Here is the response I finally got from Cytosport:
Danny,
Thank you for your email.
There have been recent inquiries corresponding to the ingredient
Glycocyamine in our Original Muscle Milk formula.
The use of Glycocyamine with Betaine was based on a study published by Dr.
Henry Borsook, in the Annals of Western Medicine and Surgery. Taking
Glycocyamine alone may deplete Methyl groups in the body. Therefore, it is
suggested to take Trimethylglycine (TMG) or Betaine with Glycocyamine to
provide the body with a large quantity of these needed methyl donors. One
of the uses of these Methyl donors is to metabolize and detoxify the body of
homocysteine. This is important because elevated levels of homocysteine may
be linked to heart disease. Betaine Anhydrous is coupled with Glycocyamine
in our product to increase the amount of Methyl donors available in the
body, to increase our body's natural Creatine production and to lower
homocysteine levels. Glycocyamine plus Betaine Anhydrous is what we refer
to as Creatine GCC.
Searching the web you can find articles both pro and con in regards to
Glycocyamine. Bodybuilding.com posts an article by Derek Cornelius,
reviewing products that contain Glycocyamine, and supporting the use of this
ingredient when formulated with Betaine in a 4:1 ratio.
Unfortunately, some individuals and organizations have taken information and
used it to specifically target Muscle Milk to try and raise doubts about its
safe use.
To date, millions of servings of Muscle Milk have been sold and safely
consumed. There is not one adverse report from our happy, satisfied users.
Several versions of Muscle Milk are currently available on the market. If
Glycocyamine/Betaine is of concern to you, please look for the Muscle Milk
ready-to-drink version, Muscle Milk n' Oats, Muscle Milk Light or our Muscle
Milk Collegiate products which do not contain these ingredients. If you
have not tried these products, please let us know and we would be happy to
send you a sample.
We do take your concerns and comments seriously and will continue to
research this issue further.
Best Regards,
Stasha Rice
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Cytosport - Home
4795 Industrial Way
Benicia, CA 94510
888-298-6629
707-748-5732 fax
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication, and any documents, files or
previous e-mail messages attached to it, may contain confidential
information that is legally privileged. Do not read this e-mail if you are
not the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, or a
person responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of any of
the information contained in or attached to this transmission is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please
immediately notify us by e-mail, forwarding this to the e-mail address above
or by telephone at (707) 751--3942, and destroy the original transmission
and its attachments without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you.