Glycine: The Missing Nutrient for Taming Inflammation, Optimising Whole-Body Health and Weight Management

When people think about reducing inflammation, they often focus on what they need to remove from their diet—processed foods, excess sugar, alcohol, and unhealthy fats. While these changes are important, there is another piece of the puzzle that is often overlooked: ensuring your body has enough of the nutrients it needs to properly regulate inflammation.

One of the most important of these nutrients is glycine.

Although glycine is a simple amino acid, its impact on health is far-reaching. From regulating inflammation and supporting detoxification to improving sleep, metabolic health, muscle recovery, and healthy ageing, glycine plays a foundational role in keeping the body functioning optimally.

What is Glycine?

Glycine is the smallest and simplest amino acid, yet it performs some of the body’s most important functions.

It is used to:

• Build proteins throughout the body
• Manufacture collagen for healthy skin, joints, bones, and connective tissues
• Produce glutathione, often called the body’s “master antioxidant”
• Support healthy nervous system function
• Regulate blood sugar and insulin sensitivity
• Assist detoxification pathways
• Help control the body’s inflammatory response

While the body can produce small amounts of glycine, research suggests that our requirements often exceed our body’s ability to make it, particularly during times of stress, illness, injury, ageing, or chronic inflammation.

Glycine’s Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Effects

Inflammation is a normal and necessary part of the body’s healing response. However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it can contribute to a wide range of health conditions, including:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Arthritis
• Autoimmune disorders
• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Accelerated ageing

Glycine helps regulate inflammatory processes throughout the body by influencing immune cell activity and reducing the production of inflammatory compounds.

Research suggests that approximately 8–10 grams of glycine per day may be required to help maintain healthy inflammatory balance. Unfortunately, most modern diets provide far less than this amount.

Historically, our ancestors consumed the entire animal, including skin, cartilage, tendons, and connective tissues—all rich sources of glycine. Today, most people primarily consume muscle meats, which contain relatively low amounts of glycine while being rich in other amino acids.

This imbalance may contribute to widespread glycine insufficiency and increased inflammatory burden.

Glycine and Glutathione: A Powerful Partnership

One of glycine’s most important roles is helping the body produce glutathione, the body’s primary intracellular antioxidant.

Glutathione helps:

• Neutralise harmful free radicals
• Protect cells from oxidative stress
• Support liver detoxification
• Reduce inflammation
• Promote healthy ageing

Without adequate glycine, glutathione production may be compromised, leaving the body more vulnerable to oxidative damage and chronic disease.

Researchers have found that combining glycine with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)—a combination known as GlyNAC—can significantly improve glutathione levels and support healthy ageing.

Better Sleep Through Glycine

Sleep and inflammation are closely connected. Poor sleep increases inflammatory markers, while chronic inflammation can disrupt sleep quality.

Glycine acts as a calming neurotransmitter within the central nervous system. When taken before bed, it helps lower core body temperature and promotes deeper, more restorative sleep.

Benefits may include:

• Falling asleep more easily
• Improved sleep quality
• Better next-day concentration and mental performance
• Reduced daytime fatigue

Many studies use approximately 3 grams of glycine 30–60 minutes before bedtime to support healthy sleep. If you don’t have access to pure glycine, 1.5 cups of good quality bone broth or 9 grams of collagen powder provides around 3 grams of glycine. Keep reading to learn how to increase your glycine intake.

Supporting Blood Sugar and Metabolic Health

Glycine may also help support healthy blood sugar regulation.

Research shows that glycine stimulates the release of GLP-1, a hormone involved in insulin secretion and blood glucose control. Higher circulating glycine levels have been associated with improved insulin sensitivity and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

By supporting metabolic health, glycine may also indirectly help reduce inflammation, as elevated blood sugar is a significant driver of inflammatory processes.

Muscle Recovery and Physical Performance

Athletes and active individuals may also benefit from higher glycine intake.

Glycine is required for:

• Creatine production
• Protein synthesis
• Muscle repair
• Connective tissue health
• Growth hormone support

Adequate glycine can assist recovery following exercise and help maintain healthy muscle function as we age.

Brain Health and Nervous System Support

Glycine functions as an important neurotransmitter within the brain and spinal cord.

Its calming effects help regulate nervous system activity and support cognitive function. Researchers have also explored glycine’s potential role in supporting mental health and neurological conditions through its effects on NMDA receptors in the brain.

While more research is ongoing, maintaining adequate glycine levels appears important for optimal brain function and nervous system health.

Why Modern Diets Are Often Deficient in Glycine

One reason glycine deficiency has become increasingly common is the way modern diets have changed.

Traditional diets included:

• Slow-cooked broths
• Organ meats
• Skin-on poultry
• Cartilage-rich cuts of meat
• Gelatin-containing foods

Today, many people consume mostly lean muscle meats and processed foods, resulting in a significant reduction in glycine intake.

As a result, many individuals may struggle to obtain enough glycine through diet alone.

How to Increase Your Glycine Intake

While some plant foods like legumes, nuts and seeds contain smal quantities of glycine, the best sources are animal products.

Bone Broth

One of the richest natural sources of glycine is well-made bone broth.

A litre of quality bone broth can provide approximately 8 grams of glycine, making it one of the most effective dietary strategies for supporting healthy inflammatory balance.

Bone broth can be enjoyed:

• As a warming drink
• As the base for soups and stews
• In casseroles and slow-cooked meals
• As a nutritious addition during winter months

Collagen-Rich Foods

Other good dietary sources include:

• Poultry skin
• Slow-cooked meats
• Gelatin
• Collagen supplements
• Pork rind
• Tendon and connective tissue-rich cuts of meat

Glycine Supplements

Because achieving 8–10 grams daily through food alone can be challenging, many people choose to supplement with pure glycine powder or capsules.

Glycine powder is:

• Inexpensive
• Easy to use
• Naturally sweet tasting
• Easily mixed into water, smoothies, herbal teas, or other beverages

Because glycine powder has suddenly hit the headlines, it’s become a little hard to get. We are waiting on stocks to arrive but we don’t yet have an ETA. In the meantime we suggest using Pure Collagen Powder because collagen is 1/3 glycine. And by adding pure collagen to a shake, smoothie or hot or cold drinks you’ll receive the added benefits of the other nutritional components that also support healthy hair, skin, nails and connective tissue. This is what I’ve been doing and it’s working well for me!

21gm pure collagen powder provides 7gm glycine. The remainder of your daily requirements can be met through food or bone broth.

A Simple Nutrient with Remarkable Benefits

Despite being one of the simplest amino acids, glycine delivers profound benefits throughout the body.

By supporting healthy inflammation regulation, antioxidant production, detoxification, sleep, metabolic health, tissue repair, and healthy ageing, glycine represents one of the most valuable yet overlooked nutrients in modern nutrition.

Given that most people consume significantly less glycine than their bodies require, increasing intake through bone broth, collagen-rich foods, or supplementation may be one of the simplest and most effective ways to support long-term health and wellbeing.

Sometimes the biggest improvements in health come not from removing something from the diet, but from replacing what has quietly gone missing.

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