Glycine Anti-Aging Benefits — Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:01] we're going to talk more about this non-essential amino acid that is very in recently published studies with better biological aging, improved recovery after intense exercise, and is even used in conditions like

[00:16] neurological-based conditions. It might actually improve sleep duration, sleep Glycine has been shown to be very important in phase one detoxification in the body, which all of us need to help to improve our body's ability to excrete

[00:31] metals and and various endocrine disrupting compounds that are in our furniture that I'm sitting on. Thankfully, this doesn't have any flame retardants, but for most people, we are exposed to a lot of stuff all the time.

[00:46] And the amino acid glycine, you should put it on your radar. We're talking about a study today that I want to share with you some research from, some quotes, some images to help you better understand why you may want to consider

[01:00] adding more glycine to your diet. It's really affordable. It tastes good. And it may actually improve your sleep. And you might be getting it anyway if you take magnesium bisglycinate chelate. So,

[01:12] for every 250 mg of magnesium bisglycinate chelate elemental magnesium, you're getting over 1,500 mg of glycine, which is where therapeutic of glycine, which is where therapeutic dosages start, around 1,500 mg. Uh we've

[01:25] glycine with N-acetylcysteine, the important rate-limiting amino acid precursor to your body's in most abundant intracellular antioxidant molecule known as glutathione made by your liver as well as other cells. So,

[01:39] Baylor University in brief, just small side note, has uh conducted a 12-week clinical study uh comparing the effects of glycine and NAC together compared to placebo, finding that it uh the combination of the two amino acids,

[01:53] glycine and N-acetylcysteine, helped to improve various aspects of biological aging, reduced blood pressure, uh visceral adiposity, uh waist circumference was reduced in the intervention group versus the placebo.

[02:06] Uh other markers of uh cellular senescence and biological aging were improved with the combination supplement of N-acetylcysteine and glycine. So, let's talk more today just about glycine specifically. Uh and where you get it,

[02:21] what it does, and beyond. So, the review paper that we're going to talk about uh today is titled The Effect of Glycine Administration on the Characteristics of Physiological Systems in Human Adults: A Systematic Review. And so, uh these

[02:36] investigators looked at 34 different studies uh in healthy adults as well as diseased adults. There's actually several studies in schizophrenia. I was not aware of this research on schizophrenia, as well as people with

[02:50] OCD, alcohol-based hallucinations, uh stroke symptoms, as well as insomnia, uh finding that in all these different clinical conditions, uh taking more than a gram of glycine per day can actually improve some of the symptoms that are

[03:05] ascribed to those different conditions. And you can see on the left and right side, we have disease states and we have healthy states and where glycine has been shown to be healthy, uh to improve health. Well, uh research shows uh in

[03:20] humans, again, they're drawing data off these 34 uh studies in humans, reduced fatigue, uh decreased uh psychomotor vigilance, decreased daytime sleepiness, increasing sleep quality, improving cognition, and also uh affecting

[03:35] So, that's more of like the brain-based effects, but what about short-term in a metabolic improvements? Well, research shows that glycine can help improve the insulin response, increase glucagon secretion, which is great. So, glucagon,

[03:50] obviously, is a hormone that sort of uh is increased when insulin is low, and it helps your body uh suppress appetite and improve blood sugar regulation, uh as well as dip into stored adipose tissue or fat tissue uh as a source of energy,

[04:04] and possibly increasing growth hormone. So, taking glycine at night may increase growth hormone. What I think is interesting in marathon runners, glycine has been shown to improve uh gastrointestinal function and possibly

[04:17] enhance recovery from intense vigorous exercise such as running a marathon. Well, what about in more disease states, like people who have insulin resistance or prediabetes? Well, it turns out that glycine has been shown to decrease

[04:31] glycine has been shown to decrease hemoglobin A1C, decrease HOMA-IR scores, different biomarkers that is aggregated in what's known as a HOMA-IR score, and um that, obviously, is is a good thing. We don't really worry so much about

[04:45] total cholesterol, but glycine has been shown to increase total cholesterol, uh probably more so but through its ability to improve insulin sensitivity. We know you get more metabolically healthy. In fact, when people I work with a lot of

[04:59] people who have blood work over the years, and as their cholesterol tends to go down. And I know that sort of flies in the face of know, the mainstream sort of understanding of metabolic function, but

[05:13] that I can share with you if you really want uh to be convinced of that, but that is known to be true in the literature as well. Uh glycine has been shown to decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, decrease

[05:26] strength. I mean, that's I think important because all of us want just you're watching these videos. You want to feel better, age better, um and hopefully get stronger, more fit as you get older, or at least preserve

[05:40] what you have. Uh and glycine has been shown to increase fat free fat mass. So, this would be muscle mass. Uh people with an overactive bladder, glycine might help with that. We're not really sure why exactly. Uh in prostate

[05:53] symptoms, so benign prostatic hypertrophy and things like that. So, we have a lot of different, you know, studies in humans, uh in immune issues, cardiovascular issues, central nervous system issues, like I mentioned

[06:07] schizophrenia, insomnia, and so forth, uh digestive issues, uh muscular issues, and we just mentioned the bladder and the renal issues. So, there's evidence to suggest that glycine affects all of these different biological systems. Now,

[06:21] I think the question is, mechanistically, why and what is the dose? Well, research shows that, you know, some of these studies vary between know, some of these studies vary between .8 g per kilogram of body weight, which

[06:34] is a super high dose, or between 1.5 and 3 g of glycine per day, endosed in the evening time before bed, uh hopefully to help to surge growth hormone a little bit, and then also to affect the sensitivity of the GABA

[06:51] brain, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that can help you uh interesting, here's a quote from the paper. 15 of the 18 studies reported significant positive effects when it

[07:04] comes to overall cognitive performance with glycine. So, most studies do show that uh oral glycine can improve cognitive performance and sleep quality and sleep duration. As I mentioned, not many of you, I wouldn't suspect, watch

[07:17] these videos for schizophrenia and related uh symptoms, but there is research showing that glycine can can improve cognitive uh states in individuals that suffer from schizophrenia, overactive bladder

[07:31] syndrome. I think that's something that should be considered, as well as the effects on the immune system. I think that's important. So, various studies look at different cytokines and levels of cytokines and so forth, uh finding

[07:43] that glycine can uh improve aspects within uh the immune system. And so, know, that's why I like to make these videos, and you presumably watch these. Mechanistically, why? How? What What is glycine doing? And what is it Is it

[07:59] Is it affecting GABA in the brain? Calcium signaling? Um I think that's really interesting, and and let's sort of explore what these investigators uh say here with regards to the mechanism of action. Schizophrenia is hypothesized

[08:15] to result from the hypofunctioning of the NMDA receptors. Several reports cited here and have particularly underscored the potential effect of glycine on the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, the NMDA receptor, in

[08:30] outcomes. Consistent with this notion, brain aging is associated with reduced NMDA receptor function, in turn leading to declined memory and learning performance issues. Going on, NMDA receptors have also been implicated in

[08:45] diabetes and hypertension. In healthy populations, oral glycine administration before bedtime has been shown to improve sleep quality through the action of glycine on the NMDA receptor in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is, of

[08:59] body's circadian clock system. So, for those of you that have social jet lag, or you travel, or you work the night shift periodically, glycine may be helpful in entraining your body's central pacemaker in the body in the

[09:14] brain, which I think is interesting. Uh therefore, one possible mechanism by geroprotective, pro-longevity-enhancing effects uh may be through its action on the NMDA receptor, although further

[09:27] research is required to understand this chronotherapeutic and tissue-specific effects of an interaction and the interplay between multiple physiological systems in healthy and diseased populations. So, in conclusion, glycine

[09:42] administration, like taking glycine supplementally, 1 g up to 3 g per day, is most effective in improving characteristics of the central nervous ameliorating neurological symptoms in populations with psychiatric illnesses,

[09:56] most notably in schizophrenia, aging is associated with the decline in function of various physiological systems and elucidating the molecular underpinnings and mechanisms of these disease states are critical in determining strategies

[10:09] to prevent aging and age-related diseases. Although the administration of glycine may improve the characteristics of multiple physiological systems, there is currently limited evidence in supporting the preventative effects for

[10:22] healthy population, which warrants the need for future research and larger randomized controlled trials and so forth. But, because glycine is forth. But, because glycine is affordable and the potential upside is

[10:35] is quite high when it comes to taking, you know, glycine and there's minimal downside, considering this as a supplement for folks that have underlying insulin resistance or sleep issues or neurological issues, I think

[10:48] issues or neurological issues, I think is worthy of consideration. Um and so from your men's and this glistening chelate supplement. Just 250 mg of men's and this glistening chelate will give you 1,500 mg of glycine, which

[11:02] from their diet. So, you might be saying, "Well, where do I get glycine?" You know, it's actually found in a lot of like poultry skin, uh in the cartilage and tendon aspect of

[11:14] uh meat and so forth. And so if you do bone broths and stews or take collagen, you're getting a lot of glycine from there. Uh if you cook, you know, whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, I mean, get a whole chicken and put it in

[11:27] you're getting all of that extra glycine from the skin and from the tendons and the cartilaginous tissues. From a supplemental standpoint, I'll put links of glycine supplementation and have been for years and we have a a very popular

[11:41] NAC Glycine Supreme. Uh I'm not making this video to like just promote that. That's there if you want it. It tastes great. You get both glycine and uh and N-acetylcysteine and taurine together. A lot of great reviews uh over on Amazon

[11:54] and on our website. So, that's just one of many options for you. But, I would consider taking this at night. Uh I do and have been for many years now. Um a men's and this as well. So, I'm getting enough of the glycine from men's and to

[12:09] hit that sort of 3-gram threshold. But, just wanted you to know that there's pretty good evidence in humans to suggest that glycine has particularly uh brain-based effects and sleep-enhancing properties, as well as

[12:21] potentially helping with recovery from intense exercise and improving insulin sensitivity in individuals who may be prone to insulin resistance. So, Hopefully, you found this video helpful and we'll catch you on a future show

[12:35] and we'll catch you on a future show down the road.