What if someone told you that there’s a supplement that helps boost brain function, reduce stress, protect your heart, and improve athletic performance? What if you were told that this same supplement not only enhances immune function but can promote increased neurological function in those with autism and reduce the number of seizures in those with epileptic seizures? Chances are you’d be eager to learn more about this potent supplement known as dimethylglycine or DMG.
DMG is a derivative of the amino acid glycine initially used by Russian athletes and Cosmonauts to increase endurance and reduce fatigue. DMG has been shown to do the following:
- Improve athletic performance. DMG delays fatigue by inhibiting lactic acid production after exercise.
- DMG boosts brain function by increasing oxygenation at the cellular level. It also increases the production of creatine, fueling the brain.
- Reduces stress by improving cellular oxygen.
- Promotes cardiovascular health by reducing homocysteine, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
- It bolsters the immune system by contributing to methylation. Methylation is a process by which methyl groups aid in producing antibodies, thereby strengthening the immune system. DMG also activates the immune system’s antiviral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal activity by modulating the body’s B-cell, T-cell, and macrophage levels. This vital function gives the body greater protection and infection resistance, boosting the immune system.
- Anti-aging effects. DMG can counter those effects since the body’s ability to methylate declines with age.
- It helps those with autism, ADHD, and epilepsy.
In the 1970s, scientists isolated the amino acid dimethylglycine (pronounced die-meth-ill-gly-seen) from its source, called DMG for short. Eventually, it became one of many nutrients used by athletes to help give them a performance edge and was known in the early days as the DMG vitamin or DMG B15, though it’s not a vitamin by the strict definition of the word.
Thanks to its reputation as an all-natural oxygen and endurance enhancer, scientists from all areas of health started their experiments with DMG to see if it could help their patients. Sure enough, data started showing how it relieved those with chronic joint pain, restored concentration and focus, normalized cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and so much more.
In only a few years, dimethylglycine went from being a celebrated endurance enhancer to the unsung hero of the nutrition world. This simple nutrient has the potential to help improve your health, even if you’re not an athlete. At middle age, you start feeling changes in your body, which you may chalk up to aging: energy levels hit rock bottom, weight soars, muscles become soft, skin wrinkles and slack, and desire tanks. You may feel past your prime — but science says that’s wrong!
Why DMG is the unsung hero of the nutrition world?
While found in plants and animals, our bodies — particularly our liver — can create it from glycine sources. Let’s go over some specifics that make DMG so beneficial.
Dimethylglycine and Athletic Performance:
DMG’s ultimate claim to fame has been shown to enhance overall performance and endurance. Studies show that athletes with high levels of DMG could perform longer without significant fatigue or muscle loss and better utilize oxygen intake. It was also demonstrated that the athletes had less lactic acid buildup after exercising.
One study found that higher levels of DMG reduced the “hitting the wall” feeling marathon runners deal with after using up their stored calories in the liver. This helped to reduce their time while also helping them recover quicker.
Dimethylglycine and Heart Health:
DMG supports the heart and blood vessels by slowing the rate of degeneration. This helps with oxygen function, normalizes cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and moderates cardiovascular performance.
Much of DMG’s success concerning heart health is its ability to deactivate the amino acid homocysteine. While necessary for human life, too much or too little can contribute to problems ranging from oxidative stress to DNA damage. By giving up one of its methyl groups to homocysteine, DMG helps prevent damage caused by high homocysteine levels while reducing the toxic burden on the liver.
Dimethylglycine and Immune Health:
DMG acts as an immune modulator, enhancing the immune system’s ability to respond to foreign invaders. Studies show that it boosts the production of T-cells, B-cells, and macrophages to work against whatever is trying to cause infection.
Dimethylglycine and Detoxification:
While the body can remove toxins in multiple ways, the liver is the master detox organ. With the help of DMG, the liver can detox more efficiently and effectively. This helps clear out toxins, and studies show how methylation is essential.
It’s also been shown that DMG helps increase glutathione production, often considered the “master detoxifier” and free-radical fighter in the liver. Without glutathione, you become more susceptible to illness and can start losing the functionality of your movement, speech, and mental processing. DMG helps keep your detox system running smoothly and your liver strong.
Dimethylglycine and Inflammation:
DMG supports a healthy inflammatory response and is a potent free-radical fighter, keeping damage to organs and cells at a bare minimum. Thanks in part to its ability to increase circulation while also being an effective detoxifier, this allows DMG to stop inflammation while supporting healthy and graceful aging.
Dimethylglycine and Cognition:
DMG helps with various parts of brain function, including memory, cognition, and focus. This is because DMG crosses the blood-brain barrier directly to the brain, so it can start getting to work quickly. It’s also been shown to produce neurotransmitter building blocks, improving the connection between the brain and the body.
Dimethylglycine and Stress:
Because of its multiple benefits, it’s no wonder that DMG works similarly to popular adaptogens like holy basil or astragalus, both prized herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Like many other adaptogens, DMG helps to improve the areas of the body, like immunity and circulation, reducing inflammation and oxidation and supporting the detoxing of toxins.
Eating the right foods with DMG
There are two ways of getting DMG: through either food or supplements. These foods contain the highest amount of DMG:
- Beef liver
- Beans and Legumes
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Foods typically with high amounts of b-vitamins (that aren’t fortified)
Since glycine is also a precursor to DMG, eating foods high in glycine can help raise dimethylglycine levels. Glycine sources include:
- Animal skins like pork (pork rinds), fish skin, chicken skin, etc.
- Dried egg whites
- Lean meats
- Bone broth
- Dairy
By incorporating these foods into your everyday diet, you’ll be able to raise the DMG levels in your blood slowly.
Remember that most of these foods only contain small amounts of dimethylglycine, and to meet the requirement of the amount used in studies, you’d have to eat all day long. This isn’t to say you can’t benefit from eating these foods, but supplementing is a safe option.
Getting the right amount of DMG
Supplementing with DMG will help you quickly and easily reach the desired levels. To help strengthen the effects of dimethylglycine, you can pair it with either a nitric oxide booster like l-arginine or l-citrulline or the hormone balancer Diindolylmethane or DIM for short.
L-arginine and l-citrulline have been shown to help release a particular gas in your blood vessels called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide dilates your blood vessels, which increases overall blood flow and delivery to every inch of your body. When paired with dimethylglycine, this improves its overall effect since it can reach everywhere from your head to your toes much faster.
On the other hand, DIM helps balance out estrogen levels in the body. Estrogen levels have risen in both men and women due to various changes in our environment and food supply. Fluoride in the water, preservatives in food, pesticides used on our crops, and several other factors have caused estrogen levels to skyrocket. Excess estrogen is associated with weight gain, depression, fatigue, decreased sex drive, and inflammation are just a few of the symptoms.
When paired together, DMG and DIM can help detox the body twice as quickly as usual. The glycine in DMG helps detoxify excess estrogen by assisting the liver in flushing toxins more rapidly and efficiently. This reduces overall inflammation, allowing you to lose that excess weight, taking pressure off your joints, and giving you a good night’s rest.
So whether you want to compete or feel like you can, DMG can give you what you need to keep going and then some while promoting a healthy body.
To learn more about how DMG can benefit you, get a FREE Consultation with one of our doctors (D.C) here.
