A study published earlier this year found that "high dietary choline and betaine intakes are significantly associated with favorable body composition in humans."
Higher Dietary Choline and Betaine Intakes Are Associated with Better Body Composition in the Adult Population of Newfoundland, Canada
We already know that betaine is a very useful supplement that has become a staple alongside supplements like creatine for many people on this forum. There are studies showing increases in body composition (increases in LBM AND decreases in body fat):
http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-10-39.pdf
reps performed and total bench press volume (and muscle oxygen consumption:
The effects of chronic betaine supplementation on exercise performance, skeletal muscle oxygen saturation and associated biochemical parameters in ... - PubMed - NCBI
and squats (within one week):
Effect of betaine supplementation on power performance and fatigue
vertical jump:
Ergogenic effects of betaine supplementation on strength and power performance | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
and power:
Effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
Back to the new study:
Women:
Low: 37mg/day
Medium: 87mg/day
High: 201mg/day
Men:
Low: 39mg/day
Medium: 88mg/day
High: 217mg/day
As you can see, even the high betaine intake is much less than the 2.5g used in many studies on resistance trained individuals.
Yes, this was "only" an association study, but we already have multiple studies showing that betaine supplementation can benefit body composition. What this study provides that the others don't is a much larger sample size. While this is not a double-blind placebo-controlled study, it was "a large population based cross-sectional study" with over 3,000 subjects. Between this larger association study and the handful of more controlled studies with smaller sample sizes, we can get a better picture of the potential benefits of betaine (specifically improved body composition; increased LBM and reduced fat).
In my opinion, betaine has earned its spot among staple supplements for athletes and gym goers alongside other proven ingredients like creatine monohydrate. In addition to the body composition and performance benefits of betaine, there is also research suggesting betaine can be beneficial for the liver:
Betaine, ethanol, and the liver: a review. - PubMed - NCBI
and "is an important nutrient for the prevention of chronic disease"
Betaine in human nutrition. - PubMed - NCBI
In conclusion, betaine appears to be both an effective ergogen (capable of improving body composition and performance), as well as a generally healthy ingredient with a variety of benefits for more than just athletes/lifters. Any time you have an affordable ingredient that is not only "effective" (helps us get bigger and/or stronger), but also generally healthy and even god for you, I feel it deserves a spot in your supplement arsenal (for me these are creatine monohydrate, betaine, and taurine, all of which, and then some, I get from PowerMax XT).
For people who aren't already taking betaine, there are several products that contain full doses of betaine, as well as several other "staple" ingredients such as creatine, including:
-Performax Labs PowerMax XT
-Olympus Labs Tr1umph
-PES Ergonine
-iForce Finish Line
Higher Dietary Choline and Betaine Intakes Are Associated with Better Body Composition in the Adult Population of Newfoundland, Canada
We already know that betaine is a very useful supplement that has become a staple alongside supplements like creatine for many people on this forum. There are studies showing increases in body composition (increases in LBM AND decreases in body fat):
http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-10-39.pdf
reps performed and total bench press volume (and muscle oxygen consumption:
The effects of chronic betaine supplementation on exercise performance, skeletal muscle oxygen saturation and associated biochemical parameters in ... - PubMed - NCBI
and squats (within one week):
Effect of betaine supplementation on power performance and fatigue
vertical jump:
Ergogenic effects of betaine supplementation on strength and power performance | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
and power:
Effect of betaine supplementation on cycling sprint performance | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
Back to the new study:
The study also stated:A total of 3214 subjects from the CODING (Complex Disease in Newfoundland population: Environment and Genetics) study were assessed. Dietary choline and betaine intakes were computed from the Willett Food Frequency questionnaire. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry following a 12-hour fast. Major confounding factors including age, sex, total calorie intake and physical activity level were controlled in all analyses.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first large cross-sectional study specifically designed to investigate the association between dietary choline, betaine intakes and DXA-derived body composition. We found significant associations of higher dietary choline and betaine intakes with better body composition profile (lower %BF, higher %LM).
The beneficial effect of dietary choline and betaine intakes on obesity was demonstrated in every obesity measurement in both women and men...
As for what was considered low, medium, and high betaine intake:dietary betaine intake (mg/kg/day) was significantly lower by 13.3%, 33.0%, 29.7%, and 41.7% in female overweight, female obese, male overweight and male obese groups, respectively, compared to normal weight groups.
Women:
Low: 37mg/day
Medium: 87mg/day
High: 201mg/day
Men:
Low: 39mg/day
Medium: 88mg/day
High: 217mg/day
As you can see, even the high betaine intake is much less than the 2.5g used in many studies on resistance trained individuals.
Yes, this was "only" an association study, but we already have multiple studies showing that betaine supplementation can benefit body composition. What this study provides that the others don't is a much larger sample size. While this is not a double-blind placebo-controlled study, it was "a large population based cross-sectional study" with over 3,000 subjects. Between this larger association study and the handful of more controlled studies with smaller sample sizes, we can get a better picture of the potential benefits of betaine (specifically improved body composition; increased LBM and reduced fat).
In my opinion, betaine has earned its spot among staple supplements for athletes and gym goers alongside other proven ingredients like creatine monohydrate. In addition to the body composition and performance benefits of betaine, there is also research suggesting betaine can be beneficial for the liver:
Betaine, ethanol, and the liver: a review. - PubMed - NCBI
and "is an important nutrient for the prevention of chronic disease"
Betaine in human nutrition. - PubMed - NCBI
In conclusion, betaine appears to be both an effective ergogen (capable of improving body composition and performance), as well as a generally healthy ingredient with a variety of benefits for more than just athletes/lifters. Any time you have an affordable ingredient that is not only "effective" (helps us get bigger and/or stronger), but also generally healthy and even god for you, I feel it deserves a spot in your supplement arsenal (for me these are creatine monohydrate, betaine, and taurine, all of which, and then some, I get from PowerMax XT).
For people who aren't already taking betaine, there are several products that contain full doses of betaine, as well as several other "staple" ingredients such as creatine, including:
-Performax Labs PowerMax XT
-Olympus Labs Tr1umph
-PES Ergonine
-iForce Finish Line