The amino acid glycine can help prevent degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis and arthrosis, according to a new Spanish study. In addition, the study found that glycine supplementation may be required by most people because of the body’s limited ability to synthesize it.

Glycine, which occurs naturally in fish, meat, and dairy products, is used by the body to make collagen and cartilage. The breakdown of cartilage, which leaves bones in joints exposed, is the hallmark of degenerative diseases. There is no cure for such diseases, and the only current treatments are painkillers, which do nothing to repair damaged cartilage.

The new study, conducted by the University of Granada and the Cellular Metabolism Institute in Tenerife, analyzed the effect of glycine supplementation on a group of 600 volunteers, average age 45, suffering from degenerative joint pain brought on by osteoporosis, arthrosis, or physical injuries. The study showed some improvement in all cases. Study leader Dr. Patricia de Paz Lugo said, “We concluded that many degenerative diseases such as arthrosis can be treated as deficiency diseases due to the lack of glycine, since supplementing a diet with this amino acid leads to a notable improvement in symptomology without the need to take painkillers.”

The researchers believe glycine should be considered an essential amino acid, and that many degenerative diseases are in fact deficiency diseases brought on by the lack of glycine. They concluded that a daily 10 gram dose of glycine divided into two doses of five grams in morning and evening will lead to improvement in pain over a period of time ranging from two weeks to four months.