R)
Glycine is anti-inflammatory
Many reviewers note that glycine has anti-inflammatory effects. (R1, R2, R3, R4)
A review found that glycine is effective in treating inflammatory disease. (R)
A review concluded that glycine might be useful in the treatment of inflammatory disease owing to its ability to reduce cytokine production. (R)
Glycine is an antioxidant
Glycine protects against oxidative stress in a number of disease states. (R)
Glycine is an important component of antioxidative reactions. (R1, R2)
Glycine and cancer
Glycine impedes tumor growth, probably owing to its inhibition of new blood cell formation in tumors. (R)
A review concluded that glycine has use in treatment of carcinoma and in mitigating the toxic side effects of cancer-treating drugs. (R)
Glycine benefits pain
Glycine was found to be highly effective in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in one study, possibly through reduction of high levels of formaldehyde in the blood of TN patients. (R)
Glycine and heart disease
Glycine may ameliorate the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetics owing to its role in maintaining healthy collagen in blood vessels. (R)
Multiple rat studies have seen a reduction in hypertension with glycine treatment. The mechanism? Reduced free radical production and an uptick in nitric oxide. (R)
Additional glycine benefits
Glycine increases Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP). (R)
Glycine protected against stress- and chemical-induced ulcers in rats. (R)
A review found that glycine protected the liver and kidneys from damage from medication and improved recovery in alcoholic hepatitis. (R)
Miscellaneous
Glycine homeostasis may be disrupted by the common pesticide glyphosate. (R)
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