Supplement Spotlight #5: Taurine

22 research papers & 6 primary mechanisms reviewed on the cardiometabolic amino acid elixir

Welcome back loyal subscribers - we’re delivering another round of the supplement spotlight series.

This week we’re featuring an increasingly popular utility tool of supplements - TAURINE.

You’ll get the sense quickly why this often forgotten amino acid is becoming one of the most popular supplements on the market today. Red Bull was ahead of the curve.

No - it is not derived from the sack of a bull (Source)

What we’ll cover:

What is taurine?

How it works

Benefits (as seen through the latest research)

Protocols

Brands I trust

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What is Taurine?

Taurine (C₂H₇NO₃S) is a sulfur-containing β-amino acid endogenously synthesized via the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway in the liver & brain. Taurine is unlike typical amino acids we see in complete proteins in that it lacks a carboxyl group (COOH). Its unique chemical structure enables it to exhibit a diverse set of biochemical interactions we’ll discuss next.

Chemical structure of the amino acid taurine (Source)

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Mechanisms of Action

As always, if you’re less interested in how taurine functions, skip down to the next section - “Health Benefits”. But I’ll keep this section to a cursory overview of the main mechanisms regarding how taurine acts on the body.

6 primary mechanisms of taurine

Cellular Protection

Taurine functions as both a direct & indirect antioxidant mitigating oxidative stress:

1. Scavenging reactive oxygen species: Neutralizes hydroxyl radicals (OH) & hypochlorous acid (HOCl)

   

   Taurine’s free radical scavenging mechanisms (Source)

2. Enhancing endogenous antioxidant systems: Upregulates glutathione (GSH) synthesis & activity of enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), & glutathione peroxidase (GPx)

Metabolic Regulation

Improving both glucose & lipid homeostasis, taurine serves as a metabolic modulator:

1. Sensitizing insulin: Promotes the movement of GLUT4 (glucose transporters) to the cell surface allowing more glucose to enter cells

   

   Taurine’s regulation of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle (Source)

2. Increasing mitochondrial biogenesis: Activates AMPK & PGC-1α increasing fat oxidation & energy expenditure

Cardiovascular Health

Taurine acts as a cardioprotective lever:

1. Regulating blood pressure: Enhances endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production & inhibits angiotensin II signaling → promotes vasodilation

2. Modulating ion channels: Regulates Na/K-ATPase (enzyme moving Na & K across cell membranes) and potassium channels maintaining electrophysiological stability

3. Enhancing lipid metabolism: Joins with bile acids to enhance cholesterol excretion lowering serum LDL-C & triglycerides

Neuroprotection

Taurine prevents excitotoxicity & neurodegeneration:

1. Modulating GABA/glutamate balance: Blocks NMDA receptor-mediated calcium ion influx & serves as a GABA agonist

2. Upregulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF): Decreases neuroinflammation & amyloid-β aggregation via NF-κB (pro-inflammatory) suppression

Taurine’s neuroprotective mechanism (Source)

Muscular Function

As we’ll see in the next section, taurine boasts significant impacts on cardiometabolic & skeletal muscle performance:

1. Improving calcium uptake: Enhances the release of calcium from muscle storage sites & increases calcium reuptake following muscle contraction

2. Delaying muscle fatigue: Mitigates exercise-induced oxidative damage lowering lactic acid buildup

Longevity

Within the last two years, taurine has gained most of its attention in the longevity space as a potential healthspan optimization compound:

1. Enhancing mitochondrial efficiency: Improves ATP production in cells reducing the amount of ROS generation

2. Preserving telomere length: Protects DNA integrity by maintaining the protective caps on chromosomes (telomeres) & decreases the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine production

Taurine deficiency as we age (Source)

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Health Benefits

Though taurine research has been ongoing since the late 1980s, it’s only recently had a surge in popularity due to its compelling potential as a longevity component.

Outlined below are the 22 most compelling research papers supporting taurine’s efficacy across a wide range of use cases.

Metabolic Health

A well-conducted meta-analysis of 25 RCTs from May 2024 regarding taurine's impact on 1,024 subjects noted significant reductions in multiple metabolic biomarkers:

• Systolic blood pressure (-4.0 mm Hg)

• Diastolic blood pressure (-1.5 mm Hg)

• Fasting blood glucose (-5.9 mg/dL)

• Triglycerides (-18.3 mg/dL)

Let's take a look at a couple powerful ones individually within the meta-analysis.

40 middle-aged females with type 2 diabetes were divided into four groups: training + taurine (TT), training + placebo (TP), taurine only (T), & control (C). were administered 500 mg 2x daily for 8 weeks. Relative to other groups, the training + taurine group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in:

• Fasting blood sugar

  

  Fasting blood sugar markers before & after 8-week intervention

• Insulin resistance

  

  Insulin resistance markers before & after 8-week intervention

• Triglycerides

  

  Triglycerides markers before & after 8-week intervention

• HbA1c

  

  HbA1c markers before & after 8-week intervention

• LDL-C

LDL-C markers before & after 8-week intervention

A similar 8-week clinical trial divided 45 type 2 diabetics into taurine (23 subjects) & placebo (22 subjects) groups. The taurine group - consuming 3 g daily for 8 weeks - saw significant improvements in multiple metabolic biomarkers:

• Fasting blood glucose

  

  Impacts of taurine supplementation on fasting blood glucose

• Insulin resistance

  

  Impacts of taurine supplementation on insulin resistance

• LDL-C

  

  Impacts of taurine supplementation on LDL-C

Irisin Levels

Irisin is an endogenous hormone produced by muscle & fat tissue playing a vital role in the regulation of energy metabolism. Acute rises in irisin indicate enhanced metabolic adaptation, activated thermogenesis (i.e. browning of white fat), & improved glucose metabolism.

22 obese women were divided into a control (14 subjects) receiving a placebo & exercise and treatment group receiving 3 g taurine & exercise (8 subjects). Only the taurine group showed a significant increase in irisin levels demonstrating that taurine supplementation enhances the exercise-induced release of irisin.

Plasma irisin levels following 8-week intervention

Taurine is a metabolic powerhouse tool. But an area where it shines to an even greater extent? Cardiovascular health.