What is taurine? Health benefits and side effects – energy drink ingredient explained
The secret to eternal youth could be found in the bottom of a Red Bull can, as scientists suggest a common energy drink ingredient as the potential “elixir of life.”
A new study has revealed that giving mice taurine helped them live three months longer and improved physical and brain health.
Scientists have now called for a large clinical trial to determine if the ingredient has the same benefits in humans — or if a high dosage is even safe to consume.
The animal research is one of the latest anti-aging efforts, and scientists believe they have enough evidence to initiate human trials.
But what’s the ingredient? Here’s everything you need to know about taurine and its health benefits.
Red Bull gives you wings? The company slogan may contain some truth as the common ingredient taurine is potentially called ‘elixir of life’
What is Taurine?
Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that occurs naturally in foods with protein such as meat or fish.
The human body produces taurine and is mainly concentrated around the brain, eyes, heart and muscles.
Taurine is a conditionally essential amino acid and only becomes useful during times of illness or stress.
It is vital for maintaining muscle function, vision and metabolism. It also supports the central nervous system and immune system.
It also regulates the levels of calcium and electrolytes in the body and creates bile salts for digestion.
Deficiency of the amino acid is rare in healthy adults, so its effects are largely unknown.
Can taurine slow down the aging process?
A team of scientists at Columbia University in New York found through experiments on middle-aged animals that boosting taurine to youthful levels extended life by more than 10%.
To determine whether a taurine deficiency stimulates the aging process, the researchers studied 250 mice aged 14 months – about 45 years old in human years.
Half received taurine every day, the others received a control solution.
The results show that female mice given taurine lived 12 percent longer than those in the control group, while male mice lived 10 percent longer.
Dr. Yadav said: ‘Whatever we checked, taurine-supplemented mice were healthier and looked younger.
“They were leaner, had increased energy expenditure, increased bone density, improved memory and a younger-looking immune system.”
If the findings in mice were ever proven to apply to humans, this would equate to 88 and 94 for males and females, up from the current average of 82 and 86.
An experiment on 250 mice found taurine boosts youth levels by 10%, scientists are now calling for a human trial
But the largely unanswered question is whether the results will show up in humans; good clinical trials where some people get taurine and others a placebo pill will have to happen first.
Differences in biology can be an obstacle and there may be some evolutionary reasons why levels drop with age.
However, taurine may have an advantage over other anti-aging strategies as it is obtained naturally and can be enhanced by exercise.
The ingredient has also been available to consume in energy drinks for decades, suggesting that it is safe.
What foods contain taurine?
A common myth is that taurine is made from bull semen, while originally it was produced synthetically and added to products.
The supplement is manually added to energy drinks such as Red Bull or Monster, taurine occurs naturally in some foods.
Shellfish, dark chicken and turkey meats contain the highest levels of taurine, and moderate amounts may come from other meats.
Dairy products also contain the ingredient, such as milk or ice cream, but have less of it.
Few plant foods are high in taurine, with the exception of seaweed.
Studies also show that cooking food does not affect taurine levels.
There are several health benefits of taurine, the product found in meat and dairy products has been linked to lowering blood pressure
Contrary to popular belief, taurine is not made from bull semen, although originally true, it is now synthetically added to products
What are the health benefits of taurine?
Taurine has important functions in the heart and brain and helps support nerve growth.
It can benefit people with heart failure and prevent their condition from worsening by lowering blood pressure and calming the nervous system.
It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and has been studied for its role in energy production and improving exercise performance.
Are there side effects of taurine?
Although the health effects of taurine are well known, consuming large amounts of energy drinks will unfortunately not make you any younger.
There are no known side effects of adding taurine to the diet as long as it is not consumed in excessive amounts.
That’s why researchers discourage people from buying taurine pills or energy drinks packed with taurine in an effort to live longer.
The European Food Safety Authority suggests that 6g per day is safe.