Why You Need Glycine: A Panel Discussion

This episode is a panel discussion between Dr. Chris Masterjohn, Alex Leaf of Examine.Com, and Vladimir Heiskanen, covering everything you need to know about glycine.

Glycine can you sleep, stabilize your blood sugar, improve your joint health, keep your skin beautiful, and do much more. It’s a little amino acid with a big impact on your health.

This episode is a panel discussion between Dr. Chris Masterjohn, Alex Leaf of Examine.Com, and Vladimir Heiskanen, covering everything you need to know about glycine.

Listen to the Audio

Show Notes

• 0:00:45     Introducing Alex Leaf and Vladimir Heiskanen

• 0:02:44     Cliff Notes

• 0:08:28     Vladimir, Alex, and Chris each share their favorite underappreciated fact about glycine.

• 0:11:12     Roles of glycine include detoxification, glutathione synthesis, heme synthesis, creatine synthesis, collagen synthesis, removal of intermediates when metabolic pathways are backed up, and it acts as a calming neurotransmitter.

• 0:17:06     Glycine synthesis is almost entirely dependent on folate utilization and generates about 3 grams per day.

• 0:23:37     Glycine is consumed in the diet, but methionine, found abundantly in animal protein, increases the need for glycine.

• 0:26:33     MTHFR mutations worsen glycine status.

• 0:29:10     Over the course of evolution, our collagen requirements increased substantially, but our ability to synthesize glycine stayed the same.

• 0:33:25     We run a deficit of our ability to synthesize glycine relative to our needs of about 10 grams per day, according to the most conservative estimate.

• 0:38:09     Running a glycine deficit is an intrinsic part of the biology of large vertebrates, but our ancestors mitigated this deficit by eating collagen-rich diets.

• 0:41:54     Glycine competes with other amino acids for intestinal absorption, and free glycine is absorbed less efficiently than glycine in the form of di- or tripeptides, as found in collagen.

• 0:46:56     In animal studies, glycine protects against the metabolic consequences of obesogenic diets, diabetes complications, cancer, liver injury, and kidney injury; and it has anti-inflammatory effects that might protect against endotoxins.

• 0:51:19     In human studies, glycine supplementation promotes healthy sleep and blood glucose regulation.

• 0:54:24     Glycine is overwhelmingly safe.

• 0:57:00     Collagen supplementation may increase urinary oxalate excretion.

• 0:59:06     Strategies to minimize risk of kidney stones: ensure optimal B6 status; measure urinary oxalate excretion; monitor urine pH; get 800-1200 mg calcium; other protective factors are vitamin A, magnesium, and citrate.

• 1:10:55     Practicalities of glycine supplementation; how Vladimir, Alex, and Chris get their glycine; and how collagen and glycine fit into the overall protein requirement.

• 1:29:45     Lab tests to assess glycine status

Glycine and Collagen Supplement Recommendations

The best way to get glycine is from hydrolyzed collagen. Great Lakes offers the best balance of quality, transparency, and price. Vital Proteins, while more expensive, uses enzymatic digestions rather than heat to hydrolyze the collagen, and some people find that their digestion tolerates Vital Proteins but not other brands.

Some people respond better to pure glycine. For these cases I recommend Bulk Supplements pure glycine powder. It has the same sweetness as sugar and can be used as a sweetener.

You also can use gelatin, though it’s less bioavailable than hydrolyzed collagen.

Lab Tests Related to Glycine

The Genova ION Panel + 40 Amino Acids has glycine, sarcosine, pyroglutamate, xanthurenate, kynurenate, and quinolinate. If glycine is below the middle of the range, you may need more. If pyroglutamate is mid-range or higher, you do not have enough glycine to synthesize the amount of glutathione your body is trying to make. If sarcosine is mid-range or higher, your glycine is being depleted as a methyl buffer. If xanthurenate, kynurenate, and quinolinate are elevated, you are probably deficient in B6, which compromises endogenous glycine synthesis and makes the hydroxyproline in collagen more likely to generate oxalate.

24-hour urine oxalate (LabCorp) while consuming the amount of collagen you usually consume or random urine oxalate (Quest) after a collagen-rich meal can be used to test whether collagen supplementation is raising your urinary oxalate levels.

These tests are covered in more detail, with all other nutritional testing one click away, in Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet.

Links and Research Related to Glycine

The Examine.Com page on glycine.

Gelatin, Stress, and Longevity by Ray Peat was the article that initially inspired Vladimir to research glycine.

Health Benefits of Glycine is Vladimir’s own review.

Meléndez-Hevia et al. A weak link in metabolism: the metabolic capacity for glycine biosynthesis does not satisfy the need for collagen synthesis. 2009.

Gannon et al. The metabolic response to ingested glycine. 2002.

Cruz et al. Glycine treatment decreases proinflammatory cytokines and increases interferon-gamma in patients with type 2 diabetes. 2008.

Brind et al. Dietary glycine supplementation mimics lifespan extension by dietary methionine restriction in Fisher 344 rats. 2011.

Sugiyama et al. Effect of dietary glycine on methionine metabolism in rats fed a high-methionine diet. 1987.

Sekhar et al. Deficient synthesis of glutathione underlies oxidative stress in aging and can be corrected by dietary cysteine and glycine supplementation. 2011.

Honeyguide: Bone Broth, Gelatin, Oxalate, and Kidney Stones

Knight et al. Hydroxyproline ingestion and urinary oxalate and glycolate excretion. 2006.

Other Posts Related to Glycine

Chris Masterjohn Lite: Get Better Sleep With Glycine

Chris Masterjohn Lite: Collagen Before Your Workout For Tendon Health

Chris Masterjohn Lite: Glycine With a Meal for Blood Sugar

Chris Masterjohn Lite: Oxalates — Should You Be Concerned About Collagen?

Chris Masterjohn Lite: Ten Tips for Preventing Kidney Stones

Chris Masterjohn Lite: What to Do About MTHFR

Chris Masterjohn Lite: This is the Blood Work You Should Get for MTHFR

Mastering Nutrition: Living With MTHFR

Mastering Nutrition: Methylate Your Way to Mental Health With Dopamine

Mastering Nutrition: Creatine — Far More Than a Performance Enhancer

For even more, search the site for “glycine.”

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Disclaimer

I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. Nor is this financial or legal advice, nor is anything contained herein to be construed as an explicit accusation against any individual or organization mentioned. My goal is to seek the truth and to empower you with information. Please make all health decisions yourself, consulting sources you trust, including a caring health care professional.

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