![]() While the authors did not conduct intervention experiments in humans, they analyzed human data from the EPIC-Norfolk study and reported that levels of taurine or taurine metabolites are inversely related to body mass index, diabetes incidence, inflammation, and liver dysfunction. Supplementation resulted in lower fat gain, improved bone mineral density, decreased inflammatory markers, and reduced signs of oxidative damage. also conducted a handful of taurine supplementation experiments in rhesus monkeys, finding that results in this species followed a similar pattern to those in mice. The authors provided evidence that taurine also reduced inflammatory markers, enhanced stem cell counts, and improved mitochondrial function, potentially demonstrating the underlying mechanisms for lifespan effects. Supplemented mice also demonstrated increased bone strength, grip strength, and endurance, as well as decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms, among other findings. Taurine supplementation was associated with reduced body weight (~10%) relative to placebo, evidently due to an increase in energy expenditure. (Importantly, controls demonstrated normal lifespans, so this effect was not due to control mice having unusually short lives). They then conducted experiments in mice and other non-human species on the effects of taurine supplementation on lifespan and health, ultimately reporting a 10-12% increase in median lifespan among mice treated with taurine relative to placebo-treated controls. The researchers showed dramatic age-associated declines in serum taurine in mice, rhesus monkeys, and humans. Thus, Yadav and his colleagues sought to determine whether low taurine levels can indeed drive aging processes and whether supplementation might therefore slow or reverse these processes and extend lifespan. Previous studies have demonstrated that taurine levels in various tissues decrease with age, possibly contributing to deterioration in metabolic and renal health and other age-related dysfunctions. Thus, dietary intake – particularly from seafood and other animal meats – is the body’s primary source of taurine. It is essential for normal neural and skeletomuscular development, and taurine deficiency has been associated with a number of cardiometabolic and kidney impairments.Īlthough various tissues are capable of synthesizing taurine from other amino acids, the level of such biosynthesis in humans is low. In addition to its antioxidant properties, taurine is an organic osmolyte involved in regulating cell volume and other aspects of the body’s fluid dynamics. Though not one of the twenty canonical amino acids used as building blocks for protein synthesis, taurine is nevertheless one of the most abundant amino acids in mammalian tissues and is thought to have a range of physiological effects. Vijay Yadav has suggested it could be? Or is it just the latest brand of snake oil? What is taurine? ![]() So what can we believe? Is taurine truly “an elixir of life,” as study author Dr. Mainstream news outlets and social media had a field day when the researchers reported that supplementation with the amino acid taurine could slow a variety of aging processes and extend lifespan, but such media frenzies – and often, the researchers themselves – have a way of inflating the importance of results and blurring the lines between fact and fiction. ![]() ![]() ![]() Earlier this month, a study published in the prestigious journal Science heralded the arrival of a new contender in the anti-aging game. ![]()
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