GLYCINE IN SHILAJIT
As some of you remember, we went a bit more into detail about amino acids in the last blog. If you want to read that particular blog, go have a read here. But for those of you who already went through it, you’ll remember that glycine is the one amino acid that is most abundant. So naturally, we should learn a bit more about it. After all, it’s surprisingly versatile since it affects many areas of our life. This amino acid is the simplest one yet it effectively proves its importance. Glycine in Shilajit is not something unexpected, but we feel it still deserves much more attention. So, where’s the catch?
TOP BENEFITS OF GLYCINE
Glycine is a non-essential, non-polar, non-optical, glucogenic amino acid. We won’t go into further details, but it’s safe to say that glycine is an important component and precursor for many macromolecules. As a result, it plays an important role in many chemical processes in our bodies.
A notable one is the role it plays in the transmission of chemical signals in the brain. 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. It acts as a neurotransmitter and there is much interest in using it for schizophrenia, stroke, and enhancing cognitive functions. Much research is needed still in this area, yet it highlights its potential for further use and exploration.
A lot of you probably heard about Collagen. This structural protein is built by a lot of glycine. In fact, every third to fourth amino acid in collagen is glycine. Collagen plays various important roles, including providing structure to your skin and helping your blood clot. It’s one of the major building blocks of bones, skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Collagen is also found in many other body parts, including blood vessels, corneas, and teeth. It’s very important that you get enough glycine to support your body’s production of collagen.
Furthermore, It’s been researched that glycine may promote sleep and enhance the quality of your sleep through its calming effects on the brain. Problems with getting a good night’s rest are very common and glycine shows much promise in this area. To us, it seems like a good alternative to prescription sleeping pills.
Did you know that besides all of that, glycine is also a powerful antioxidant? With two other amino acids, it helps with building glutathione. Glutathione is one of the body’s most important and potent antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that reduce oxidative stress by combating free radicals in the body. While most antioxidants are found in the foods you eat, glutathione is produced by your body. It is primarily made up of three amino acids: glutamine, glycine, and cysteine. If you do not have enough glycine in your system, your body produces less glutathione. And over time, the ability of your body to handle oxidative stress will lessen over time.
On top of that, it has been researched that glycine may help with liver inflammation caused by alcohol consumption. This supposedly achieved a much faster recovery process of alcohol-induced liver damage. In a study in rats with alcohol-induced liver damage, the liver cell health returned to baseline 30% faster in a group fed a glycine-containing diet for two weeks compared to a control group. Of course, this doesn’t translate directly to a human, but it’s a very interesting fact nonetheless.
- UNEXPLORED POTENTIAL
- Diverse, important, effective, and promising. If we would describe glycine in 4 words, those would be it. As you can see, glycine affects everything from our body to our mind. And the fact that glycine is in Shilajit only makes it better. Much needs to be researched about it before we can recommend it as a legit cure for all the above problems, however, everything points in that direction. All we certainly know is that taking Shilajit should be on your daily menu. We’ll let you know if anything else comes up, because, as always, we hope you learned something new today.
Sources and more info:
- https://www.verywellhealth.com/glycine-overview-4583816
- https://www.britannica.com/science/glycine-amino-acid
- https://examine.com/supplements/glycine/
- https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Glycine.aspx
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Glycine
- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1072/glycine
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/glycine
- https://aspenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0148607198022006393
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123196521500045
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123196521500045