GlyNAC: The Baylor Study
This is the first weekly report focused on GlyNAC, a combination of the amino acids glycine and cysteine, and other practical matters regarding the science of extending the health span.
Patients have asked what I am doing about this personally (I am a 67 year old physician, see About Me), and recommending to patients. I will keep you up to date on what I am taking today ("My Recipe"). My Recipe is currently replicating this Baylor study. I will also publish a practical "Easy Recipe" that uses half doses of NAC.
My Recipe, Easy Recipe, and the content of UnChronic are not meant to be taken as personal medical advice, which is obtained from your healthcare professional.
GlyNAC is a product developed at Baylor, patented, and owned by Nestlé. Simple amino acids cannot be patented, but the combination of two amino acids can be patented. If you put the amino acid glycine in a cup, add an equal amount by weight of acetylated cysteine, shake it up (no heating or dissolving required), do studies on it and some turn out positive, you pretty much have the product GlyNAC.
-------
Many of us over 50 have a dozen pills for chronic conditions ranging from cholesterol, hypertension, GERD, type two diabetes, osteoporosis, insomnia, depression, cognitive impairment, post-Covid fatigue, and weight loss. We have little information on the effect of these products on our long term mortality and health span. Often the benefits have been approved for a particular purpose (e.g. lowering cholesterol or blood pressure or risk of heart attack) but show no overall benefit for mortality, suggesting that whatever reduction in particular risk is paid for with risk of side effects somewhere else (for example, there are excess deaths from statins taken to lower cholesterol due to increased risk of diabetes and suicides). The greater the number of pills, the more potential for harm to overall health.
It has been estimated that if we could cure heart disease, or cancer, we would only increase the lifespan a few years, because we would just die of something else.
This small, single institution Baylor GlyNAC study is not mature science. But potentially it's an intriguing start to a more holistic and scientific approach to overall healthy aging.
-------
The Study: https://www.bcm.edu/news/glynac-supplementation-reverses-aging-hallmarks-in-aging-humans
This is the press release from Baylor announcing the results of a double-blind controlled study. “This is the first randomized clinical trial of GlyNAC supplementation in older humans, and it found that a wide variety of age-associated abnormalities improved in older adults supplemented with GlyNAC, while no improvements were seen in those receiving placebo,” said corresponding author Dr. Rajagopal Sekhar, professor of medicine - endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Baylor." I recommend clicking through to the original study in the journal Gerontology Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences
----------
Easy Recipe (roughly half the Baylor dose)
Life Extension brand NAC 4 capsules, taken with Bulk Supplements glycine 2 teaspoons (10 grams) once daily. Some take before bed with juice (as sleep aid), some in the morning with breakfast, or with the largest meal. May be taken on an empty stomach.
You can source these through Amazon below:
1) Life Extension brand NAC https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine-Vegetarian-Capsules/dp/B07KR3LZNJ/ref=sr_1_10?crid=DIOFIQOR5ETV&keywords=nac&qid=1662775943&sprefix=nac%2Caps%2C674&sr=8-10
--
My Recipe (close to the Baylor Study)- take the Easy Recipe twice daily (8 NAC daily) This will provide slightly less NAC than the Baylor study and more glycine.
--
In the study, older adults were about halfway improved toward younger adults in two weeks, and that has been my experience. The rest of the improvement was evident when the subjects were retested at four months.
__________
-------
Conflicts of interest: none
Please sign up and share with your friends.
.
Comments ()