Betaine Q&A

What's the difference between betaine HCl and TMG?

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated November 29, 2018

I recently received this question regarding TMG and betaine HCl:

Hi Jim,

What are the specifics regarding betaine? I purchased betaine HCl, then realized in an article that you recommend TMG. Do they perform seperate processes in the body, or are they much the same?

Just wondering whether I should buy some TMG as well for my pre- and post-workout shake and just add a couple grams of the HCl to my NO stack, as it appears to be beetroot extract. Or whether the HCl will be fine for my pre/post and not worry about adding TMG.

Cheers!

My answer:

Great question. There's a lot of confusion regarding TMG and betaine HCl. TMG stands for trimethylglcyine, which is the chemical name for betaine. TMG is made typically from beets and is sometimes sold under the names anhydrous betaine or betaine monohydrate.

Betaine HCl stands for betaine hydrochloride and is basically beatine (TMG) with hydrochloric acid. Betaine HCl tends to be synthesized in the lab, whereas TMG is usually derived naturally from beets. There are exceptions to this, as Vitamin Shoppe claims that their betaine HCl is made naturally from beets. I'm not sure if that is mislabeling or if they in fact make it from beets. However, due to the hydrochloric acid, betaine HCl is very acidic. In fact, it's most often sold as a digestive aid due to the acidity and is actually found in Vitamin Shoppe's "Digestive Health" section, whereas TMG is found in the "Antioxidant" section.

Because of the acidity, betaine HCl is often difficult to take in large doses. Plus, most of the research on betaine's benefits have been done with TMG, not betaine HCl. Although the hydrochloric acid may help to enhance the uptake of the betaine, much like it helps the uptake in creatine of Con-Cret (creatine hydrochloride), there's no research to support this yet (as there is research on Con-Cret). There's also no research showing that this form can lead to the major benefits associated with betaine. That said, as long as you can tolerate betaine HCl in the proper dose, it should work just fine. In the future, purchase TMG (aka anhydrous betaine or betaine monohydrate).

For more details on the benefits of betaine/TMG, read my Betaine Benefits article.

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