Dietary supplements nowadays do not have to be strictly related to bodybuilding.People use various solutions to help their body as much as they can.However, it is sometimes worth to return to this classic definition and become familiar with products such as betaine.
Betaine – what it is
Betaine (trimethylglycine) is an organic osmolyte that we find in a variety of foods, like
- spinach
- beetroot
- whole grains
There have been many studies on possible effects of taking the supplement with various effects, mainly on animals.We have the opportunity to meet with information indicating that the effect is quite impressive and at the other hand we have studies which say that effect is completely missing.For this reason, there is some uncertainty as to whether betaine is really effective for trainees.An interesting thing, however, may be that trimethylglycine does not indicate that it is effective only when it is taken by non-physically active people.One of the studies with overweight people has confirmed this.For this reason, let’s focus here specifically on one of the tests, which tried to confirm whether this supplement is mainly suitable for training people.
Betaine – does it affect the composition of our body and performance?
A specific study aimed to check whether long-term betaine intake can affect our body composition, performance and homocysteine thiolactone (HCTL) for experienced and trained individuals.To check this, specific participants were selected and randomly assigned to the supplement or placebo group and a double-blind kind of test was used.Patients underwent 6-week supplementation with trimethylglycine or placebo in the same form (gelatin capsules).The skin folds and their circumference were measured before and after the examination.In addition, the subjects have completed the stress test protocol.
Result
The effect of supplementation after 6 weeks was visible in the form of a significant increase in lean mass and a decrease in fat mass when taking betaine compared to placebo.This result is particularly important because, as mentioned above, trimethylglycine did not indicate such results in the case of human tests.Why is this so?
Probable explanation
An important difference between this study and the previous ones is the fact that in this case exercises were an important part of the test, which creates the hypothesis that betaine supplementation was the most effective when it used next to appropriate training and works best for people who have experience in this matter (bodybuilders).
Summary
The above study certainly presented betaine positively.They indicate that the supplement is able to improve
- body composition
- muscle mass
- training capability
In addition, the weakened HCTL growth may seek to improve the power, but not the strength of our muscles.It is worth bearing in mind, however, that according to research, betaine works best for exercising people, it can also be an ideal dietary supplement, especially in the case of resistance training, in which conditions betaine supplementation was checked in studies.
