A new study came out last month that found that a deficiency of taurine,
an amino acid found in the body and in foods, is a driver of aging and that
taurine supplementation can slow down the aging process. The hits just keep coming, don’t they?
OK, so, let’s talk about taurine. It’s been in the news a lot lately, ever since a new study
came out last month, stating that supplementing with taurine had longevity benefits for mice and
monkeys. In this video, we’ll take a look at what taurine is, what role it plays in the bodies of
mammals, how it declines with age and why. We’ll talk about what benefits taurine might bestow,
especially those benefits that might lead to an improvement in longevity.
Then we’ll examine the findings of this latest study, before talking
about dosages and whether or not I intend to include it in my supplementation regime.
Taurine is an amino acid, and it’s not a new one. It was discovered almost 200 years ago
when two german scientists isolated it from the bile of an ox. Taurus,
the latin word for ox or bull, is where the name taurine came from.
Because taurine is an amino sulfonic acid, rather that an amino carboxylic acid,
it’s not used in protein synthesis. In other words,
proteins are not made out of taurine. It accounts for about 0.1% of our body weight,
at least in young adults. That’s 0.15 pounds of taurine in a 150 pound adult.
Taurine is considered a conditionally-essential
amino acid, meaning that it is produced in the human body, but under certain conditions,
like illness or stress, it may not be produced in sufficient amounts.
And taurine levels decrease with age, but more on that in just a minute.
So, what does taurine do? Well, it has a lot of roles in most
mammals. It conjugates bile acids and influences the absorption of fats and
fat-soluble vitamins. That’s probably why it was first discovered in bile.
It’s linked to oxidative stress by preventing decreases in an antioxidant
enzyme called superoxide dismutase, and defends liver cells against free
radicals and toxins. It supports both immune and cardiovascular health. It regulates cell volume,
electrolyte balance and insulin resistance. It’s an inhibitory neurotransmitter,
binding to GABA receptors, as well as glycine receptors.
Maintaining taurine levels have been shown to
promote the integrity of heart muscle cells and to protect retinal cells.
Taurine also promotes mitochondrial function by increasing mitochondrial
translational fidelity. It can bind to transfer RNA used to add amino acids to
proteins and might play a role in mitochondrial protein production.
Studies have shown that taurine supplementation protects against pathologies associated with
mitochondrial defects, such as aging, mitochondrial diseases,
metabolic syndrome, cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders.
So, here’s one of the things about aging. As we get older,
levels of critical molecules drop. Things like testosterone, NAD+, nitric oxide,
the list goes on and on. They all go into decline. And taurine’s no different.
Levels of taurine drop in almost all mammals, humans included. For example,
when pet foods were first introduced in the 1950s,
they led to an increased incidence of disease in pets. In 1975 they discovered
that retinal degeneration and blindness in cats were caused by a taurine deficiency.
By the time we reach our 60s, we’re only producing about 1/3 of the taurine that we
produced in our youth. Another study showed an 80% decline across our lifespans. Not only that,
but our ability to use taurine efficiently also goes into decline.
So, what causes this decline in taurine levels? Well, turns out there’s several things. Changes
in our diets, and changes in the absorption of taurine have been suggested. Another cause
might be changes in the production of taurine, a loss of capacity for endogenous synthesis.
The majority of taurine synthesis takes place in the liver. Studies have confirmed
a decrease in taurine production in the liver with advancing age.
So. This decline in taurine levels led to the question: is taurine deficiency a driver of aging,
or simply a passenger of aging? Does it cause aging or is it caused by aging?
That brings us to the taurine study that came out just last month,
in June of this year. It was conducted at Columbia University Irving Medical Center
in New York City. They performed metabolomic (mu ta bu lo’ mic) analysis in a specific nutrient
deficiency and it showed that one of the most dramatically down regulated molecules is taurine.
So, they wanted to see if reversing this decline could improve healthy lifespans.
They studied taurine supplementation in both mice and monkeys. They went with 1000mg,
or 1g, per kilogram of body weight, per day. Since mice only weight about 25 to 30 grams,
that came out to 25 to 30 mg a day for mice.
And they had a number of interesting results. First, they noticed that the
mice had an increase in energy expenditure and a decrease in adiposity and body weight. Since all
the mice were fed the same amount of food, the increased energy expenditure could explain the
decrease in body weight, because it put them at a caloric deficit. They also noted a decrease in
intestinal transit time, although it was unclear if there was a reduction in nutrient absorption.
The mice had reduced anxiety, an increase in memory,
better glucose and insulin tolerance and an enhanced immune phenotype. They also
had increased muscle strength with improved neuromuscular coordination.
Best of all, the mice lived longer. They saw an increase in median lifespan of 12% in
females and 10% in males and an increase in life expectancy of between 18% and 25% at 28 months.
They saw similar effects in monkeys. The monkeys had better functioning of
their organ systems and of their immune systems. They had reduced adiposity,
better bone density and better glycemic indexes.
The researchers determined that taurine supplementation improved lifespan and
health span by having a positive effects on several of the Hallmarks of Aging.
Taurine reduced cellular senescence, protected against telomere attrition,
suppressed mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased DNA damage and reduced
inflammation. It also improved proteostasis and protected against stem cell exhaustion.
But do these findings in animals apply to humans as well? To answer that question, the researchers
took a look at a large, epidemiological study of 12,000 participants from 30 years ago called
the EPIC-Norfolk study. This study found that deficiencies in circulating taurine,
hypotaurine and N-acetyl taurine, 3 metabolites in the same pathway, were associated with aging,
resulting in an increased incidence of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and liver damage.
Taurine abundance decreases with age. Reversing this trend through taurine supplementation has
been found to increases both lifespans and health spans. The researchers concluded that taurine
deficiency is a driver of aging, not a passenger. It’s not a result of aging, it causes aging.
So, it you’re considering adding taurine to your supplements,
how much should you take and where do you get it? I’ve heard several different recommendations,
but they all fall into similar doses. I’ve heard that the dose for humans is between
3 and 6 grams daily. I’ve heard that adults in their 30s should be taking about 500 mg daily.
I’ve heard that adults who are over 50 should take between 1 and 3 grams daily. I’ve heard
that you should take between 3 and 6 grams of taurine for better performance when exercising.
The study recommended between 3 and 6 grams
a day for a person weighing 80 kilos. That’s about 175 pounds.
Now, if you’re under 18, or you’re pregnant, or you’re suffering from a medical condition,
be sure to consult with your medical professional before taking supplemental taurine.
Where do you find taurine? Well, it’s an amino acid that’s most commonly used in sports & energy
drinks, although I wouldn’t recommend them as a way to supplement with taurine.
Taurine is widely available in meats and poultry, although none is present in milk, butter or eggs.
Seafood seems to be one of the food sources that’s most dense in taurine.
It’s rarely found in plants, although seaweed seems to be the exception. In fact,
Nori, which is the seaweed used in sushi,
contains 1300 mg per 100 grams, one of the highest concentrations in nature.
Now, the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine states that the typical
American diet provides between 123 and 178 mg of taurine daily,
but I find that suspect if just 3.5 oz of beef contains 300 mg.
And, of course, you can get taurine as a supplement. And it’s pretty inexpensive.
The Life Extension Foundation sells 300 G, that’s about 10.5 oz,
of powdered taurine for only $15. At 3 g per day, that’s enough for well over 3 months.
So, taurine supplementation might be recommended for aging individuals. Now,
this study just came out, and it recommends long-term, controlled studies in humans to
determine whether or not taurine supplementation can help stave off the aging process.
But regardless of whether or not it eventually proves to be useful in the fight to defeat aging,
taurine supplementation is generally considered to be safe. In a previous long-term human trial,
it was determined that 10 g per day for 6 months of taurine supplementation was both
safe and free of side-effects. It’s one of the main ingredients in energy drinks
and has long been used by athletes to improve their athletic performance.
So, will I be using it? Yeah, I think I might. If it does no harm and it might be helpful,
I don’t see any reason not to. So yeah, I think I’ll be adding it to my rather long
list of longevity supplements, and I’ll probably be taking 2 to 3 grams a day.
OK, that wraps up this video on Taurine. I’d like to remind you to check out my online course,
Introduction to Longevity. There should be a link right down here, and in the description below. If
you’d like to watch a video with more about that program, click on this video right over here.
And that’s it for me. I’m outta here. I’ll catch you next week.