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Taurine
Taurine
Taurine
What is it:
Taurine is a non-essential amino acid naturally found in the body that is prevalent in meat and fish. It is commonly included in energy drinks and supplements for potential benefits in physical performance and mental alertness. Taurine used in such products is often produced synthetically, through the reaction of ethylene oxide with sodium bisulfite to form isethionic acid, which is converted to taurine through further chemical reactions. It can also be extracted naturally through hydrolysis from fish and meat.
Rating:
Taurine plays a crucial role in various physiological processes and the use of taurine as a supplement may help prevent low levels of taurine which is associated with aging. The use of taurine as a supplement for boosting performance has demonstrated mixed results, yet there is no data suggesting toxic effects of it in humans. In a study on patients with traumatic brain injury, taurine supplementation reduced inflammatory markers and improved patient outcomes. One rat study that taurine may have a synergistic effect with other food additives in producing neurobehavioral toxic effects at high doses. Taurine may play an important role in the neuroendocrine system, however, more human research is needed to determine the potential therapeutic effects of taurine.
Resources:
- Effects and mechanisms of the therapeutic effects of taurine (review)
- Effects of taurine on the neuroendocrine system (review)
- The anti-inflammatory effect of taurine (review)
- The role of taurine in mitochondrial health (review)
- Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging (review)
- Mixed results on the efficacy of taurine for improving parameters of sports performance (systematic review and meta-analysis)
- Taurine reduces inflammatory markers and improves outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury (double-blinded randomized controlled trial)
- Taurine in combination with other food additives in energy drinks causes neurobehavioural toxic effects and altered neurotransmitter levels in rats (animal study)
How we rate ingredients
Health is like a bank account, certain ingredients make a deposit into your health bank, meaning they add to
your health. Certain ingredients withdraw from your health bank. We want health promoting ingredients in our diet. To keep things simple, we rate ingredients on a green, yellow, red scale:
Clean
It is naturally occurring in food and has no harmful effects on the body. It is real food. It is health promoting.
Caution
It goes into one or more of the below categories
- It is not naturally occurring in food but doesn’t have data showing it has a harmful effect on the body (additives like Gellan Gum)
- It is naturally occurring but can have some harmful effects on the body (added sugars, oils, gums etc.)
We Avoid
It is known to have a harmful effect on the body (ex. All food colorings, Natural Flavors, MSG, Potassium bromate, aspartame, artificial flavors)
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