GAL Glycine 250g

Our company does not attribute any disease-prevention, treatment, or curative effect to its products, nor does it make any such claims; however, as required by Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, we provide the following information about the health effects of the product's active ingredients and their scientific background. In writing this, we have strived to present findings and scientific correlations based on the latest, independent, and authoritative research, for the benefit of readers who are interested in and receptive to this information. This is not intended to promote sales and does not encourage the purchase of the product. If our customers honor us with repeat orders, we hope it is solely because they have personally experienced the beneficial effects of GAL's products; we believe in this, and it is why we do what we do.

Why Is Glycine Important?

Glycine is the amino acid found in the largest amount in collagen. Since we rarely eat collagen-rich meats today, people's glycine intake also tends to be too low.

Glycine is not an essential amino acid, since the body can produce it itself. Research shows, however, that the body cannot produce enough glycine on its own for healthy functioning.

A number of studies support that glycine supplementation brings many positive effects. The following have proven the most significant:

Optimal Blood Sugar Levels

It significantly reduces the blood-sugar-raising effect of glucose and carbohydrates and improves insulin's effectiveness. It raises insulin levels almost not at all, while increasing levels of glucagon, insulin's beneficial “counterpart” hormone, and it effectively reduces the elevated blood fat levels seen in insulin resistance.

Skin

Our skin contains a significant amount of collagen, and therefore a lot of glycine too. The wrinkle-reducing, skin-elasticity-improving effect of collagen peptides is well researched and well known, and it owes this property largely to its high glycine content. Collagen, glycine, vitamin C, grape seed and fruit extracts, and bioflavonoids together form an excellent combination for preserving the skin's youthfulness.

Nervous System

In small amounts, it improves alertness and blood flow in the brain's microcapillaries.

Detoxification

Only animal studies exist on this so far, but based on them, glycine improves both liver and kidney function and boosts the production of glutathione, a substance with powerful detoxifying and antioxidant effects.

Sleep

A number of studies have looked at glycine's beneficial effect on sleep. These found that taking glycine before bed (3 grams, dissolved under the tongue or sipped in water) improves sleep quality, speeds up falling asleep, reduces early waking, and leaves people feeling more rested even with less sleep. Six hours of sleep with glycine often resulted in better sleep quality than eight hours without it.

Lifespan Extension

In mouse studies, reduced calorie intake, alongside adequate micro- and macronutrient intake, reliably extends lifespan. This has also been demonstrated in primates and, in part, in humans. (Naturally, a lifelong calorie-restriction study cannot be ethically carried out in humans, so these conclusions rely on measuring telomere length.) However, in mouse studies, an even greater lifespan extension (+40%) was achieved by restricting intake of the amino acid methionine, surpassing the effect of calorie restriction alone.

Later, similar results were achieved simply by supplementing the mice's diet with large amounts of glycine. This happens because glycine limits the body's use of methionine from food, thereby balancing the ratio of amino acids absorbed into the blood from protein. This has not yet been studied in humans, but is presumably just as effective. Since most foods contain substantial methionine, a low-methionine diet is difficult to follow in practice. Taking glycine after a meal, however (for example, in a dessert or drink sweetened with glycine), mimics the lifespan-extending effect of a low-methionine diet.

Glycine as an Excellent Sweetener

It has no aftertaste, is heat-stable, and sweetens roughly as much as sugar. Unlike sugar alcohols (such as xylitol/birch sugar, maltitol or erythritol), it does not cause digestive issues in anyone. And unlike most sweeteners, it does not “trick” the body, because behind its sweet taste is not an empty calorie, glycine is a building block of protein, and the body treats it as such.

The sweet taste signals a sugar source to the body, and since glycine can genuinely be converted into sugar when needed, it does not cause low blood sugar either. Because it dampens excessive blood-sugar spikes, it is especially well suited to sweetening baked goods that would otherwise be high in carbohydrates, as it tempers the sharp rise in blood sugar they would normally cause.