Everything about taurine: What is taurine used for? Benefits and properties

As an abundant amino acid in muscle, we all want to know: what are the benefits of taurine?.

However, with new research, scientists are beginning to think that taurine is most abundant in the body's type II muscle fibers, even more so than glutamine, which has led to much speculation among power athletes about the benefits of taurine [1].

The processes by which some of its functions are carried out are still not clearly understood. However, taurine appears to have several critical functions and may act similarly to creatine in that it expands the body, helping the muscle cell itself retain more water and thereby increasing cell volume.

What is taurine?

The name taurine is derived from the Latin word Taurus (meaning OX). Although most supplements are now synthesized in vegan-friendly laboratories, the compound was first isolated from ox bile in the 1820s, hence its name. (Taurine, like the zodiac sign Taurus, means bull or ox.)

In fact, it is distributed throughout the tissues of animals and accounts for up to 0.1% of total human body weight—and remember that we are already 70% water, so that is a lot.

It is a conditionally essential amino acid derived from the sulfur-containing amino acid cysteine that is chemically described as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. All right, but before you begin to learn about the benefits of taurine, you should know that it is considered conditionally essential because it is depleted under conditions of intense physical stress (e.g., during training).

After glutamine, taurine is the second most abundant amino acid found in skeletal muscle (especially in fast-twitch fibers), which has prompted the numerous scientific studies that sometimes identify it as the predominant amino acid.

Although taurine exists in most mammalian cells, it is found in high concentrations in bile, the intestines, and tissues with high metabolic rates (e.g., the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle).

First, does it replenish reserves during intense activity?

It has been theorized that all of this may be very important for high-performance athletes, as it helps with protein synthesis and, therefore, muscle hypertrophy.

Another theory says that it improves structural contractile capacity in the muscle itself and, therefore, may help the lifter handle heavier weights.

A relatively large number of studies have been conducted on taurine. It is very important to note that these studies concern two distinct aspects of the benefits of taurine.

• The first was to assess whether taurine supplementation can significantly alter its levels in the body. This stemmed from negative speculation about the ineffectiveness of changing natural taurine levels.
• Secondly, there had to be a conclusion as to whether high levels of taurine in the human body had any effect, in one way or another, on human performance.

After a two-week study involving taurine-depletion methods, such as intense and exhaustive exercise, those who used taurine did not experience depletion of the amino acid in their bodies. In addition, there were also positive signs suggesting possible beneficial long-term endurance effects [2].

The same study examined the effects of depleted taurine levels on muscles. In short, it found that normal or slightly higher taurine levels increase force production in skeletal muscle, but taurine levels may decrease during exercise. Therefore, a drop in taurine levels decreases force production, so using any of its forms is essential, so to speak.

What are the benefits of taurine?

With various goals in mind, taurine can help not only in sports but also in daily activities, but let’s focus on what concerns us.

Benefits of taurine in bodybuilding:

• Helps you concentrate.
• Increases strength and power.
• Reduces exercise-induced muscle damage.
• It accelerates recovery between workouts and may also have an insulin-like effect in the body, resulting in better muscle growth or hypertrophy.

In endurance sports:

• Increases physical and mental performance

As you can see, taurine supplementation can benefit almost every aspect of training, including training intensity, performance, and recovery.

Given that exercise has been shown to deplete taurine stores in skeletal muscle, especially in fast-twitch fibers, it makes sense to add it to your supplement regimen before and after training; therefore, it is a compound commonly used in amino acid supplements and pre-workouts.

As always, it is of course worth looking for supplements containing this versatile super amino acid in a high-quality, highly bioavailable form and at doses consistent with your sporting goals.

Taurine helps with concentration

Taurine exists in a very high concentration in the brain and plays a neuromodulatory role in this area.

Among the benefits of taurine is its ability to alter the actions of inhibitory neurotransmitters such as GABA, which is suggested to be the mechanism behind the increased focus observed when it is used during a workout.

Of importance to bodybuilders, energy drinks based on the compound have been shown to improve brain performance, focus, and time on task [3].

By taking taurine, you increase your strength

It is known that decreases in taurine concentration in skeletal muscle lead to decreases in strength. Interestingly, taurine supplementation increases taurine levels in muscles and increases muscle strength.

Two weeks of taurine supplementation have been shown to increase taurine content in fast-twitch muscles, resulting in greater muscle force production, reduced fatigue, and improved muscle function during recovery [4].

In fact, mechanistic studies have shown that when a muscle is stimulated, taurine allows more calcium to be released (inside muscle cells), leading to more powerful contractions [5].

Taurine regulates blood sugar

Several studies show that taurine supplementation can regulate blood sugar levels in the body, another of the benefits of taurine that can be bifunctional, both in bodybuilding and health.

A recent study reported that those frequently given taurine may experience improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in the presence of a high-glucose diet [7].

This amino acid can definitely help increase insulin sensitivity and regulate blood sugar levels.

Taurine increases muscle volume

Taurine is a well-researched regulator of cell volume, as it acts as an osmolyte (that is, it regulates fluid balance) [6].

As such, one of the benefits of taurine is optimizing cellular hydration and maximizing muscle function.

Taurine is a powerful cell volumizer.

This not only makes the muscle belly appear fuller, but also provides an indirect stimulus for anabolism.

Taurine protects muscles

In a recent study, taurine was shown to significantly reduce muscle breakdown by decreasing catabolic 3-methylhistidine by 20% after an intense treadmill run.

In the same study, urinary excretion of creatinine and creatine after resistance exercise was significantly reduced with taurine supplementation, further illustrating its ability to mitigate muscle breakdown [12].

Taurine accelerates post-workout recovery

Science has repeatedly shown that it is a powerful antioxidant and membrane-stabilizing agent, another benefit of taurine that you can use to your advantage.

Exercise stress destabilizes and damages muscle cells through several different mechanisms, including oxidative stress. Taurine’s antioxidant properties may improve these adverse effects.

It has also been shown to reduce inflammation associated with cellular damage. Based on taurine’s protective properties, research has shown that frequent supplementation can protect against exercise-induced muscle damage and speed recovery [14].

Can taurine be vital in endurance sports?

Muscular endurance is important for all athletes, including bodybuilders. After all, the more you can challenge your muscles without overtraining, the greater the anabolic response will be.

In just two weeks of taurine consumption, you can extend the time to exhaustion in an endurance event by up to 50%.

This effect on muscular endurance correlates with increased or maintained taurine levels, in contrast to a drop in its levels [9-12].

Does taurine increase energy?

The concise answer is “absolutely not.” If anything, it may be mildly suppressive when it comes to the neurological system.

It may have initially been added to energy drinks because it can make the glucose spike more gradual. A smaller spike means more time before blood sugar returns to normal, thereby mitigating the sugar crash.

So, the fact that it reduces the acute effects of energy drinks may actually be why it is such a great addition to energy drinks: it makes the effect less abrupt and reduces jitters, helping anyone, including athletes, stay more effective and productive.

For that reason (and that reason alone), some people find it comparable to theanine in terms of its ability to make the effects of caffeine more pleasant. In this case, try a caffeine supplement + taurine to experience its effects.

Does taurine have other benefits?

Although there is a great deal of literature on the benefits of taurine in sports, it can also help any athlete, who is ultimately a human being

Control anxiety and insomnia:

• As one of the few compounds that cross the blood-brain barrier, taurine plays a predominant role in mood regulation.
• It works to calm anxiety by increasing the presence of the chemicals glycine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), while also reducing excessive glutamine levels, which are linked to the causes of anxiety, as well as combating sleep deprivation.
• Not getting enough sleep causes anxiety, and worrying about falling asleep makes it harder to do so; therefore, this amino acid.

Strengthen the cardiovascular system:

• Studies in this area have been extensive, and all have produced favorable results suggesting that taurine has profound effects on the heart and can make a noticeable difference for people suffering from cardiovascular problems such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
• One of the benefits of taurine is that it improves arterial health. This leads to improved blood flow and healthy oxygenation of tissue in the heart.

Delays hair loss:

• Hair supplementation is notoriously effective due to its antifibrotic properties, which help inhibit inflammation of the hair follicle and prevent stiffness and hardening.
• In addition, taurine is an amino sulfonic acid. These types of acids combine to produce proteins in the body, including keratin, which is the main component of hair.

What types of taurine supplements are available?

Taurine supplements are widely available in both powder and capsule form. Each has its own distinct set of advantages and disadvantages.

Taurine powder has the obvious benefit of being much easier to swallow than large capsules, but there are also important physiological considerations to keep in mind.

Powders have a much better absorption rate than tablets; the reason is quite simple. Tablets travel through the body and break down slowly as they move along, releasing their contents in increments, and this process takes a long time, whereas powder dissolved in water is absorbed almost instantly and all at once. This produces a much faster effect, perfect if you are taking taurine before exercising.

Powders also deliver a much more concentrated dose. You can pack much more taurine into a spoonful of powder than into a small capsule.

That said, the argument is not entirely one-sided, and capsules have some things in their favor: if you hate the taste of powders, then they are perfect, as well as being an easily transportable, low-effort option. If you are in a hurry or on the go, you should mix powders carefully. Capsules are often more cost-effective, even if they are not the best option.

When should you take taurine to obtain benefits?

When to take taurine depends entirely on why you are taking it. If you are using it for its sleep-promoting qualities, ideally take it 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime, followed by a second dose if you wake up during the night.

Taurine is an effective pre-workout if you consume it approximately one hour beforehand. More generally, taking a dose three times a day after a meal is an effective way to keep its levels at their maximum.

Every body has a principle of individuality; taking this into account, taurine may give you strong or mild results. It depends on what you want from your supplement.

Most people take 2 grams per day, but although it is unclear when diminishing returns begin, you probably do not need to do so if you are consuming a lot of meat.

The critical point, or key takeaway, is that although salmon and beef provide between 4 and 7 grams of taurine per kilogram and are part of a bodybuilder's diet, most people take extra taurine through a protein powder containing taurine.

Can it be combined with other supplements?

Of course, it is possible to combine taurine with other minerals, vitamins, or plants.

• To combat anxiety, it can be mixed with magnesium and vitamin B6.
• To counteract fatigue, it is best to combine it with vitamin C. This combination will have an anti-fatigue effect on the affected individual.
• Acerola, for example, is an interesting plant thanks to its high natural vitamin C content, which has an impact on overall health and well-being.
• For sports enthusiasts, taurine can also be mixed with spirulina, wheatgrass, and guarana.

Additionally, it can work very well with creatine and glutamine, especially around your workout, before or even after completing a hard training session, since this combination can help performance and anabolic/catabolic balance very efficiently from the first set.

Conclusions

Taurine has been hailed as a “wonder molecule” by many researchers due to the extensive list of benefits it offers, notably more than many other supplements on the market.

To optimize your athletic performance, improve your health or mood, and even help you sleep, the benefits of taurine are supported by more than one piece of evidence, making it a highly effective and safe addition to your supplement stack.

We hope this article has provided you with all the knowledge you need before adding the amino acid to your lifestyle. In the following video, we also summarize what taurine can do for you.

References

• [1] Bratman, Steven. Taurine. Natural Health Bible. 2000
• [2] Yatabe Y, Miyakawa S, Miyazaki T, Matsuzaki Y, Ochiai N. Effects of taurine administration over skeletal muscles on exercise. J Orthop Sci. 2003.
• [3] A taurine and caffeine-containing drink stimulates cognitive performance and well-being. Amino Acids, 2000
• [4] Taurine supplementation increases skeletal muscle force production and protects muscle function during and after high-frequency in vitro stimulation. J Appl Physiol, 2009
• [5] Effect of taurine on sarcoplasmic reticulum function and force in skinned fast-twitch skeletal muscle fibres of the rat. J Physiol, 2002
• [6] Physiology of cell volume regulation in vertebrates. Physiol Rev, 2009
• [7] Taurine supplementation enhances nutrient-induced insulin secretion in pancreatic mice islets. Diabetes Metab Res Rev, 2009.
• [8] The potential usefulness of taurine on diabetes mellitus and its complications. Amino Acids, 2011.
• [9] Optimal and effective oral dose of taurine to prolong exercise performance in rat. Amino Acids, 2004
• [10] Caffeine and taurine enhance endurance performance. Int J Sports Med, 2009
• [11] Effects of taurine administration in rat skeletal muscles on exercise. J Orthop Sci, 2003
• [12] Effects of taurine administration on exercise. Adv Exp Med Biol, 2009
• [13] Taurine: new implications for an old amino acid. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 2003.
• [14] The cytoprotective role of taurine in exercise-induced muscle injury. Amino Acids, 2002