If you have a specific gene variant that makes it hard for your body to process folic acid and your homocysteine levels are high, adding betaine (a natural compound) might help lower those levels better than folic acid alone.

If your body doesn’t have enough folate or has a common gene variation that makes it hard to process folate, taking betaine (a natural compound found in beets and spinach) can help lower a harmful blood chemical called homocysteine by giving your body another way to clean it up.

People with a certain gene variant (MTHFR C677T T-allele) see a bigger boost in a substance called betaine in their blood when they take betaine supplements, compared to people without that gene variant.

When your body doesn’t have enough folate (a B vitamin), betaine can step in to help lower a harmful substance called homocysteine—kind of like a backup helper when your main one is running low.