Recent scientific breakthroughs have sparked a surge in the popularity of TMG supplements. This post covers the latest studies showing how TMG can enhance three key aspects of health, addresses an important safety concern, and examines dosage considerations.
TMG, also known as Betaine, has been shown to play a role in muscle strength. Muscle strength is crucial not only for feeling strong today but also for long-term health. Research suggests that higher muscle strength is associated with lower all-cause death rates.
In other words, people with better muscle strength tend to live longer and have fewer health problems, especially heart-related issues.
Clinical observations consistently show that frail older adults are far more susceptible to losing mobility and independence. They often struggle to recover from simple things like minor falls or infections. In contrast, older adults who prioritise muscle strength through regular exercise stay more active, recover faster from illness, and maintain their independence for much longer.
However, as we age, muscle strength naturally declines, and for men, testosterone levels start dropping by about 1% per year after the age of 35. This makes it even harder to maintain muscle mass and strength as we grow older. But this is where TMG may come in.
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TMG and Exercise Performance
TMG, which stands for trimethylglycine, is a compound found in foods like beets, spinach, and wheat bran. While the exact mechanisms are not fully understood, several theories have been proposed for how TMG works:
- It may help the body produce more creatine, which is crucial for short bursts of energy, like weight lifting.
- It might increase nitric oxide, which improves blood flow.
- It could enhance how the body recycles ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which provides energy to cells during intense activities.
- It may also help with muscle protein synthesis, which is essential for building and maintaining muscle.
But what does the human evidence show?
The research on TMG and muscle performance has evolved over time. In 2017, a review of seven studies found that only two showed improvements in muscle performance, while the other five did not see much difference. So, why the mixed results?
The studies that showed benefits involved participants doing more intense, high-powered resistance training. In those trials, TMG made a significant difference. This suggests that TMG works best when combined with intense exercise, especially in situations where muscles are under high demand.
Since 2017, more research has expanded the understanding of TMG. In 2021, a study gave TMG to professional soccer players for 14 weeks. The players showed improvements in their one-rep max (the most weight they could lift in one go), their VO2 max (which measures how much oxygen the body can use during exercise), and their sprinting performance compared to those who took a placebo.
TMG and Testosterone
In addition to improving exercise performance, TMG also appears to support testosterone levels. In the same soccer player study, the group that took TMG saw an increase in their testosterone levels compared to the placebo group.
This effect was replicated in a 2022 study, where both the TMG and placebo groups did intense workouts. However, the TMG group saw significant gains in leg press and bench press performance, along with increased testosterone levels.
In 2023, another study tested TMG on people doing CrossFit training. After supplementing with TMG, CrossFit performance improved by about 8%, and testosterone levels went up by 7% compared to the placebo group.
Overall, the evidence suggests that TMG supplements can improve both muscle performance and testosterone levels.
TMG and Brain Health
There is another intriguing potential benefit of TMG: improving cognitive performance and possibly reducing the risk of dementia.
In 2020, a large review of the risk factors for Alzheimer's disease found that high levels of homocysteine — an amino acid — were strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease. TMG has been shown to lower homocysteine levels by donating methyl groups, which help convert homocysteine into another compound called methionine.
In other words, TMG may reduce a risk factor for Alzheimer's by lowering homocysteine levels. While this is not a guaranteed way to prevent Alzheimer's, it is a promising area of research, especially when combined with Omega-3 and B-vitamins.
In a 2019 study on Omega-3, data showed that people with low homocysteine levels who took Omega-3 supplements experienced a 7.1% improvement in brain performance and a 22.3% reduction in dementia symptoms.
However, for people with high homocysteine, Omega-3 did not help at all. This suggests that homocysteine may play a critical role in brain health.
More research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn, but the potential of using TMG supplements to lower homocysteine levels and reduce dementia risk is an active and exciting area of research.
Why B-Vitamins Matter
Another way to lower homocysteine is through adequate B-vitamin intake. In the large COSMOS trials, researchers found that after two years, people who took multivitamin and mineral supplements — including B-vitamins — showed improvements in cognition and memory.
This adds another piece to the puzzle, suggesting that healthy micronutrient levels are crucial for brain health. A nutritious diet is always the foundation, with leafy greens, beans, lentils, and chickpeas being excellent natural sources of B-vitamins. However, dietary surveys consistently show that many adults fall short of optimal B-vitamin intake, making supplementation a practical consideration for some people.
Research supports the use of a comprehensive multivitamin rather than a B-vitamin complex alone, given the positive results from the COSMOS studies. However, most multivitamin supplements on the market use doses that are too high or contain forms of vitamins that are not ideal for absorption.
TMG works synergistically with methylated B-vitamins (B12 and folate) on the same homocysteine-lowering pathway. At higher doses — around 2.5 g/day combined with exercise — betaine has also been shown to improve strength and body composition beyond exercise alone (Cholewa et al., JISSN, 2013; Arazi et al., JISSN, 2021).
Safety Concerns with TMG
While TMG has many potential benefits, there is one safety concern to be aware of: higher doses of TMG (around 4 grams or more) can increase total cholesterol levels.
For this reason, research attention has focused on lower doses — typically 500 mg to 2.5 g — where the cholesterol signal has not been observed, allowing the potential performance and homocysteine-lowering benefits to be captured without this downside.
From the MicroVitamin range
MicroVitamin includes TMG (Betaine Anhydrous) at 500 mg per serving — a dose level where research has not shown the cholesterol increase associated with higher-dose use — alongside methylated B12 and folate to support the same homocysteine-lowering pathway. MicroVitamin.
TMG and NMN: Is NMN Worth It?
Some NMN supplement companies suggest taking TMG alongside NMN. However, a review of the human research on NMN shows mixed results — there is not yet a clear, consistent benefit from NMN supplements alone.
For people taking NMN and TMG together, the improvements in exercise performance and recovery may actually be attributable to TMG rather than NMN.
Multiple studies have now demonstrated how TMG can improve exercise performance and support testosterone levels. The same cannot be said for NMN at this point. For anyone weighing whether to spend on NMN supplements, the evidence base for TMG is currently considerably stronger.
For more on the role of homocysteine in brain health and the evidence on Omega-3, see the detailed post on Omega-3 and cognitive performance. When used in the right context, Omega-3 appears to play a key role in improving brain function and may help reduce the risk of dementia.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772850/
- https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/93/7/2737/2598963
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfessional/#betaine
- https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2017/08000/effects_of_betaine_supplementation_on_muscle.35.aspx
- https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2017/08000/effects_of_betaine_supplementation_on_muscle.35.aspx
- https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-021-00464-y
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7934563/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9116406/
- https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3900/91/1/26
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7569385/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3610948/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30958356/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002916523663427?via%3Dihub
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31809615/
