Glycine "Deficiency" and the Kinetics of Acylglycine in Morbid Obesity

This study aims to evaluate the effects of oral glycine supplementation on plasma glycine concentration, intracellular glutathione (GSH) concentration, plasma acylglycine concentration, urine acylglycine concentration, and insulin resistance in subjects with morbid obesity. This is an open-labelled trial. 20 adults with morbid obesity will be recruited. Following screening and baseline metabolic evaluations, eligible subjects will be given oral glycine supplements for 14 ± 5 days. Upon completing glycine supplementation, subjects will return for their post-supplement metabolic assessment. The investigators hypothesize that oral glycine supplementation in morbidly obese patients normalizes plasma glycine concentration, increases intracellular GSH concentration, increases plasma and urinary acylglycine concentration, and improves insulin resistance.