TMG vs Glycine: Understanding Their Roles in Methylation, Sleep, and Energy

Both TMG (trimethylglycine) and glycine are naturally occurring amino acid–derived compounds that play distinct but complementary roles in the body. While glycine calms the nervous system and supports sleep, TMG energises cells through methylation, a vital process for detoxification, DNA repair, and heart health.

Our TMG Supplement is designed to support methylation naturally, providing 750 mg of pure betaine anhydrous (also known as betaine) per capsule, verified for purity and potency.

TMG supplementation is particularly beneficial for individuals taking NMN, as it helps restore methyl groups used in NAD+ metabolism. This synergy supports balanced energy, longevity, and mental clarity.

Research shows that TMG can contribute to lower homocysteine levels, while glycine helps the body recover through improved sleep and antioxidant protection. Studies all highlight the unique functions of both molecules, proving how essential they are to cellular balance, detoxification, and overall vitality.

What Is Glycine?

Glycine is the simplest amino acid, yet it performs complex and far-reaching functions throughout the body. It’s abundant in collagen, the structural protein that supports healthy skin, joints, and connective tissue.

Beyond structure, glycine acts as a calming neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal cord, helping reduce stress and promote relaxation. It’s also essential for the synthesis of glutathione, your body’s master antioxidant, protecting cells from oxidative damage and inflammation.

Naturally, glycine is found in collagen-rich foods such as meat, fish, and bone broth. Because the body’s ability to produce glycine declines with age, many people turn to supplementation to restore healthy levels and improve sleep quality.

Health Benefits of Glycine

• Promotes relaxation and better sleep quality, helps lower core body temperature, and calms the nervous system.

• Supports collagen synthesis for skin and joint health - vital for elasticity and flexibility.

• Enhances glutathione production - key to cellular protection and antioxidant defence.

• Aids digestion and gut integrity - strengthens the intestinal lining.

• May support insulin sensitivity and metabolism - potentially helping regulate blood sugar and reduce inflammation.

Taken in the evening, glycine is gentle, soothing, and restorative, a perfect counterpart to TMG’s energising role in the body.

What Is Trimethylglycine (TMG)?

TMG, or trimethylglycine, is a compound derived from glycine that carries three methyl groups — the feature that defines its biochemical power. It’s also known as betaine, a naturally occurring nutrient found in foods like beetroot, spinach, and whole grains.

As a methyl donor, TMG supports methylation, a fundamental cellular process required for gene expression, detoxification, and essential for DNA synthesis and coenzyme production. One of its most important functions is helping convert homocysteine into methionine, a step crucial for maintaining balanced homocysteine levels and supporting cardiovascular stability.

TMG supplementation also helps those who take NMN or B vitamins, as it replenishes the body’s methyl supply. This makes it particularly important for individuals with MTHFR gene variations that may impair methylation efficiency.

The Benefits of TMG

The benefits of TMG extend far beyond energy production. As an active methyl donor, TMG supports cardiovascular function, boosts methylation, and aids detoxification through its influence on liver enzymes and phosphatidylcholine synthesis.

• Supports heart health: Studies show that TMG may help lower homocysteine levels, reducing the risk of heart disease and improving metabolic resilience.

• Enhances detox and liver function: TMG helps regenerate phosphatidylcholine and choline, promoting healthy liver fat metabolism and bile flow.

• Promotes energy and mental clarity: Through methylation, Tmg enhances the synthesis of creatine and neurotransmitters that fuel the brain and muscles.

• Improves methylation efficiency: In those with high homocysteine levels or MTHFR mutations, tmg supplementation supports methyl balance and overall vitality.

• Synergy with B vitamins: Works alongside folate and B12 to regulate the metabolism of homocysteine and improve methylation naturally.

Although TMG comes from natural sources like beet and spinach, consistent supplementation provides measurable results that diet alone often cannot.

Comparison of Glycine vs TMG Functions

Glycine and TMG: How They Work Together

Although glycine and TMG perform different tasks, they share a biochemical relationship that makes them highly complementary when used together. In fact, TMG is derived from glycine, gaining three methyl groups in the process to form trimethylglycine, a transformation that completely changes its role in metabolism.

While glycine supports relaxation and recovery, TMG supports methylation, the process that donates methyl groups to maintain cellular balance, repair DNA, and support detoxification. These two compounds therefore, sit at opposite ends of the same biochemical pathway, one buffers methylation, the other drives it forward.

In practice, taking both together can promote balance. Glycine buffers excessive methylation, preventing overstimulation and maintaining neurological calm, while TMG can contribute to optimal methyl activity for energy, focus, and heart health.

This makes the pairing particularly useful for those taking NMN or other NAD+ precursors, since NAD+ metabolism consumes methyl groups. By adding TMG supplementation alongside glycine, users help maintain healthy methyl reserves, protecting against depletion that may occur from high dietary choline, NMN, or methylated B vitamin intake.

Furthermore, research shows that TMG supports cellular hydration and stability, while glycine enhances collagen formation and glutathione synthesis, both vital to long-term health and recovery. Together, they promote resilience on a cellular and systemic level.

When to Take TMG and Glycine

Timing plays a major role in how these supplements work best:

1. Take TMG in the morning – It’s slightly stimulating and supports energy metabolism, methylation, and detoxification throughout the day.
   
   

2. Take Glycine in the evening – It’s calming, supports sleep quality, and enhances recovery overnight.
   
   

Both compounds can be taken daily and safely when used as directed. Those with MTHFR gene variants, high homocysteine levels, or low methylation function often find that TMG supports the missing link in their vitamins and supplements routine.

Shared and Distinct Benefits

Optimal Dosage and Safety

Determining the correct dosage of TMG and glycine depends on your health goals.

• For TMG supplementation, most clinical research and safety data suggest 750 mg to 3 g daily, ideally split into one or two doses. This supports healthy homocysteine levels, methylation, and detox pathways.

• For glycine, the optimal range is typically 2–3 g before bedtime to support relaxation, sleep, and glutathione synthesis.

Both are well tolerated in moderate amounts. However, high doses of TMG (above 4 g per day) may slightly raise total and LDL cholesterol in certain individuals. As always, consult a clinician or nutritionist before taking this supplement long-term, particularly if you have cardiovascular conditions or methylation-related disorders.

Importantly, TMG helps convert homocysteine into methionine, supporting healthy blood vessel function and reducing the risk of heart disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis confirm that moderate TMG supplementation significantly improves homocysteine levels in the blood, with benefits for both metabolic and cardiovascular health.

Key Differences Between Glycine and TMG

Though glycine and TMG (trimethylglycine) share a chemical origin, their functions in the body are quite distinct. Glycine acts as a calming amino acid, while TMG serves as a methylation enhancer — supporting detoxification, DNA repair, and cardiovascular balance.

In short, Glycine builds and restores. TMG fuels and protects. Used together, they help maintain both biochemical balance and overall vitality.

How to Choose Between TMG and Glycine

Your goals will determine which supplement best fits your daily routine. Here’s a quick guide to help you decide:

Choose Glycine if your focus is on:

• Better sleep and relaxation

• Skin, joint, and connective tissue support

• A calmer nervous system and improved recovery

Choose TMG if you’re aiming to:

• Optimise methylation and detoxification

• Support heart health and homocysteine metabolism

• Enhance natural energy and mental clarity

Combine Both if you want balanced energy and relaxation, one to stimulate methylation (TMG), the other to buffer and calm (glycine).

Together, glycine and TMG create a synergistic balance, one supports structure and restoration, the other drives function and repair.

Conclusion

Both TMG (trimethylglycine) and glycine play essential yet distinct roles in maintaining long-term health and balance. TMG supports methylation and detoxification, helping to regulate homocysteine levels, protect the liver, and sustain energy metabolism. Glycine, on the other hand, enhances deep sleep, collagen repair, and cellular recovery, giving the body the restorative support it needs.

When used together, these two compounds work in harmony, TMG fuels and protects, while glycine calms and rebuilds. This balance promotes both daytime energy and nighttime renewal, supporting the body’s natural rhythm and overall vitality.

At Longevity Box, our TMG Supplement embodies purity and trust. It’s third-party tested, backed by a 700-day purity guarantee, and covered by our 60-day money-back policy for complete peace of mind.

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