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TMG

Supplement methyl donor heart & metabolicfitness
Aka: trimethylglycine, betaine anhydrous
Brands seen in Singapore: Life Extension, NOW Foods, Swanson Vitamins, Nutricost, Vitamatic
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Maximal and lower-body strength · heart data is thin
Take with
Sold plain in SG — 500 to 1,000 mg, no co-ingredient
Studied for
Trials ran at least 7 days of daily use
Pros & cons
Pros
  • 17 studies, 317 people pooled for exercise outcomes
  • Maximal strength effect size 0.47 in that pooling
  • 7 days was enough in the pooled trials
Cons
  • No effect on upper body, sprint power or endurance
  • Inflammation pooling: not enough evidence to conclude
  • Only 21% of the pooled exercise sample was female
Sources
  1. Effects of chronic betaine supplementation on exercise performance: systematic review and meta-analysis (Journal of Sports Sciences 2024; PMID 39514262) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “included 17 studies with 317 participants (21% female) … a significant effect size of 0.47 (95% CI 0.04 to 0.89) for maximal strength … No significant effects were found for upper body strength, cycling sprint power, or muscular endurance”
  2. Journal of Sports Sciences 2024 meta-analysis — conclusion and minimum duration · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “betaine supplementation for at least 7 days significantly enhances muscular strength, especially lower body strength, and shows potential in improving vertical jumping performance”
  3. Effects of betaine supplementation on inflammatory markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (Int J Food Sci Nutr 2023; PMID 37733077) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “A total of 6 RCTs with 7 intervention trials involving 277 participants were included … The present meta-analysis does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that betaine supplementation improved the inflammation state.”
  4. Dietary Choline and Betaine Are Not Associated With the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies (Journal of Diabetes Research 2026; PMC12767234) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The pooled analysis of three studies, with 65,725 subjects, indicated no significant link between dietary betaine and T2D incidence … The certainty of the evidence was rated very low”
  5. Effects of betaine-containing nutrients on homocysteine levels and glucose-lipid metabolism in overweight and obese patients with hyperhomocysteinemia (Nutricion Hospitalaria 2026; PMID 41960847) — design · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “102 included subjects were allocated to an observation group (n = 52, given betaine-containing nutrients) or a control group (n = 50, routinely administered with vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid)”
  6. Nutricion Hospitalaria 2026 trial — reported between-group differences at eight weeks · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “the betaine group achieved greater improvements in FBG, TG, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), Hcy, and AIP”
  7. Effects of Dietary Betaine on Growth Performance, Serum Metabolites, and Meat Quality of Pigs: A Meta-Analysis (Animals 2026; PMID 42353492) — cited only for the biochemical descriptor; the outcome data are in swine · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Betaine, functioning as a key methyl donor and organic osmolyte, is widely used to improve growth performance and carcass characteristics of swine.”
  8. Exercise-mimicking effects of betaine in chronic disease prevention and management (Frontiers in Nutrition 2025; PMC12834772) — cited only for dietary sources · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Betaine, a natural compound found in beets, wheat germ, shellfish, and mammalian tissues”
  9. HSA Singapore - Guidelines on Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients in HS and TM, GL-CHPB-1-012 Rev. No. 001 (October 2025), clause 1.3 + Annexes A and B · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The objective of this guideline is to highlight the substances of concern when used in HS and TM and is not meant to be an exhaustive list”
  10. iHerb Singapore — TMG Trimethylglycine (Betaine Anhydrous) category (Gut Health), default order · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “TMG Trimethylglycine (Betaine Anhydrous) … 1 - 24 of 24 results … Life Extension, TMG, 500 mg … NOW Foods, TMG, 1,000 mg … Swanson Vitamins, TMG, 500 mg … Nutricost, TMG, 750 mg … Vitamatic, TMG, 1,000 mg”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.