The amino acid glycine is mostly known for its biological activities related to the synthesis of collagen—the protein in our body that makes up connective tissue, bones, cartilage, blood vessels, and other structures. Collagen is also often consumed in supplement form as peptides to support healthy bones, skin, hair, and nails plus vitamin C, copper, and zinc to support your own collagen production. Glycine is also used to produce the blood protein heme, creatine, antioxidant molecules, and certain enzymes.
To make all of these molecules and structures, our body can synthesize glycine on its own. However, we still need to ingest a certain amount of dietary or supplemental glycine to ensure we have enough around. Why is it important to get enough? Research shows that glycine is associated with some major health benefits. People who get a higher amount of dietary glycine are shown to have better insulin sensitivity, less abdominal fat, Lustgarten lower blood pressure, and fewer risk factors for cardiovascular events like a heart attack or stroke.
Ding Glycine supplementation can increase antioxidant levels, reduce inflammation, Sekhar and even increase growth hormone levels when given in a single high dose, Kasai,Kasai so it might even be good for exercise performance and muscle building. Several of us resort to medications and other techniques to fall asleep. While natural sleep patterns are best, sometimes the brain needs a little bit of a chill pill literally.
Glycine might just be a fantastic stand-in for some typical sleep agents and come without some of the known side effects. Several commercial sleep aids exist—from your traditional melatonin to other strong hypnotics. And yes, they do work, with most showing improvements in sleep quality, ability to fall asleep, and reduced sleep problems.
But, while over the counter or prescription sleeping pills will certainly induce sleep, they might not lead to the right kind of sleep. Certain hypnotics have been shown to induce alterations in various sleep cycles and sleep architecture, increase sleep latency Pagel the time taken to fall asleep and even reduce sleep-dependent memory consolidation.
HallPorter They lead to a whole slew of other problems. In one study where participants were dosed with 12g of a sleeping medication Ambien before bedtime, their scores the following day on tests of memory were significantly impaired.
HallPorter This study suggests that sleep medications can have short-term, detrimental effects on memory. Sleeping pills also come with various side effects which may include appetite changes, constipation, dizziness, daytime drowsiness, gas, headache, daytime impairment, mental slowing, or unusual dreams.
This is starting to sound like a pharmaceutical commercial. Many of these sound a lot worse than missing a few hours of shut-eye. A natural alternative without all of the above sounds pretty pleasing right about now. To properly wind down at night, fully relax, and disengage from the outside world, we need to calm our central nervous system.
Glycine might help this process by working its magic throughout the brain, leading to a deep, restful sleep. Among its many roles, glycine acts like an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, participating in the processing of motor and sensory info, aiding movement, vision, and hearing. The glycine receptor can be inhibitory as well as an excitatory neurotransmitter, depending on the brain region where it resides.
How does supplemental glycine nudge its way into our neurons? When taken exogenously i. Here, it builds up in the cerebrospinal fluid which flows throughout the brain, where it can then be distributed and act accordingly in different regions.
One effect involves glycine activating what are known as NMDA receptors in the brain. NMDA receptors are excitatory, and known to be involved in important nervous system functions like synaptic plasticity, formation of new synapses important for memory and learning, as well as forming neural networks.
The brain is also where glycine works its inhibitory magic, perhaps working alone or alongside other inhibitory neurotransmitters like GABA to quiet down the nervous system. Another avenue by which glycine promotes sleep is by blocking receptors for the hormone orexin. Orexin is a peptide with a long history in our survival mechanisms, with roles such as maintaining energy homeostasis by promoting food-seeking behavior and other reward systems.
Orexin also regulates wake and sleep cycles, mainly by maintaining arousal and helping us stay awake, alert, and attentive.
Hondo People who have a deficiency in orexin often suffer from narcolepsy—excessive sleepiness. It turns out, Glycine actually prevents orexin neurons from firing—essentially making this hormone inactive and preventing the wake-promoting actions. Glycine is considered among the most important amino acids for the body. Here are some of the most important and well understood roles that glycine plays in our health and functioning:.
As an amino acid, glycine works as a protein builder in the body. In particular, glycine enables the production of collagen, a protein that is an essential component of muscles, tendon, skin, and bones. Collagen is the most commonly occurring protein in the body, comprising roughly a third of all body protein. It does no less than give the body its fundamental structure and strength.
Collagen is the protein that helps skin maintain elasticity. Glycine also facilitates the production of creatine , a nutrient stored in and used by both the muscles and the brain for energy. Glycine is involved in digestion , specifically in the breakdown of fatty acids in foods. It also helps maintain healthy levels of acidity in the digestive tract. This amino acid helps to regulate blood sugar levels and move blood sugar to cells and tissues throughout the body, to be consumed as energy.
As a neurotransmitter, glycine both stimulates and inhibits cells in the brain and central nervous system, affecting cognition, mood, appetite and digestion, immune function, pain perception, and sleep. Glycine is also involved in the production of other biochemicals that influence these body functions. In particular, glycine helps the body make serotonin , a hormone and neurotransmitter that has significant effects on sleep and mood.
It also influences key receptors in the brain that affect learning and memory. For sleep : Glycine influences sleep in a number of ways. Studies show that higher levels of this amino acid may:. How does glycine accomplish all this sleep-promoting work? It appears to affect sleep in at least a couple of important ways:. Glycine helps lower body temperature. A recent study of the effects of glycine as a supplement showed it triggered a drop in body temperature and at the same time helped people both fall asleep more quickly and spend more time in REM sleep.
Other research has shown supplemental glycine may help you move more quickly into deep, slow wave sleep. Glycine increases serotonin levels. Glycine supplements are generally considered safe if taken as directed. With that said, there has been little research into the long-term safety of glycine supplements. Most people who take glycine will not experience any side effects.
Those who do may have mild gastrointestinal symptoms such as an upset stomach, nausea, loose stools, or vomiting. Glycine supplements are not recommended if you are taking the antipsychotic drug Clozaril clozapine. Unlike other drugs used to treat schizophrenia, glycine appears to decrease the effectiveness of Clozaril in some people.
Due to the lack of research, glycine should be avoided in children and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding unless otherwise instructed by a qualified healthcare provider. Glycine can be found in several different formulations. The most common are oral gel caps, typically available in mg to 1, mg doses. There are also powdered formulations that you can add to shakes or smoothies. While there are no prescribed guidelines for the appropriate use of glycine in people with schizophrenia, many experts recommend 0.
Topical creams containing glycine and the amino acids L-cysteine and DL-threonine are available by prescription. Depending on the skin condition, it may be prescribed once daily, twice daily, or every other day.
If considering a glycine supplement for any reason, it is best to speak with your healthcare provider first to ensure you take them correctly and are aware of the risks and benefits of treatment. Never use a supplement that is expired or appears damaged or discolored. Do I really need a glycine supplement? The first question to ask yourself if considering a glycine supplement is, "Do I really need it? Glycine is found in many of the foods we eat and in more than ample supply.
What foods are good sources of glycine? Instead of supplements, search for real food sources rich in glycine, measured in grams g including:. If you need help putting together an appropriate diet based on your current health or weight loss goals, ask your healthcare provider for a referral to a qualified nutritionist or dietitian. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life.
The sleep-promoting and hypothermic effects of glycine are mediated by NMDA receptors in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Targeting glutamate to treat schizophrenia: lessons from recent clinical studies. Neuroprotective effects of glycine for therapy of acute ischaemic stroke. Cerebrovas Dis Basel. Dietary intakes of glutamic acid and glycine are associated with stroke mortality in Japanese adults.
J Nutr. The effect of Seoritae extract in men with mild to moderate lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia. There are three primary types of alcohol-induced liver damage 19 :. Interestingly, research suggests that glycine may reduce the harmful effects of alcohol on your liver by preventing inflammation.
It has been shown to reduce concentrations of alcohol in the blood of alcohol-fed rats by stimulating the metabolism of alcohol in the stomach rather than the liver, which prevented the development of fatty liver and alcoholic cirrhosis While moderate alcohol-induced liver damage can be reversed by abstaining from alcohol, glycine may improve the recovery process. Despite promising finds, studies on the effects of glycine on alcohol-induced liver damage are limited to animals and cannot be translated to humans 22 , 23 , It prevents the accumulation of a compound that, in high amounts, has been linked to atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries 25 , 26 , 27 , In an observational study in over 4, people with chest pains, higher levels of glycine were associated with a lower risk of heart disease and heart attacks at a 7.
After accounting for cholesterol-lowering medications, the researchers also observed a more favorable blood cholesterol profile in people who had higher glycine levels Eating and drinking too much added sugar can raise blood pressure, increase levels of fat in your blood and promote dangerous fat gain around the belly — all of which can promote heart disease While encouraging, clinical studies on the effects of glycine on heart disease risk in humans are needed before it can be recommended Insulin decreases your blood sugar levels by signaling its uptake into cells for energy or storage.
Higher levels of glycine are associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, even after accounting for other factors that are associated with the condition, such as lifestyle 35 , Therefore, people with type 2 diabetes may benefit from supplementing with glycine, though research is too preliminary to make any specific recommendations. If you have type 2 diabetes, the best way to reduce your insulin resistance is through weight loss by means of diet and exercise Glycine may reduce muscle wasting, a condition that occurs with aging, malnutrition and when your body is under stress, such as with cancer or severe burns.
Muscle wasting leads to a harmful reduction in muscle mass and strength, which declines functional status and can complicate other potentially present diseases The amino acid leucine has been studied as a treatment for muscle wasting, as it strongly inhibits muscle breakdown and enhances muscle building However, several changes in the body during muscle-wasting conditions impair the effectiveness of leucine for stimulating muscle growth.
Interestingly, in mice with muscle wasting conditions, such as cancer , research has shown that glycine was able to stimulate muscle growth whereas leucine was not 40 , Therefore, glycine holds promise for improving health by protecting muscles from wasting during various wasting conditions Glycine is found in varying amounts in meat, especially in tough cuts like the chuck, round and brisket. Glycine is readily available as a dietary supplement in capsule or powder form.
Due to its sweet taste, you can easily incorporate glycine powder into your diet by adding it to:. Glycine is the main amino acid in collagen, the main structural protein of connective tissue, such as bone, skin, ligaments, tendons and cartilage.
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