GlyNAC
Has anyone tried Glycine/N-acetylcysteine? It appears to have amazing effects on age reversal.
Glycine and N‐acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) supplementation in older adults improves glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, genotoxicity, muscle strength, and cognition: Results of a pilot clinical trial
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ctm2.372
-
That's very interesting. The only source that I see online seems to be Celltrient. They sell 112 x 600 mg + 600 gm caps, taken 2/day, for $60.79. However, I see that Life Extension sells Glycine ($9.00 for 100 x 1000 mg caps) and N‐acetylcysteine ($10.50 for 60 x 600 mg caps) as separate supplements. I think that works out to be around 1/2 the Celltrident price.
Perhaps it's worth it, but I think I'll wait for others to report any age reversal observations after taking this supplement. It would be nice if someone would determine their Horvath DNAm age before and after taking a month or so of GlyNAC supplements.
-
The study quoted above indicates that the GlyNAC benefits go away when the supplement is halted. That suggests that no epigenetic reprogramming has been achieved.
-
I just calculated the dosage of the GlyNAC supplements that was used in the Baylor Med study. They say that they administered glycine (1.33 mmol/kg/day) and cysteine (0.81 mmol/kg/day). That means they would give a subject weighing 70 kg about 7,000 mg/day (7 g/day) of both Glycine and N-acetylcysteine. That would mean one would have to take a lot of caps per day. The dosage recommended on the Celltrident bottle is only 1.2 g/day. One would go through a "$60.79 - 1 month supply" on about 5 days.
-
These dosages seem very high. However, as Dr Green points out below it's the amount that is found in a large steak. I calculated for me as a 90 kg male it would cost me about $75 dollars per month to take this large dose of both supplements. Hopefully Dr. Green has his compounding pharmacy on the case. My wife has her annual appointment with Dr Green next week so she will discuss the new protocol. Dr Green's website talks about adding this regimen to his anti-aging protocol. I already take 600mg/day of the NAC. I may add the glycine to this in the morning on an empty stomach. Taking amino acids on an empty stomach is the preferred method. See from Dr Green's website below:
In March 2021, high dose supplementation with amino acids cysteine as NAC and glycine was revealed as an effective treatment for mitochondrial dysfunction and that is now also included in protocol.
Treatment of Aging
A recent paper from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, March 2021 represents the first great breakthrough in the treatment of aging itself. In 1956 Harman presented his free radical theory of aging. Just 67 years later, that theory has borne fruit. Mitochondria are little batteries that generate chemical energy that provide the energy for life. During the process, mitochondria generate toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) which cause harmful oxidative stress to mitochondria. The major antioxidant mitochondia depend on for protection against the damaging effects of oxidative stress is GLUTATHIONE. The problem is in older persons, Glutathione levels are at too low a level for protection. This results in mitochondrial dysfunction. Glutathione is composed of three amino acids: glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. In older persons the levels of cysteine and glycine are too low to form Glutathione (GSH). The solution to the problem is mind-blowingly simple. Just supply an adequate amount of CYSTEINE AND GLYCINE. The lead researcher, Rajagopal Sekhar, who first published a similar study in 2011; did just that and the results were EXTRAORDINARY. The dose for a 70 kilo man was 9 gram of cystine and 7 grams of glycine (about the amount of these two amino acids in 1.5 pounds of steak).
The results on mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, inflammation, insulin resistance, walking speed, grip strength, cognitive function and other markers of aging dysfunction were remarkable. In a prior study excellent results were seen at 2 weeks. In this study persons were tested at 12 and 24 weeks. By 24 weeks, older persons were showing similar results to young persons in critical areas. Upon stopping treatment, all benefits were gradually lost.
What was different is this study: BOTH Glycine and cysteine (as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) were administered and in much higher doses.
"Glycine and N-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) supplementation in older adults improves glutathione deficiency, oxidative stree, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, genotoxicity, muscle strength, and cognition: Results of a pilot clinical trial"; Kumar, Sekhar, 2021.
-
I will need to get input from Dr Green on this one. I have been reading up on the subject and while this study looks promising I think it's too soon to jump the gun on taking large amounts of these 2 amino acids. There's a possible link to cancer that scares me. This study doesn't measure cancer risk over the long term use.
https://df6sxcketz7bb.cloudfront.net/manuscripts/127000/127647/jci.insight.127647.v1.pdf
-
When are you taking it? How many days thus far? I've only tried the 9g / 7g dose once. I had previously taken NAC and Glycine at night before bed, so that's when I tried it. Apparently bad idea - as I had a surge of energy and sleep was disturbed. Also - with the brands of NAC and Glycine I purchased (Vitacost and DoubleWood respectively) I noticed after the fact that they contain Magnesium Stearate in them, so at these high doses I'm wondering if the latent sluggish feeling I had for the next 24 hours was due to that.
-
Hey guys,
I'm hoping someone can answer the question of antioxidants, especially at high doses, causing more harm than good by decreasing and preventing beneficial signalling of ROS. What measurable impact does N Acetyl Cysteine have on hormesis?
It seems as though antioxidants follow a U shaped curve, too little being just as bad as two much, but I'm not sure a stress response "hormesis" > NRF2/SKN1 is the answer to solving the complexities of oxidative stress.
Any insight would be appreciated. -
Although small trials, those two studies on the effects of glycine and NAC are about the most astounding I have seen for anti-aging effects.
The doses, 7 and 9 g per day, are high, but as I understand it only enough to restore Glutathione to youthful levels. No side effects reported during the trials.
Could any fairly long-term user of glycine + NAC report?
-
I am in my 60's and have completed 31 weeks of NAC and glycine daily at the levels set out in the study. I have experienced nowhere near the results set out in that study. I may have experienced a small amount of increased ability in my half hour runs. I have strength trained regularly for quite a few years and if there were any gains in strength I would know it. There have not been gains in strength.
-
I've been taking glycine (4000mg), serine (900mg) and NAC (1200mg) daily for about six months. I'm 50 so the lower dose is intended as a top-up that I might scale as I get older.
Only thing I noticed is if going out for a drink with friends the next day tends to be much easier, almost like those youthful days. No liver inflammation, no headache. Interpret this as having more glutathione in the liver to mop up aldehydes and other by-products.
Don't know what to think about the topic as anti-oxidants are clearly important, but then non chronic stressors are good for the body by stimulating repair, does this supplementation risk having too few stressors? Difficult to know where the balance ideally is.
-
Can anyone comment on this article which argues nac shortens life span? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24634-3
-
I also note this: "Quite intriguingly recent preclinical studies confirmed the pro-tumorigenic and pro-metastatic effects of antioxidant supplementation such as N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), a GSH precursor [155, 156], thus highlighting the relevance of antioxidants in the protection of cancer cells against oxidative damage. Therefore, antioxidant supplementation can promote the growth of tumors by rescuing the viability of cells under high oxidative stress." https://clintransmed.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40169-016-0106-5 which cites https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.3007653 and https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/scitranslmed.aad3740
Thoughts?
-
Glycine alone seems to extend lifespan.
As mentioned earlier glycine is the one amino acid studied thus far in which supplementation has been shown to extend the lifespan of mice, albeit moderately [24]. Dietary glycine supplementation also extended the lifespan of Fisher 344 rats through a mechanism mimicking methionine restriction to increase the hepatic clearance of methionine [163]. Glycine supplementation has been show to restore T cell activation, T cell one-carbon metabolism, and mitochondrial function in aged mice [164]. Administration of glycine was also shown to decrease oxidative stress and inflammation by decreasing the levels of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) by inducing the expression of glyoxalase 1 [165].
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468501119300082
-
I would say the big question is “does anything really extend life in humans?” Since studies are not done in humans, and it seems almost anything that stresses a worm or fly extends its life by 10%. I’m taking numerous supplements but I don’t know that any of them are going to help me live longer. Maybe the Rapamycin.