The Best Anti-Aging Advice I Wish I Knew
In a Nutshell
Glycine deficiency—caused by modern diets lacking collagen-rich nose-to-tail animal parts—shortfalls us by ~10g daily (body makes 3g, diet provides 1.5-2g), despite the body triaging it for critical uses like heme production, glutathione, GABA, bile salts, immune regulation, and structural tissues (skin, bones, arteries). Chronic shortages drive inflammation, arthritis, poor sleep, weak bones/tendons, leaky gut, and premature aging. Fix by consuming collagen (food or powder) with vitamin C, mimicking ancestral eating.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
I am 61 years old, and I want to give you the best advice that I wish I knew in my 40s. Most people don't know this. It has nothing to do with avoiding starch, sugar, or seed oil, or missing a workout. It's a nutrient deficiency, classified as non-essential, but actually very essential. There's no RDA for it. Based on hardcore data, we need 15 g per day. The body makes 3 g. In the diet, most people get 1.5-2 g. This leaves us short by 10 g every day. The nutrient is glycine.
Glycine is classified as non-essential merely because the body makes it. Any amino acid the body makes is considered non-essential. They never asked how much you actually need.
You don't get much glycine from meat, eggs, fish. Most glycine comes from collagen. Ancestors consumed animals nose-to-tail. Now we eat tender meat with little collagen: an average tender steak has 1-3% collagen. 30% of body protein is collagen, but we're not getting it.
Glycine is a foundational amino acid, the smallest, oldest (3.8 billion years ago). Dr. Alan Jackson from University of Southampton states there are 20 amino acids and only three should be called non-essential; glycine is not one of them. 95% of adults are chronically short on glycine.
The body triages nutrients, allocating to most important survival purposes first.
- Red blood cells: Glycine helps build heme (protein in red blood cells) to carry oxygen.
- DNA and RNA: Blueprints for cell reproduction.
If environment is off, everything struggles—like a polluted fish tank where fish gets sick despite best food. The body runs on 10 signals: insulin, cortisol, inflammation, sleep quality, gut function. One signal is more broken; fix it first. Free 2-minute quiz finds which signal holds you back. Click link in description.
- Bile salts: Need glycine to make them. Break down fats, extract fat-soluble nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K1, K2, omega-3s), prevent small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
- Glutathione: Liver antioxidant for breaking down toxins (coffee, alcohol, junk food, poisons, preservatives). Triage gray area; may not get enough if deficient.
- GABA: Neurotransmitter, brake pads for nervous system, helps sleep, reduces anxiety, wired feeling. Explains hyperactivity in kids.
Few children eat nose-to-tail (cartilage, fish skin, chicken skin, bone broth).
- Immune system: Macrophages (front-line defense) release glycine to turn off inflammation when they die. Insufficient glycine = prolonged inflammation, leading to medications.
Lower priority (less fortified):
- Skin: Premature aging.
- Fascia/collagen: Loss of body shape, sagging.
- Tendons: Injury-prone under stress.
- Cartilage: Joint degeneration (not just wear/tear), hip replacements.
- Bones: Most bone protein is collagen.
In high school, bones very fragile due to junk food diet: fractures, injuries, chronic inflammation. At 28, severe arthritis in fingers. Severe sleep problems, got sick often. No collagen, no nose-to-tail, no organ meats—just meat and eggs.
- Arteries: Almost all collagen; epidemic of high blood pressure, clogging.
- Gut lining: Bone broth/collagen heals leaky gut.
- Ligaments: Connect bone-to-bone; speaker sprained ankles often due to weak ligaments.
- Hair, nails: Need glycine.
Collagen powder benefits all these, even if not felt immediately (immune, tendons, detox, bile).
Modern diet doesn't match ancestral nose-to-tail eating. We prefer tender meats without gristle/collagen. Meat, eggs, fish low in glycine (high in other amino acids). Even carnivores eating mostly steak (no nose-to-tail) deficient. Vegans, kids, older people deficient.
Recommend more collagen from food or high-quality powder (in coffee/shake), with co-factor vitamin C (collagen doesn't work without it). Not recommending glycine supplement specifically.
If taking collagen powder, it's doing nothing unless also doing something else—shared in linked video.
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