Tracy Norris
Taurine is part of the formula of many energy drinks but is also taken to improve athletic performance. Since taurine also strengthens the heart, it is considered a natural remedy for heart failure. We present the properties and effects of taurine and how the amino acid is best dosed and taken. It will also be about whether vegans are threatened by a taurine deficiency.
Taurine: This is how the amino acid works
Taurine is a non-essential amino acid, which means that it does not necessarily have to be taken in with food, but can be produced by the human organism itself in the liver, pancreas, and brain.
The human body is made up of about 0.1 percent taurine, which means that a 60-kilogram person contains 60 g of taurine — specifically in the brain, heart, muscles, liver, and retina of the eye.
Taurine is used for very different purposes: Taurine is mixed with caffeine and a lot of sugar, flavorings, and colorings in expensive energy drinks. But it is also used therapeutically for heart failure and to protect the eyes – and many athletes swear by taurine to increase their energy levels.
Note: This article is not an advertisement for energy drinks! On the contrary! We generally advise against energy drinks! However, taurine can have beneficial effects. Therefore, if you think you need taurine in addition to the body’s own taurine production, we recommend taking taurine in supplement form.
Strong as a bull with taurine?
The term taurine comes from the Latin “Taurus” for the bull. You could quickly think that you would become as strong as a bull if you only consumed enough taurine. Some even believe that taurine is extracted from bull testicles. Neither the one nor the other is the case. Taurine is only called taurine because it was first isolated from the bile of an ox (castrated bull) in 1827.
But don’t worry: If you buy a dietary supplement or an energy drink with taurine today, the taurine in it no longer comes from ox bile, but is completely synthetically obtained in the laboratory. The process is complicated (so we won’t go into detail) and is commonly referred to as the “addition of sodium sulfite to aziridine”.
Why taurine is not a “normal” amino acid
If you read up on taurine on the web, you’ll notice that it’s sometimes said that taurine isn’t actually an amino acid at all.
Taurine is actually not one of the classic amino acids. The latter is also called amino carboxylic acids. They are characterized by an amino group (NH 2 group) and a carboxy group (COOH group). Although taurine has an amino group, it has a sulfonic acid group (SO 2 OH) instead of the carboxy group. Taurine is therefore not an amino carboxylic acid, but an amino sulfonic acid. (Taurine is also called 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid).
“Normal” amino acids (i.e. amino carboxylic acids) can link together via so-called peptide bonds and in this way form long chains of amino acids, which are referred to as peptides (less than 100 amino acids) or as proteins (more than 100 amino acids).
A peptide bond is formed when the amino group of one amino acid joins the carboxy group of the other amino acid. However, since taurine does not have a carboxy group (but a sulfonic acid group), it is not able to form proteins. However, taurine has many other tasks in the organism.
Taurine: Tasks in the body
In the body, taurine has the following tasks in particular:
- Taurine strengthens the heart, reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis, and can be included in the therapy of heart failure.
- Taurine is responsible for smooth energy metabolism.
- Taurine, therefore, increases endurance in sport, protects the muscles, shortens recovery time, and improves sport-related inflammation values.
- Taurine protects the brain by e.g. strengthening the blood-brain barrier. Cognitive complaints improve when taking taurine.
- Taurine can protect the retina in the eye and can be taken to prevent some degenerative retinal diseases.
- Taurine has antioxidant properties and is therefore also active in cell protection.
- Taurine is part of the bile acids and is said to be able to protect against gallstones.
- Taurine can be used to repair damaged tissues. Because if damaged tissue is well supplied with taurine, the metabolism is boosted there, which accelerates healing processes.
The need for taurine
Since taurine is normally produced by the body itself as needed, it is difficult to give a specific value here. In a 2008 article published in the journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, the authors put the taurine requirement at 3000 mg per day.
Dosage and overdose of taurine
Now, if you want to take a taurine supplement, the usual dosage is between 500 and 2000 mg per day. Daily doses of up to 3000 mg, which you can take for a lifetime without having to worry about side effects, are considered completely safe.
However, it should still be possible to take much higher amounts (up to 1 g per kilogram of body weight per day), which makes no sense, it only shows that it is difficult to overdose on taurine.
Also, note that taurine in such high doses can also have a calming effect!
Taurine works that fast
In one study, when 1.66 g of taurine was taken orally, the taurine level in the blood increased 15-fold within 2 hours. Even 4 hours later, the concentration in the blood is still 7 times higher than before ingestion.
So if you take taurine, you can expect an effect after 2 hours at most, which is particularly interesting to know if you want to take taurine to improve athletic performance.
Taurine may be helpful in heart failure
A 2017 placebo-controlled clinical trial (published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease) showed that taurine supplementation may be helpful in heart failure. Taurine had an anti-inflammatory effect and even counteracted arteriosclerosis (anti-atherogenic).
Heart failure patients were divided into two groups. One group received taurine (500 mg three times a day for two weeks), and the other group received a placebo. Before and after the two-week intake, the subjects completed training on the treadmill with increasing difficulty.
In the taurine group, the inflammation values decreased (CRP value), in the placebo group these values increased. Values that indicated the development of arteriosclerosis also decreased in the taurine group. Nothing changed in the placebo group. Here, the risk of arteriosclerosis remained unchanged.
In other places, too, one reads that taurine could be used to protect against cardiovascular diseases (combined of course with other vital substances, e.g. vitamin C, vitamin D, etc.) – in doses of 1.5 to 6g daily.
As early as 2004, the journal Medical Hypotheses reported that taurine could protect against acute cardiac events by preventing blood clots and lowering high blood pressure. The ideal combination for this purpose is a low-fat vegan diet with taurine supplementation. Taurine is also inexpensive, low-risk, easily soluble, and tasteless, so it is easy to take.
Taurine improves cognitive functions
Taurine also plays an important role in the nervous system and fulfills numerous tasks there. If there are bottlenecks in the supply of taurine, this could also lead to cognitive disorders, especially since it is known that the taurine content in the brain decreases with age.
In one study, it was discovered that the saliva of older people who were beginning to have cognitive problems contained less taurine than the saliva of their healthy peers. Another study with 40 older people showed that taking taurine had a positive effect on some cognitive functions, such as abstract thinking or the ability to judge things or situations.
A clinical study of 48 elderly women found that taking 1.5g of taurine – once a day for 14 days – led to a marked reduction in inflammation levels and also strengthened the blood-brain barrier.
It is important that sport in old age (as much as possible) increases the effect of taurine so that with this combination there is a clearer improvement in mental status. In any case, it is important that taurine should be taken long-term in order to achieve an effect.
Taurine for the eyes
Since a taurine deficiency can lead to retinal degeneration, which in turn can lead to dangerous retinal detachment, it makes sense to take taurine preventively, i.e. to protect the eyes. The first study on this topic (2018 ( 24 )) focused on retinitis pigmentosa. A mostly hereditary retinal degeneration for which there is no therapy.
With the help of mice, they now wanted to see whether taurine could protect the eyes accordingly. The diseased eyes showed a clear lack of taurine. If taurine was administered intravenously, the visual problems improved, while a clear protective effect could be seen in relation to the affected cells of the retina, so the researchers advise considering taurine as a possible therapy for retinal diseases.
Taurine in sport: improving endurance
Taurine is a popular nutritional supplement for athletes who want to use it to improve their performance, but also reduces the time it takes them to recover and also reduces muscle soreness.
A review on this topic from 2017 showed that taking 1 to 6 g of taurine per day
- improves endurance
- reduced markers of inflammation,
- shortened recovery time
- decreases creatine kinase (increases with overtraining or injury) and
- reduces the lactate value (lactate leads to muscle fatigue).
These positive results were already evident after a single intake, e.g. B. 2 hours before physical activity, but also with long-term use over several weeks. Whether it was taken at 1 or 6 g per day made less of a difference ( 7, 8 ). Taking 1 to 3 g of taurine 1 to 3 hours before training was ideal.
Heart failure patients were divided into two groups. One group received taurine (500 mg three times a day for two weeks), and the other group received a placebo. Before and after the two-week intake, the subjects completed training on the treadmill with increasing difficulty.
In the taurine group, the inflammation values decreased (CRP value), in the placebo group these values increased. Values that indicated the development of arteriosclerosis also decreased in the taurine group. Nothing changed in the placebo group. Here, the risk of arteriosclerosis remained unchanged.
In other places, too, one reads that taurine could be used to protect against cardiovascular diseases (combined of course with other vital substances, e.g. vitamin C, vitamin D, etc.) – in doses of 1.5 to 6g daily.
As early as 2004, the journal Medical Hypotheses reported that taurine could protect against acute cardiac events by preventing blood clots and lowering high blood pressure. The ideal combination for this purpose is a low-fat vegan diet with taurine supplementation. Taurine is also inexpensive, low-risk, easily soluble, and tasteless, so it is easy to take.
Taurine improves cognitive functions
Taurine also plays an important role in the nervous system and fulfills numerous tasks there. If there are bottlenecks in the supply of taurine, this could also lead to cognitive disorders, especially since it is known that the taurine content in the brain decreases with age.
In one study, it was discovered that the saliva of older people who were beginning to have cognitive problems contained less taurine than the saliva of their healthy peers. Another study with 40 older people showed that taking taurine had a positive effect on some cognitive functions, such as abstract thinking or the ability to judge things or situations.
A clinical study of 48 elderly women found that taking 1.5g of taurine – once a day for 14 days – led to a marked reduction in inflammation levels and also strengthened the blood-brain barrier.
It is important that sport in old age (as much as possible) increases the effect of taurine, so that with this combination there is a clearer improvement in mental status. In any case, it is important that taurine should be taken long-term in order to achieve an effect.
Taurine for the eyes
Since a taurine deficiency can lead to retinal degeneration, which in turn can lead to dangerous retinal detachment, it makes sense to take taurine preventively, i.e. to protect the eyes. The first study on this topic (2018 ( 24 )) focused on retinitis pigmentosa. A mostly hereditary retinal degeneration for which there is no therapy.
With the help of mice, they now wanted to see whether taurine could protect the eyes accordingly. The diseased eyes showed a clear lack of taurine. If taurine was administered intravenously, the visual problems improved, while a clear protective effect could be seen in relation to the affected cells of the retina, so the researchers advise considering taurine as a possible therapy for retinal diseases.
Taurine in sport: improving endurance
Taurine is a popular nutritional supplement for athletes who want to use it to improve their performance, but also reduces the time it takes them to recover and also reduces muscle soreness.
A review on this topic from 2017 showed that taking 1 to 6 g of taurine per day
- improves endurance
- reduced markers of inflammation,
- shortened recovery time
- decreases creatine kinase (increases with overtraining or injury) and
- reduces the lactate value (lactate leads to muscle fatigue).
These positive results were already evident after a single intake, e.g. B. 2 hours before physical activity, but also with long-term use over several weeks. Whether it was taken at 1 or 6 g per day made less of a difference (7, 8). Taking 1 to 3 g of taurine 1 to 3 hours before training was ideal.
Conclusion: Taurine as a dietary supplement
Taurine is an important amino acid for the human organism. In order for your body to be able to produce enough taurine, consume enough cysteine-containing proteins and ensure a good supply of vitamin B.
You can also take taurine as a dietary supplement, especially if you have relevant symptoms or are already chronically ill.
Since taurine is difficult to overdose on, you wouldn’t be taking any risks even if you were taking the amino acid, even though you’re well supplied with it. So there would be no side effects if you were to take an additional 500 to 1500 mg of taurine as a dietary supplement to be on the safe side.
However, it is better not to take taurine with energy drinks. Because in addition to taurine, the drinks usually contain a lot of sugar or sweeteners, flavors, and colorings.
