Review of Betine

[WIZARD6787]

Betaine -- also called betaine anhydrous, or trimethylglycine (TMG) -- is a substance that's made in the body. It's involved in liver function, cellular reproduction, and helping make carnitine. It also helps the body metabolize an amino acid called homocysteine.

I often read about homocysteine yet do not read anything about what to do about it. Much like I often read what is important is B12 at the cellular level. The most current treatment is based on getting B12 in the blood stream at one mg every other day and hope things work out.

I read what was available on homocysteine. One thing I read was a case study in China where a family was treated for Functional B12 Deficiency and not simply B12 deficiency. Thank you to whoever posted it.

The treatment was 5mg of hydroxocobalamin a day. B6 and Betine. The treatment was then reduced and no development changes were experienced. Go figure.

I assumed that the treatment protocol was designed by testing and homocysteine and B6 was tested. See BNF or B12.org for testing for Functional B12 deficiency. (Second Tier.)

I was all ready self treaing for B6 deficiency to reduce pain from Neurological Neuropathy. I checked out Betine and decided to self treat with 2 g Betine twice a day. I continued for 90 days +-.

The result was that I no longer experienced the pimple like "bumps" on my face that I used to experience. It is not knowable if the Betine was the cause of improvement or just the improvement from large amounts of B12. Nor is it knowble what other effects the Betine had.

I am now tapering off and monitoring to see if there is any change. I hope to go to zero.

[ACritical]

Interesting! ….You read about a case study in China where a family was treated for Functional B12 Deficiency and not simply B12 deficiency. Thank you to whoever posted it…… Would you be able to tell who posted this and if there is a reference for this? ♥️

[WIZARD6787 in reply to ACritical]

No I did not log it in my notes. I did a search and did no happen to find it. ♥️

[ACritical in reply to WIZARD6787]

Fair enough. I read a lot and not always log the website for my own reference . I might find it somewhere… and will let you know . It’s interesting …

[jade_s in reply to ACritical]

I did a search on google scholar but because i don't know which paper you mean, i could not easily find it. scholar.google.com/scholar?...

There is also this abstract but I'd have to do some more digging to get the full paper. Let me know if you want me to track it down. pn.bmj.com/content/9/1/37

Betaine is often used in B12D due to inborn errors of cobalamin metabolism. It helps to reduce homocysteine from what I understand. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1... Very interesting that it works for you! Found this paper on betaine ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... and this article mountsinai.org/health-libra...

I used to take Betaine HCl for digestion but that was pre-b12. Not sure if that form also works. Do you take that or TMG?

(Reply meant for both of you )

[Technoid in reply to jade_s]

Nerd stuff on Betaine : TMG(Trimethylglycine) was the first Betaine to be discovered and at that point Betaine and TMG were used interchangeably. They are still sometimes used interchangeably although there are other Betaines such as

* Cocamidopropyl betaine

* Mesomeric betaine

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri...

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bet...

[jade_s in reply to Technoid]

Thanks for that! I was really cracking my head against "betaine" when reading all those papers a while back.

[helvella in reply to Technoid]

Also Betaine HCL - often used by people with seemingly low stomach acidity.

[WIZARD6787 in reply to jade_s]

I take TMG. Just lucky. I thought Betine was simply Betine.

[Technoid]

Methionine and Folate Cycle, Choline Oxidation Pathway and Transsulfuration Pathway.

.

[Technoid in reply to Technoid]

In the above you can see there are two potential ways to bring homocysteine down, either via B12/Methionine Synthase in the Folate Cycle or via TMG (shown as Betaine) in the Choline Oxidation pathway. When errors of cobalamin metabolism are involved, the best way to quickly reduce homocysteine is to try the other pathway and supplement TMG, as you saw in the paper jade_s .

[jade_s in reply to Technoid]

That makes sense now. I never dug in deep enough to understand the betaine link. Thank you!

[Yervaud]

I’ve taken Betaine HCI for years. Even before B12 deficiency diagnosed during pandemic. I was told by a non professional health adviser my stomach issues meant I needed more not less acid in stomach for better digestion. PPIs so beloved of doctors don’t help us in the long run

Also now taking the Other Betaine (TMG) which does seem to help inflammation. And B6 with B12 injection. I think you had mentioned both before Wizard? Or do I misremember.

[Bellabab in reply to Yervaud]

What is the difference between TMG and betaine HCl?

Betaine Anhydrous - TMG - Health Supplements - PureBulk, Inc.

Betaine Anhydrous (TMG) vs.

While both forms are effective for lowering high homocysteine levels, betaine hydrochloride (HCl) acts as a digestive aid and supplemental source of hydrochloric acid for people who have a deficiency in stomach acid production. The anhydrous form does not include this benefit.

[Technoid in reply to Bellabab]

"Betaine HCl is the hydrochloride salt of betaine, a different but important supplemental compound. It is important to distinguish between betaine HCl and betaine (or trimethylglycine (TMG)) as these agents have very different chemistry and clinical indications. The non-acidic betaine is used primarily as a methyl donor, especially to treat homocystinuria (for which it is approved as a prescription drug). In contrast, betaine HCl readily releases H+ in an aqueous environment (approximately 0.65 mmol/100 mg)"

from

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[WIZARD6787 in reply to Technoid]

Thank you for that!