What you should know about taurine

First of all, the question arises here, what is actually Taurine? Taurine is an organic acid with a sulfonic acid group and contains an amino group. Although it is an aminosulfonic acid, it cannot form peptides, nor is it an amino acid. Rather, it is a degradation product of the Amino acids Cysteine and Methionine.

Taurine

It was first extracted from bull bile in the 19th century and the bile acid was then called taurine. The term in Latin means bull bile and in Greek it comes from the word tauros, which means bull.

Since the human body can form bile acid itself in the body and thus also the taurine, an external supply is not absolutely necessary. However, infants must be supplied with it through their mother's milk, as they are not yet able to produce it themselves.

Studies assume that a healthy person weighing 70 kg has between 30 g and 70 g of taurine in the body, with about 75 % in the muscle mass of the person. Taurine can also be absorbed very easily through food.

Some foods are particularly good sources of taurine:

• Fish
• Meat and
• Dairy products

In addition to sugar and caffeine, taurine is also found in energy drinks, so the caffeine may be more potent, but this has not yet been clearly proven.

The minimum daily requirement for taurine is at least 500 milligrams of taurine, which is covered by the body's own production and food intake if the person leads a normal lifestyle with little physical exertion.

Those who live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle may suffer from a taurine deficiency, since neither fruits nor vegetables contain it. There are still no studies about when a person suffers from this deficiency or whether it is sufficient through the liver's own production. In principle, however, it can be said that Sportsman very often suffer from a taurine deficiency unfortunately and should consider whether they should not take this through taurine as a dietary supplement.

Those who have a taurine deficiency suffer from the following problems:

• Growth disorders
• Immunodeficiency
• increased susceptibility to infection
• Thinning of the retina and

The most important tasks that taurine has in the body are

• in an embryo: the formation of the eyes and the brain
• for the fat metabolism to function well
• Stabilization of cell membranes
• Regulation of the fluid balance
• the heart rhythm is also influenced in a certain way
• it is said to be able to promote concentration, but bile acid is also of particular importance for the function of the nerves
• also taurine is an antioxidant, which protects the tissue from damage.

Whether taurine boosts the immune system, fights inflammation or can strengthen the liver has so far only been tested in laboratory studies or in animal experiments. Likewise, the performance-enhancing effect that it is said to have has not yet been confirmed.

Despite this, many athletes and bodybuilders turn to synthetic taurine because it is said to boost performance, improve vision and immunity, and strengthen the brain. Since it is also a antioxidant effect, the active ingredient can bind and detoxify toxic environmental substances in the liver. Due to the numerous tasks that taurine performs in our body, it is a popular dietary supplement.

The quality of life of people suffering from the following symptoms can be alleviated:

• Bile Problems
• chronic headaches
• Lethargy
• chronic colds

Also in medicine it is used here specifically, if the following symptoms, which such a lack brings with itself, are at the basis:

• Alzheimer's
• Seizure disorder
• diabetes mellitus
• Cardiovascular disease
• high cholesterol level
• liver dysfunction
• Metabolic disease such as cystic fibrosis
• Alcoholism and resulting organ damage.

Because liver function is not yet mature in premature babies, it is added to them by infusion so that the eyes, muscles and nerves can continue to develop. In studies on diabetes mellitus, it was found that the addition of taurine had a beneficial effect on blood sugar and insulin levels.

The effect of taurine

It proved to be a safe and effective therapeutic agent - as evidenced by several studies conducted - for the treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. Patients were given 3 g to 6 g daily for a period of two weeks and were thus able to lower their cholesterol levels. Other studies also state that taurine can lower blood pressure. A disturbance of the taurine metabolism could be found in Alzheimer's patients, which is supposed to contribute to the typical memory loss.

In the case of liver function disorder as well as alcoholism, according to the study, the patients were given 4 g of taurine daily after the 3 meals. And after one week, the values for bilirubin and total bile acid decreased significantly, just like the Glycine / Taurine quotients.

Especially athletes have an increased need for taurine

The Amino group of taurine is one of the most important muscle building supplements, which is why many athletes and bodybuilders turn to taurine, but not only to build muscle, but also because the body burns more taurine during endurance sports than it can produce in a day. This deficiency should definitely be compensated.

Also with the Endurance training the body needs an extra portion of taurine. Nevertheless, taurine is not a doping agent in the conventional sense, but it is considered a dietary supplement.

Furthermore, due to the increased burning, a deficiency may occur, which may then bring health consequences. These include, for example, a weakening of the heart muscle. Since taurine stimulates the fat metabolism, it also gets the digestion going. Therefore, many think that you can take it as a diet aid to get slim even faster.

The side effects of taurine and who should not take it

Pregnant women, young mothers or women who are breastfeeding should avoid the energy drink, as deaths have also already occurred due to the caffeine - taurine connection. There are only few known side effects when taking taurine. In combination with caffeine, however, restlessness, palpitations and nausea can occur.

Does taurine also work in animals?

As already mentioned above, taurine is not only produced by the human body. The body of dogs also produces taurine on its own, whereas cats have to get it from their food.

The diseases, on the other hand, are the same as those that affect us humans, such as.

• Impaired vision up to blindness
• Heart disease
• Growth and development disorder.

But also here the supply of taurine can help. Surely there are also dog breeds that do not produce enough taurine and so they get it then like the cats about the food.

Our conclusion on taurine

Generally, the taurine is absorbed by the body and the food through its own production. If this is not sufficient, it can be supplied by infusion in urgent cases and then taken orally as a capsule or powder at a later stage if necessary.

The amount and duration of intake depends on how severe the deficiency or disease is. Since the taurine is also found in the energy drinks, care should be taken not to drink too much of it. Especially if you are drinking energy drinks and taking the powder. Energy drinks also contain caffeine, taurine is here to enhance the effect of caffeine.

Our tip: think about the supply of taurine at an early stage to avoid deficiency symptoms and to be permanently efficient. If you have any questions, our team will be happy to help you.