Tag Archive for: glycine

Long COVID and Possible Solutions

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I had a talk with someone who had a question about a skin condition, something that’s been a minor issue but suddenly got much worse. I happened to mention that sometimes when you deal with the flu or COVID, your immune system is weakened and it can impact other conditions; people report their symptoms began to get worse after a bout of COVID, almost to the day after recovering. Cause and effect? No way to know for sure. But long COVID is a reality; long COVID is a smorgasbord of illnesses that have been somehow triggered by COVID.

Coincidentally, an article was published on the development of treatments for long COVID. While there isn’t complete agreement exactly why it happens to some but not all those who’ve had COVID, physicians and scientists are looking at combinations of medications and supplements for possible solutions. While the article focused on using the antiviral Paxlovid, I was interested in the nutrient approach—specifically, the nutrients that focus on helping the mitochondria. Whatever else may be going on in long COVID, fatigue seems to be the worst side effect of the long COVID symptoms. That has to include an impact on the mitochondria regardless of whether it’s neurological or hormonal or even genetic in nature.

While other supplements were discussed, my experience is with N-acetyl cysteine and the amino acid glycine. Research has shown that when taken together, they help with repair and recycling of mitochondria. The typical amounts are about 600 mg of each per day; I’ve taken it regularly for a few years and I’ve noticed a difference in energy levels. Talk with your physician if you have long COVID or just have fatigue. There are also meds being tested for long COVID. The rest you know: eat less, eat better, move more.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Paxlovid, Vitamin Supplements Show Promise With Long COVID – Medscape – July 29, 2024.

Are Collagen Supplements Effective?

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I spent the past weekend with a few thousand of my closest friends, some in person and others via live broadcast; that always means I get some good questions, including one about collagen I couldn’t answer.

A healthcare professional had told one attendee that collagen supplements were broken down into individual amino acids before being absorbed, as proteins are from any source, thus he was wasting his money buying collagen supplements. I decided that the answer could benefit everyone, so this week we’ll cover collagen basics.

Collagen is a protein and therefore is made up of amino acids. We can manufacture it, but just like other characteristics of aging, we make less as we get older. Collagen provides structure to all connective tissue such as skin, tendons, bones, and ligaments. We notice it most in our skin. Crepe skin? Smile lines around the eyes? Those come courtesy of reduced collagen. There are close to 30 types of collagen that have been discovered, but the most prevalent are types I–IV. Of that, over 90% are type I.

Collagen is made of repeating sequences of tripeptides or three amino acid blocks; they form three chains that twist to make a triple helix. The primary amino acid sequence of collagen is glycine-proline-X or glycine-X-hydroxyproline where X can be any of the other 17 amino acids. Glycine is the amino acid with the smallest structure; that allows the collagen triple helix to twist tightly and thus adds strength to the structure wherever it’s used, including the skin.

That’s the structure of collagen. On Saturday, we’ll answer the absorption question and look at how to use collagen most effectively. In tomorrow night’s Insider conference call, I’ll cover collagen more in depth as well as comment on the recent United States Preventive Services Taskforce on vitamin supplementation. If you become an Insider before 8 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow, you can join me live to get your questions answered.

In the meantime, maybe you should just be proud of those smile lines—you’ve earned them, after all.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: StatPearls. Biochemistry, Collagen Synthesis. Marlyn Wu; Kelly Cronin; Jonathan S. Crane. 2021. PMID: 29939531