Tier 2 — strong

Effects of betaine on body composition, performance, and homocysteine thiolactone

Jason M Cholewa, Monika Wyszczelska-Rokiel, Rafal Glowacki, Hieronim Jakubowski, Tracey Matthews, Richard Wood, Stuart As Craig, Vincent Paolone
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2013 10(1):39

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 23967897
PubMed Central
PMC3844502
DOI
10.1186/1550-2783-10-39
Funding
Funding was not specified in the indexed record or accessible funding metadata.
Competing interests
Reported disclosure: Competing interestsDuPont Nutrition & Health (Tarrytown, NY) provided funding for this project. SASC is employed by DuPont Nutrition & Health. All other authors declare they have no competing interests. All authors involved collected, analyzed, or interpreted results from this study. Publication of these findings should not be viewed as endorsement by the editorial board of the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized controlled trial
ModelHuman participants
Sample23 experienced strength-trained men
InterventionBetaine 2.5 g/day versus placebo alongside training
Duration6 weeks
EndpointsBody composition; Strength; Training volume; Homocysteine thiolactone

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2013, this source examined exercise performance and body composition. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Sample/model: 23 experienced strength-trained men. The exposure or intervention was Betaine 2.5 g/day versus placebo alongside training. Follow-up or treatment period: 6 weeks.

Selected body-composition, arm-size and bench-training-volume measures favored betaine. Maximal strength did not differ; the jump-power result was a nonsignificant trend.

Small sample; body composition was estimated with skinfolds. The power trend at P=0.07 is not a statistically confirmed benefit.

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Key findings

  • Selected body-composition, arm-size and bench-training-volume measures favored betaine.
  • Maximal strength did not differ; the jump-power result was a nonsignificant trend.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Body composition; Strength; Training volume; Homocysteine thiolactone.
  • The result applies to the tested exposure: Betaine 2.5 g/day versus placebo alongside training; 6 weeks.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Small sample; body composition was estimated with skinfolds. The power trend at P=0.07 is not a statistically confirmed benefit.
  • An individual controlled trial must be interpreted alongside its comparator, sample size, endpoint selection and independent replication. It does not validate a different commercial formulation or a general longevity claim.
  • Source basis: Accessible full-text extract plus indexed bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology