A Nutritional Supplement with Potential

Taurine - What is it? Could it actually slow down the aging process? Well, it certainly appears like it might—just maybe. One of the leading scientific publications, Science, published a new study this week that appears to demonstrate for the first time that consuming significant amounts of taurine, an important amino acid, may have a number of advantages, including slowing the aging process.

First things first: what exactly is taurine? Although it is an amino acid, it is not one of the 20 amino acids that make up all the proteins in your body. Our bodies naturally manufacture it in little amounts, and it differs somewhat from the other one. When we're very young, we require more than our bodies can create, but we get it through breast milk, and it's added as a supplement to infant formula.

Additionally, our diet provides us with additional taurine. Meats, particularly shrimp and other shellfish, as well as beef and the dark flesh of chicken and turkey, are the richest sources of taurine.

What was the recent Science study's conclusion? First, the authors (from Columbia University, the National Institute of Immunology in India, and the Sanger Institute in the United Kingdom) outline how taurine levels in humans and other mammals obviously decrease with advancing age. Even if taurine depletion does not automatically result in its replacement, the possibility is at least established.

Then they go on to explain a series of studies where they fed the animals quite high doses of taurine every day, primarily in mice but also in monkeys, and the outcomes were pretty amazing:

1. The mice's life expectancy improved by 10% to 12%.

2. The lifespan of mice who began taking taurine supplementation in middle age increased by 18 to 25%.

3. In female mice, bone density rose, and osteoporosis appeared to be healed.

4. Compared to mice who didn't receive taurine, both males and females had stronger muscles.

5. Senescent cells, or cells that only emit harmful inflammatory signals, appeared to be less in number.

With results from mice, there is always the obvious caveat that they are not humans. And countless times, we've observed mouse outcomes that simply don't translate to humans. As a result, the researchers also conducted a smaller study with monkeys, which are genetically far more similar to humans. This also had some excellent outcomes:

1.In the spine and legs, bone density rose.

2. Compared to monkeys who didn't receive taurine, the body fat level was lower.

3. Numerous inflammatory markers decreased.

Scientists don't yet know whether taurine extends the lives of monkeys because they live much longer than mice, but all the evidence point to a positive outcome. Though I entered this article with some skepticism, I was unable to identify any glaring errors.

Though considerably greater than what you'd get from energy drinks or even from regular taurine tablets, the dosages utilized in the Columbia study were still exceedingly high. I checked some, and common formulations provide 1,000 or 2,000 mg (or 1 to 2 grams) daily. A 150-pound person would require around 5,500 mg (5.5 grams) of the amounts provided to the study's monkeys, which translates to about 5.5 grams each day. Even though it wouldn't take much taurine to reach that much by weight, no one is aware of how such high doses of taurine will affect people.

Conclusion: This study is incredibly fascinating. More research is required, particularly to determine how taurine affects humans, but thus far, everything is looking good. We might all start taking taurine supplements in the future if the results seen in mice and monkeys translate to humans. I'll be keeping a careful eye on this. And why not? I just placed an order for some taurine powder for myself.