Nick NorwitzMD PhD, Oxford-Harvard | Metabolic Health Educator | “Stay Curious”

How glycine produces cyanide to supercharge your metabolism!

8 May 2025 · 1 min

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1:07

In this popular‑science video, the presenter explains a recent study that discovered the body can produce cyanide when stimulated by the simple amino acid glycine. The increase in cyanide signaling is reported to boost metabolic activity. Experimental evidence is shown using a mouse model of heart attack, where treatment with glycine—or with amygdalin, a natural compound that also raises cyanide levels (found in raw cassava, apple seeds, and apricot pits)—reduces the amount of dead heart tissue (visualized as blue areas). The findings are presented as proof‑of‑principle that modulating cyanide production could become a therapeutic strategy for protecting cells and tissues after injury.

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Science has a way of flipping everything we knew on its head. Cyanide is not just a poison, but a key player in your metabolism. A major finding of this research was that cyanide production by the body can be stimulated by the simple amino acid glycine. Glycine is boosting metabolism by increasing cyanide signaling. And in terms of the protective effects, This is really cool. What you're looking at here is basically injury from a mouse heart attack, where blue indicates more dead tissue in the mice's heart. Treatment with glycine or a compound that increases cyanide production called amygdalin— this is one of the compounds actually found in raw cassava, apple seeds, and apricot pits. Anyway, increasing cyanide production or supplementing with glycine, which also increases cyanide production, protected against the death of cells and tissues, providing proof of principle for therapeutic applications of this remarkable new science.