Glycine Powder | 454 Grams | NOW Foods

Glycine Powder by NOW Foods

This is glycine in the simplest form you can get: a container with 454 grams of pure powder, without flavorings, sweeteners, or fillers. The label lists exactly one ingredient. That makes this powder interesting for those who want to decide for themselves how much they take and what they dissolve it in. Per 1-gram serving, you get over 450 servings from one container.

What glycine is and where you find it

Glycine is the smallest amino acid (a building block of protein) that exists. The molecule is so compact that it fits into places in protein chains where larger amino acids do not fit. Your body can make it itself, among other things from serine. Yet you get a good portion of it from your diet. What many people do not know: collagen consists of about one-third glycine. Almost every third building block in a collagen chain is therefore a glycine molecule. You will therefore find it mainly in bone broth, gelatin, and the skin and tendons of meat. Lean meat, dairy, and plant-based proteins also contain glycine, but in smaller proportions.

How your body uses glycine

Many people wonder what glycine exactly does in the body. In short: it is a building material and a signaling substance at the same time. As a building material, it goes into collagen, but also into creatine and glutathione (a small protein that is in almost all your cells). Together with cysteine and glutamine, glycine forms that glutathione. In addition, glycine is found in your nervous system as a messenger substance. Glycine is also the reason that this powder tastes slightly sweet. The name even comes from the Greek word glykys, which means sweet. In practice, that means: your body uses this small molecule in very different places, from connective tissue to the nervous system.

Why choose glycine as a loose powder

The difference with glycine in capsules lies in the amount. A capsule usually contains 500 to 1000mg. With powder you scoop out your portion in a few seconds. The label recommends 1 to 3 times a day a quarter of a level teaspoon, which amounts to 1 gram at a time. Because glycine dissolves well and has a mild, sweet taste, you barely notice it in water, tea, or a shake. Some people even use it as a replacement for a little bit of sugar in their coffee. Good to know: the powder is free of gluten, soy, milk, and egg, and contains no sugar, starch, or preservatives.

NOW Foods packages this glycine powder in the United States according to GMP guidelines (Good Manufacturing Practice). The raw material itself comes from China, as with the largest part of the global glycine production. A simple container, a single ingredient, and a sweet taste that easily disappears in your drink: it doesn't need to be more than that.