Taurine is an amino acid that can be found in meat, shellfish and other foods. It’s added to many energy drinks to help improve brain function. Although these claims have not been proven, new research indicates that the nutrient could help promote healthy aging.
Taurine is a nutrient that can slow down the aging of many species of animals. Scientists report that adding taurine to the diet can slow down this process, leading animals and possibly humans to live longer and healthier lives.
This is an exciting time,” said Vijay Yadav. He is an assistant professor at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, which houses the Columbia University Medical School.
Yadav explained that researchers are currently exploring specific molecules such as taurine which could improve health and lead a longer life.
Yadav, along with his colleagues, showed that taurine levels in humans, mice and monkeys declined significantly as they aged. Yadav says that no one is sure why taurine levels decline by up to 80% as we age.
Researchers found that middle-aged mice and monkeys benefited from supplementation.
The supplementation in mice led to a reduced weight gain, an increased bone density, better muscle endurance and strength and decreased insulin resistance. It also improved the immune system and resulted in a 10% increase of lifespan. This would translate into a human being living for seven or eight more years.
Supplementation improved the bone density, liver health, and immune system function in monkeys.
Yadav points out that supplementation does not appear to reverse the effects of ageing.
He said at a news briefing on Tuesday that “it’s not about putting things back in reverse gear, but hitting the brakes” on aging.
Although there has not been any human trials, the data from animals suggests that it may be possible to apply.
Researchers examined data from the University of Cambridge EPIC Norfolk study, which tracked the health, diet, and physical activity of 35,000 men and women between 1993 and 1998. They found that people with higher levels of taurine were healthier and had lower levels of chronic inflammation. They were also less likely to suffer from Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or obesity.
Exercise may boost taurine
Researchers found that taurine levels are related to the amount of exercise people do. The researchers analyzed data from the EPIC Norfolk study and found that taurine levels increase with exercise.
Yadav added that the next step would be to conduct a clinical study to determine if humans can also benefit from taurine supplements. He could not recommend anyone to try and boost their taurine level without this data.
The European Food Safety Authority has deemed that doses of taurine given to humans are safe. Henning Wackerhage is a professor of exercise physiology at the Technical University of Munich and a coauthor of the study.
Wackerhage is concerned about the caffeine levels in energy drinks.
Yadav stated that no one knows for sure if higher doses would pose any safety concerns.
Foods rich in taurine
Although the body can produce small amounts of taurine on its own, most people get it through foods.
Taurine is found in the highest concentrations in shellfish, dark meat of chicken or turkey, and poultry. Taurine is also found in moderate amounts in other meats, as well as dairy products such milk and ice-cream.
In the 1970s scientists found the absence of taurine in cat food could explain a sudden increase in blindness cases in cats. The cat cannot make taurine by itself. The problems were resolved when pet food manufacturers increased the amount of taurine in their formulas.
Researchers discovered a short time later that lack of taurine was also causing severe heart problems in cats called dilated Cardiomyopathy.
Researchers have since then linked taurine deficiency to a variety of age-related illnesses in humans.
Taurine is safe to consume in supplements.
Charles Mobbs, a neuroscientist, called the research “extraordinarily comprehensive.”
Mobbs, a specialist in endocrinology at Mount Sinai’s Icahn school of medicine in New York who specializes on geriatrics and taurine said that the research was “very credible” and consistent with what we already knew about taurine. This research takes it to the next step.
Mobbs wants future research to explain why taurine levels decrease with age and the way that the nutrient functions.
Mobbs said that because the study was so thorough, the results are likely to be repeated. He wasn’t involved in the research.
The cardiologist Toren Finkel is concerned that if the mice’s dose was scaled to a human dosage, the amount would be between 5 and 6 grams per person.
Finkel, the director of Aging Institute at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, said that many pills are 100 milligrams. “A 5 gram dose would be 50 times as much.” “That’s a lot.”
It is approximately equivalent to 1 teaspoon.
Finkel, a non-participant in the study, said: “One of the most interesting parts of the study was that they observed declines in taurine across multiple species.” If you supplement taurine, it seems to reverse many aging problems in multiple species. These are fascinating results.”
The study, which was not involved in the research, “provides yet another piece of evidence” that diet can impact aging, and age-related diseases, said Dr. Douglas Vaughan.
Vaughan explained that while the researchers used supplements in order to increase taurine levels, the public can also achieve this goal by eating foods high in the nutrient.
The National Institutes of Health funded the research, as did the Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence. A spokesperson for Columbia University said that the university has filed patents for medical applications of taurine.
