What is taurine? Taurine is a non-proteinogenic amino sulfonic acid found naturally in animals. Non-proteinogenic means that taurine is not incorporated into the building of protein in your body like other amino acids. Fun fact, taurine was first isolated from bull bile in 1827 by Friedrich Tiedemann and Leopold Gmelin. Taurine can be referred to as a functional amino acid. Taurine is a conditionally essential amino acid, the body needs it in times of distress. Taurine is produced rapidly in many animals. In humans, taurine is not made as efficiently due to humans' unique ability to retain taurine. Although we have the ability to retain taurine very well, exercise easily depletes it. Also as we age taurine stores seem to deplete slowly. Taurine deficiency has been shown across multiple studies to cause multiple pathological issues downstream. In contrast, steady taurine levels have been shown across studies to promote health and vitality. Taurine has effects on multiple parts of the body and it is found in high concentrations in muscle and brain tissue. Taurine positively affects neuromodulation, gene expression, muscle during exercise, energy metabolism, quality control of cell apoptosis, hypertension, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and cardiovascular disease. One of the most interesting ways taurine affects the body is the effect it has on the GABAa system. This article aims to educate you on the multiple ways taurine can be used in your daily life.
What are taurine’s effects on the brain? Taurine displays GABAergic effects within the brain through two proposed mechanisms. First, you must understand what GABA is, GABA(Gamm-Aminobutyric Acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter within the central nervous system. Taurine administration elevates glutamic acid decarboxylase(GAD) which downstream produces GABA from glutamate. GAD is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of glutamate to GABA. Taurine is also an agonist of the GABAa receptor, this is the second mechanism of the GABAergic properties of taurine. Chronic taurine supplementation has been shown to down-regulate the GABAa receptors which point to taurine directly agonizing the receptors. Through this mechanism, taurine can partially substitute for GABA by causing inhibition of neuronal excitability. Taurine has the ability to increase levels of the enzyme needed to produce GABA and act as a replacement for GABA to agonize the GABAa receptors. In a 2006 study taurine was shown to decrease anxiety in rats. Rats were given 14, 42, and 126mg/kg of taurine and were put through a series of social interaction tests. Compared to placebo doses of 42, and 126mg/kg of taurine were shown to decrease anxiety. Rats given taurine spent more time socializing and scored better in the anxiety models. One example of an anxiety model is an open-field test. This test puts a group of rats together and measures how frequently rats will go to the center of the field or up to other rats. Rats who were given taurine spent more time with other rats and in the center of the field. This study shows that taurine may have effects on the GABA system due to the decreased anxiety of the rats. A meta-analysis done in 2019 points to taurine having more potent effects on the brain than just its GABAergic effects. The meta-analysis pointed to a study that shows that in adults the olfactory bulb has high levels of taurine. The olfactory bulb preserves neurogenesis through adulthood, pointing to the idea that taurine may be a trophic factor in brain development. Another study mentioned in the meta-analysis showed that children with higher levels of taurine in their urine displayed better cognitive function. The most shocking finding in this meta-analysis is that elderly with mild cognitive impairments had lower saliva concentrations of taurine compared to healthy elderly adults. As of today, we know taurine has GABAergic effects on the brain, other avenues of taurine’s effects on the brain must be studied more in the future.
What are some other benefits of taurine supplementation? Taurine has antihypertensive, autophagy-promoting, and muscle-promoting effects on the body. A meta-analysis done across 7 peer-reviewed studies on taurine’s effects on hypertensive patients showed an average of a 3mmHG decrease in blood pressure. Taurine was tested at doses between 1-6g. The meta-analysis points to taurine potentially being a vasorelaxant due to the very high amounts of taurine that are expressed on vascular tissue. Also, taurine’s GABergic effects are able to put patients in a more sympathetically driven state which decreases their blood pressure. The scientists came to this conclusion due to there being a decrease in norepinephrine levels in urine after taurine supplementation. Taurine also has a direct effect on potassium channels that are situated in the smooth muscle of endothelial cells. Doctors today give taurine to patients recovering from congestive heart failure, so there may be the viability of the use of taurine as a preventative measure too. Taurine also benefits muscle tissue, the muscle tissue in our body has very high levels of taurine. We retain taurine very well normally but taurine is easily depleted during intense exercise. This begs the question, will taurine supplementation improve exercise performance? Well, that's what energy drink companies advertise the use of taurine for. Let’s see what the science says. Across multiple studies, taurine was shown to increase the time until exhaustion and muscle power. In one study participants were given 50mg/kg of taurine during intense exercise. In a person weighing about 175lbs, that is equivalent to 4,000mg of taurine. Compared to the placebo the taurine-treated group had a higher critical power output without an increase in oxygen intake. Time until exhaustion in the taurine-treated group was also increased and blood lactate levels decreased in the taurine-treated group compared to the placebo. Another study showed that taurine supplementation leads to decreased muscle damage after eccentric exercise and lower levels of lactate dehydrogenase in the blood compared to placebo. Taurine has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects on muscle tissue. Taurine supplementation prior to intense exercise may be a viable way to boost performance. Since the human body is not efficient at producing taurine there may be deficiencies after intense exercise, which can be addressed via supplementation. If you are interested in longevity, taurine may have autophagy-promoting effects. Studies have shown that taurine deficiency leads to decreased autophagy in the body. Optimal taurine levels upregulate the quality control process. It promotes the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which facilitates the rejuvenation of damaged cells. Furthermore, it promotes autophagy, which is programmed cell death to get rid of damaged cells in the body.
How would I supplement with taurine? The first step in all forms of supplementation is your diet. Are you eating foods rich in taurine? Foods rich in taurine include meat, fish, and dairy products. If your diet is high in these foods you will be able to maintain sufficient levels of taurine. If you exercise regularly you may be burning through your taurine faster than you are able to produce it. I suggest supplementing with taurine before very intense exercise, anywhere from 1-6g of taurine is safe. This will also improve your exercise performance. The upper tolerable limit of taurine is 10g per day. Now that we have addressed any taurine deficiencies via diet and intense exercise, how can we leverage the benefits of taurine in our daily life? If you want to leverage the GABAergic effects of taurine you can take it at night to lower stress and put you in a relaxed state. You can stack taurine with other supplements such as L-theanine, ashwagandha, and other anxiolytic supplements. Personally, I supplement taurine about 2-3x before an intense exercise like a leg day or a long run. If I’m not using taurine before exercise I may add it to my supplementation prior to sleeping to leverage the GABAergic effects. I do not supplement taurine every day because my diet is rich in meat, fish, and dairy. So I use it acutely to leverage the health benefits of the increased taurine levels. So taurine is not just a gimmick by energy drink companies, it has multiple benefits that you can leverage for better health.
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