Is Taurine worth using? The research says yes

[Synapsin]

Taurine



Background

Taurine is an amino acid that has been shown to increase protein synthesis, increase cell hydration, metabolism, and improve cardiac function (1). Taurine can lead to a reduction in blood pressure, and an improvement in exercise capacity (2). So what about its effects in healthy young adults?

Scientific effects

In 2014, a paper published the journal of Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism investigated the effects of taurine on young adults following eccentric exercise (EE) (3). They were interested in three particular measures: muscle performance, oxidative stress, and inflammation response following exercise.

Twenty one subjects were either broken up into the placebo group (n=10), or the taurine group (n=11). Subjects exercised for 14 days, and received either placebo or 50 mg/kg of taurine (4 grams for a 175 pound human) for 21 days (during the 14 days of training and the 7 days after the training ended).

The results: simply astounding. They found that taurine increased strength levels (refer to figure 1), decreased muscle soreness, decreased oxidative stress, but did not alter the inflammatory response after eccentric exercise.

Figure 1



Notice in figure one that there were significant differences in strength between the taurine and placebo group after 14 days (the days where subjects were still ingesting taurine but no longer exercising). This suggests that the effects of taurine are long lasting, making taurine a worthy addition to your supplement stack.

Other effects of Taurine

Taurine has been shown to improve performance in middle distance runners. Taurine has also been shown to significantly increase fat oxidation in endurance trained cyclists, and to decrease the accumulation of lactate (4-6).

Taurine can also lead to a reduction in blood pressure, and an improvement in exercise capacity, while also reducing rates of heart failure. Extracellular taurine induces angiogenesis by activating ERK-, Akt-, and FAK-dependent signal pathways, which means it may be useful for the treatment of vascular dysfunction related diseases. Taurine can also reverse endothelial dysfunction in diabetics, implying it may be of benefit to those with atherosclerosis (1-2, 7-8).

Recent evidence suggests that taurine may be involved in the pathophysiology of glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy. Taurine is crucial in preserving retinal ganglion cell survival, and deficiency in taurine damages retinal neurons. Taurine has also been shown to provide neuroprotection against retinal ganglion cell degradation (9-13).

References:

1. Cuisinier, C., Michotte De Welle, J., Verbeeck, R. K., Poortmans, J. R., Ward, R., Sturbois, X., & Francaux, M. (2002). Role of taurine in osmoregulation during endurance exercise. European journal of applied physiology, 87(6), 489-495.

2. Beyranvand, M. R., Kadkhodai Khalafi, M., Roshan, V. D., Choobineh, S., Parsa, S. A., & Piranfar, M. A. (2011). Effect of taurine supplementation on exercise capacity of patients with heart failure. Journal of Cardiology, 57(3), 333-337.

3. Silva, L. a da, Tromm, C. B., Bom, K. F., Mariano, I., Pozzi, B., Rosa, G. L. da, Tuon, T., et al. (2014). Effects of taurine supplementation following eccentric exercise in young adults. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism. 39(1), 101-4.

4. Balshaw, T. G., Bampouras, T. M., Barry, T. J., & Sparks, S. A. (2012). The effect of acute taurine ingestion on 3-km running performance in trained middle-distance runners. Amino Acids.

5. Rutherford, J. A., Spriet, L. L., & Stellingwerff, T. (2010). The effect of acute taurine ingestion on endurance performance and metabolism in well-trained cyclists. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 20(4), 322-329.

6. Imagawa, T. F., Hirano, I., Utsuki, K., Horie, M., Naka, A., Matsumoto, K., & Imagawa, S. (2009). Caffeine and taurine enhance endurance performance. International journal of sports medicine, 30(7), 485-488.

7. Baek, Y. Y., Cho, D. H., Choe, J., Lee, H., Jeoung, D., Ha, K. S., Won, M. H., et al. (2012). Extracellular taurine induces angiogenesis by activating ERK-, Akt-, and FAK-dependent signal pathways. European Journal of Pharmacology, 674(2-3), 188-199.

8. Moloney, M. A., Casey, R. G., OʼDonnell, D. H., Fitzgerald, P., Thompson, C., & Bouchier-Hayes, D. J. (2010). Two weeks taurine supplementation reverses endothelial dysfunction in young male type 1 diabetics. Diabetes & vascular disease research: official journal of the International Society of Diabetes and Vascular Disease, 7(4), 300-310.

9. Froger, N., Moutsimilli, L., Cadetti, L., et al. (2014). Taurine: The comeback of a neutraceutical in the prevention of retinal degenerations. Prog Retin Eye Res, 14, 14,-7.

10. Froger, N., Jammoul, F., Gaucher, D., Cadetti, L., Lorach, H., Degardin, J., Pain, D., et al. (2013). Taurine is a crucial factor to preserve retinal ganglion cell survival. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 775, 69-83.

11. Gaucher, D., Arnault, E., Husson, Z., Froger, N., Dubus, E., Gondouin, P., Dherbécourt, D., et al. (2012). Taurine deficiency damages retinal neurones: cone photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells. Amino Acids.

12. Froger, N., Cadetti, L., Lorach, H., Martins, J., Bemelmans, A. P., Dubus, E., Degardin, J., et al. (2012). Taurine Provides Neuroprotection against Retinal Ganglion Cell Degeneration. PLoS ONE, 7(10).

13. Militante, J. D., & Lombardini, J. B. (2002). Taurine: evidence of physiological function in the retina. Nutritional neuroscience, 5(2), 75-90.

[OT2000]

Good write as always Syn. What would you consider an optimal dosage? I see the most promising research says 4g for an average weight.

[Synapsin]

Good write as always Syn. What would you consider an optimal dosage? I see the most promising research says 4g for an average weight.

IMO 3-5 grams is the most optimal range. and I personally find 4 gram to be the sweet spot. It's very cheap too

[MmmWatermelon]

Taken pre workout?

[Synapsin]

Taken pre workout?

Yes, its excellent preworkout!

[VaughnTrue]

but is it an essential amino acid

[OT2000]

but is it an essential amino acid

What does the internet say?

[VaughnTrue]

What does the internet say?

that i may or may not be getting enough

[BogusForLife]

I'm not into all these zodiac signs like Pisces, Sagittarius and Taurine.

[compan]

What does the internet say?

that I'm dying of various diseases

[BlueRev]

Good write up but small sample group.
I personally use it sometimes for back cramps.. but it looks as if maybe i should be using it more. You suggested 3-4g a day. Would more have any benefit?

[danielmoo]

Sign me up on the taurine bus.

[andrewwww]

in for best taurine supp

[VaughnTrue]

in for best taurine supp

in for 8 reps all stating to use theirs and here is a link to get it on BOGO at bodybuilding.com

[BenBlue]

Fugi makes a Taurine post, get's **** on by the community and it turns into another BCAA fight.

Syn makes a Taurine post and everyone get's googily eyes...

just sayin!

[DASBUNKER]

in for best taurine supp

OG phase8

[LoudyRowdy]

Fugi makes a Taurine post, get's **** on by the community and it turns into another BCAA fight.

Syn makes a Taurine post and everyone get's googily eyes...

just sayin!

Truth

[AMeyer9]

Good write up but small sample group.
I personally use it sometimes for back cramps.. but it looks as if maybe i should be using it more. You suggested 3-4g a day. Would more have any benefit?

Butt cramps you say?

[DASBUNKER]

Fugi makes a Taurine post, get's **** on by the community and it turns into another BCAA fight.

Syn makes a Taurine post and everyone get's googily eyes...

just sayin!

Difference is this one has scientific references and it's well written, Fug post was just a "10 benefits of x, number 7 will surprise you" article with some incorrect terms.

[BenBlue]

Difference is this one has scientific references and it's well written, Fug post was just a "10 benefits of x, number 7 will surprise you" article with some incorrect terms.

Valid point lol

[VaughnTrue]

Valid point lol

you can go stand in the corner now please.

[BenBlue]

you can go stand in the corner now please.

Sit in the corner and think about what I've done

[Farley1324]

dasbunker with a couple award winning posts ITT

[OT2000]

Sit in the corner and think about what I've done

Loudy can join you. Sausage party

[LoudyRowdy]

Loudy can join you. Sausage party

It’s 2018 and that doesn’t offend me


Not unicorn rainbow liberal enough to be

[BenBlue]

Loudy can join you. Sausage party

Keep your fantasies out of these threads OT.

[compan]

Difference is this one has scientific references and it's well written, Fug post was just a "10 benefits of x, number 7 will surprise you" article with some incorrect terms.

"scientists hate him"

[DASBUNKER]

dasbunker with a couple award winning posts ITT

[Synapsin]

"scientists hate him"

lawl 8)

[TheFugitive]

"scientists hate him"

Hate is such a strong word in this day and age