Glycine vs. Niacinamide in Compounded Semaglutide
Glycine vs. Niacinamide: The Hidden Support Players That Make Semaglutide Work Better
By Jessica Veloza, APRN, FNP-C – Proactive Wellness, LLC
When patients start working with me on semaglutide for weight loss or metabolic healing, I always like to remind them of something simple but powerful: the medication is just one piece of the puzzle. Yes, semaglutide does a fantastic job reducing appetite, improving blood sugar control, and helping you feel more in control of cravings. But your body does even better when we support the systems that semaglutide interacts with—your gut, your nervous system, your metabolism, and your cellular energy production. That’s where glycine and niacinamide come in.
These two nutrients, often compounded for higher quality and better dosing options, support the body in totally different ways. Glycine is calming, restorative, gut-loving, and incredibly gentle. Niacinamide is energizing at the cellular level, supportive of insulin pathways, and stabilizing for thyroid and adrenal function. Depending on your symptoms and goals, one may be more helpful than the other—or you might benefit most from using both together.
Glycine: The Calming, Gut-Supportive Helper
Glycine is an amino acid that shows up naturally in collagen-rich foods, and the body uses it in hundreds of repair and regulatory processes. When patients struggle with semaglutide-related nausea, constipation, or that overly full feeling after only a few bites, glycine can make a dramatic difference. It supports the gut lining and motility, helps calm the nervous system, and even smooths out post-meal glucose spikes. Many patients also notice that taking glycine at night helps them fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and feel more relaxed overall. It’s also supportive for collagen production, which is helpful during weight loss phases where skin, joints, and connective tissues are under extra strain.
Niacinamide: The Metabolic Engine Support
Where glycine soothes and restores, niacinamide energizes and stabilizes. This form of Vitamin B3 does not cause flushing, and it plays an important role in insulin sensitivity, fat oxidation, mitochondrial energy production, and cellular repair. Niacinamide boosts NAD⁺—a molecule tied to longevity, metabolism, and the efficiency of your mitochondria. For patients with insulin resistance, low energy, thyroid sluggishness, or inflammation-based weight struggles, niacinamide can be a game changer. It supports metabolism in a way that complements semaglutide beautifully, helping the body maintain energy and metabolic flexibility even during caloric reduction.
How They Work Alongside Semaglutide
Here is a simple, plain-text table summarizing how glycine and niacinamide complement semaglutide:
Goal | Semaglutide Helps | Glycine Supports | Niacinamide Supports
Blood sugar control | Improves insulin sensitivity and slows gastric emptying | Reduces glucose spikes | Enhances insulin pathways
Weight loss | Appetite suppression and craving control | Protects lean mass and improves sleep | Boosts mitochondrial energy for fat loss
GI side effects | May cause nausea or constipation | Soothes GI lining and improves motility | Mild support only
Sleep & stress | Indirect benefit | Deep relaxation and better sleep | More stable daytime energy
Skin/joints/anti-aging | Weight changes affect tissues | Collagen support | NAD⁺ driven cellular repair
Dosing Approaches
In my clinic, I always personalize dosing based on labs, symptoms, and what your metabolism is telling us. But generally speaking, glycine is used in the 3–5 gram range at bedtime, with optional small daytime doses for glucose or nausea support. Niacinamide is usually dosed between 250–500 mg once or twice daily, with higher short-term doses used only under supervision when someone needs deeper metabolic support.
Safety Considerations
Glycine is extremely well-tolerated. The only thing I caution patients about is taking too much during the day, since it can make some people feel a little too relaxed. Niacinamide is also well-tolerated, but higher doses can influence liver enzymes, which is why periodic laboratory monitoring is recommended as part of functional care.
Both nutrients are fully compatible with semaglutide and do not interfere with its mechanism of action.
How to Choose What’s Right for You
Glycine is ideal if you’re dealing with sleep disturbances, stress, gut discomfort, nausea, constipation, or evening cravings. It’s gentle, calming, and restorative. Niacinamide is the better choice when the main goals are improving insulin resistance, stabilizing metabolism, supporting thyroid and adrenal function, or boosting mitochondrial energy. And honestly, many of my patients benefit most from a combination of the two—supporting both metabolic efficiency and daily comfort as they navigate GLP-1 therapy.
The Bottom Line
Semaglutide is powerful, but your experience on it—and your long-term results—are even better when your body is supported intelligently. Glycine helps calm, soothe, and balance. Niacinamide helps energize, stabilize, and strengthen. Together, they create a smoother, more resilient metabolic environment that helps you lose weight more comfortably, more efficiently, and with better long-term success.
If you’re unsure which approach your body needs, that’s exactly what I help you figure out at Proactive Wellness. Your plan should match your physiology—not the other way around.
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