Research
Hormonal
Glycine deficiency in metabolic disorders is driven by three simultaneous mechanisms: decreased gut absorption, decreased endogenous biosynthesis, and increased catabolism or urinary excretion.
Low glycine in metabolic disease isn't just about what you eat; it's about how your body processes it. Your gut bacteria may be consuming it, your liver may be making less of it, and your kidneys may be excreting it faster. Addressing this requires a holistic approach to metabolic health rather than just supplementation.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Here, we put forward the hypothesis that a decrease in glycine plasma concentrations in obesity... is due to a reduction of the amino acid availability resulting from the simultaneous contribution of three distinct mechanisms: (i) decreased gut absorption; (ii) decreased biosynthesis; and (iii) increased catabolism or urine excretion.
Why this rating
Based on a synthesis of multiple studies on gut microbiota, enzyme expression, and excretion rates.
Source
Glycine Metabolism and Its Alterations in Obesity and Metabolic Diseases
Anaïs Alves et al. · Nutrients · 2019
DOI 10.3390/nu11061356
narrative_reviewCited 369×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Low circulating glycine levels are consistently associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and prospective studies indicate that decreased plasma glycine is a strong predictive factor for incident glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes.Good
- Dietary patterns, specifically the source of protein (vegetable vs. meat), influence plasma glycine levels more than total glycine intake, with vegetable proteins associated with higher circulating glycine compared to meat proteins.Moderate
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