TMG (Trimethylglycine) 1000mg | 100 Tablets | NOW Foods

TMG Trimethylglycine 1000mg by NOW Foods

Trimethylglycine, or simply TMG, is the substance you may also come across under the name betaine or anhydrous betaine. It occurs naturally in beets, spinach, and whole grains. NOW Foods packs 1000mg of TMG into each tablet, meaning you get 3 grams with three tablets per day. Interesting for those who want to know more about homocysteine and methylation, and want to do something about it.

What trimethylglycine actually is

The name already gives away a lot. TMG is glycine, the smallest amino acid, with three methyl groups attached to it (small carbon groups consisting of one carbon and three hydrogen atoms). Those methyl groups are exactly what it's all about. Your body uses them as building blocks that it moves from one molecule to another, a process called methylation. TMG was first discovered in sugar beets, hence the name betaine, from the Latin beta for beet. Your body also produces it itself, from choline. An average diet provides about 100 to 300mg of betaine per day, depending on how many grains, beets, and spinach you eat. Good to know: that natural production takes place in two steps. First, your liver converts choline into betaine aldehyde, then into betaine. You get choline mainly from eggs, meat, and soy. Moreover, some of the betaine from vegetables cooks out into the cooking water, especially when boiled for a long time. Raw or lightly steamed spinach and beets therefore provide more than a pan of thoroughly boiled vegetables.

TMG and homocysteine

Many people wonder why TMG is so often mentioned together with homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is produced when your body breaks down methionine, an amino acid from high-protein foods. It is an intermediate product, and your body normally converts it back quickly. This can happen via two routes. The best-known route is via folic acid and vitamin B12. The second route is via TMG: in your liver and kidneys, betaine gives one methyl group to homocysteine, which again produces methionine. What remains is dimethylglycine. Betaine contributes to a normal metabolism of homocysteine. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 1.5 g of betaine. A daily intake of more than 4 g of betaine can significantly increase blood cholesterol levels. With three tablets per day, this bottle gives you 3 grams, so well above that 1.5 grams and below the 4-gram limit.

Betaine, TMG or betaine HCl

What many people do not know: not everything with betaine on the label is the same. TMG and anhydrous betaine are two names for the same substance, and that is what is in these tablets. Betaine HCl is something else. That is betaine linked to hydrochloric acid, and you find that form in digestive formulas because it releases hydrochloric acid in your stomach. Betaine HCl does not have the same methyl function. So check carefully what you buy. The tablets also contain cellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (a plant-fiber thickener), and a plant-based coating, making them easier to swallow.

One hundred 1000mg tablets give you more than a month's worth of TMG with three per day. A clear product with one ingredient, 3 grams of betaine per day, and an authorized EU health claim included.