TAURINE

TAURINE – GIVES YOU WINGS!

L-Taurine is the amino acid which gave Red Bull its name! (Taurus in Latin means “Bull”)

This sulfur-containing amino acid is also found in many other popular energy drinks such as Rockstar, Monster, & NOS just to name a few. However, not many people know about the benefits of this heart and blood healthy agent.

 

  • L-Taurine is omnipresent in your body, and it is also found in meat, fish, and dairy products. Taurine aides in cellular as well as organ function (mostly the heart) and as an osmolyte, it helps maintain a stable fluid balance in cells thereby lowering the risk of cramps during exercise and recovery.
  • In a study with young athletes, supplementing 1,000-6,000 mg of Taurine preworkout improved exercise performance regardless of the dose range and length of supplementation [1]. This suggests that 1,000 mg of Taurine would be just as effective as 6,000 mg; and chronic supplementation is not required to reap these benefits. You just need to take your dose before physical exercise.
  • Taurine may benefit older adults with sarcopenia (aging muscles) through its effects on protein metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation [2]. While these same effects suggest enhanced exercise performance with supplementation, more evidence is needed to back that theory.
  • Some evidence shows that taurine may help with a variety of diseases ranging from neuromuscular, heart failure, and diabetes to high blood pressure and diabetes [3]. However, our main consideration with L-Taurine is the role it plays as an osmolyte, regulating optimal cellular fluid balance, and its synergistic effect when combined with stimulants like caffeine. Taurine may reduce the cardiovascular effects of caffeine, allowing for stimulation of the central nervous system (CNS) without the impending stress on your heart and vascular system [4].
    • Figure 1 – Taurine Treatment Restores Cell Volume Recovery in Aged Epidermal Keratinocytes in vitro (Adapted from Foster et al. Aging Cell. 2020 [5])
  • The available research indicates that L-Taurine doses between 500-2,000 mg have shown optimal efficacy, though the upper limit for toxicity is much higher and daily doses of 3,000 mg will have no side effects.
PRIME(X) contains 2,000 mg of L-Taurine per serving for improved cellular function and cardiovascular performance during exercise and stimulation!

     

     

     

     

     

    References:

    1. Waldron M, Patterson SD, Tallent J, Jeffries O. The Effects of an Oral Taurine Dose and Supplementation Period on Endurance Exercise Performance in Humans: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2018 May;48(5):1247-1253. doi: 10.1007/s40279-018-0896-2. PMID: 29546641.
    2. Scicchitano BM, Sica G. The Beneficial Effects of Taurine to Counteract Sarcopenia. Curr Protein Pept Sci. 2018;19(7):673-680. doi: 10.2174/1389203718666161122113609. PMID: 27875962; PMCID: PMC6040170.
    3. Schaffer S, Kim HW. Effects and Mechanisms of Taurine as a Therapeutic Agent. Biomol Ther (Seoul). 2018 May 1;26(3):225-241. doi: 10.4062/biomolther.2017.251. PMID: 29631391; PMCID: PMC5933890.
    4. Schaffer SW, Shimada K, Jong CJ, Ito T, Azuma J, Takahashi K. Effect of taurine and potential interactions with caffeine on cardiovascular function. Amino Acids. 2014 May;46(5):1147-57. doi: 10.1007/s00726-014-1708-0. Epub 2014 Mar 11. PMID: 24615238.
    5. Foster AR, El Chami C, O'Neill CA, Watson REB. Osmolyte transporter expression is reduced in photoaged human skin: Implications for skin hydration in aging. Aging Cell. 2020 Jan;19(1):e13058. doi: 10.1111/acel.13058. Epub 2019 Nov 26. PMID: 31769623; PMCID: PMC6974728.