![]() ![]() Taurine also participates in the immune defense system. ![]() Since taurocholate is reabsorbed less efficiently than glycocolate, more taurine, favoring a higher proportion of taurocholate may help to lower cholesterol. However, this is an important 10 percent, because bile acid loss is the only way cholesterol is systematically removed from the body. Bile acids are mostly reabsorbed during digestion, except for about 5 to 10 percent that are excreted with fiber. Taurine is synthesized in the liver where it combines with a derivative of cholesterol called cholic acid to from taurocholate, an important bile acid, which along with glycocholate and other bile acids helps to emulsify dietary fats. The benefits of this versatile amino acid-like compound do not end there. Taurine even relieves hypertension, and the osmotic stress caused by the elevated blood glucose levels of diabetes. In the eye, the same process helps to thwart retinal degeneration and age-related cataracts. In the brain, this action affects the activity of neurotransmitters, and so learning and memory are impacted. Because of this, taurine holds promise as a therapeutic agent. In this manner, taurine helps to protect the heart from dangerous arrhythmias, ischemia and congestive heart disease. This regulation allows cells to adapt to the metabolic stress that alters the cell's water volume, either from disease or the normal wear and tear of nerve impulses and muscle contraction. It does this by moving across the cell membrane with the aid of special transporters, and by influencing the movement of sodium, potassium, chloride, and calcium, through specific membrane channels. Perhaps the most important roles played by taurine stem from its ability to regulate cell volume, or the passage of water into an out of the cell, a process called osmoregulation. There are side benefits to making our own taurine as some of the intermediate compounds created during its synthesis act as antioxidants. Thus, vegetarians may be at risk for a deficiency unless careful to balance their protein intake. If we choose not to eat animal foods, a mixture of vegetable proteins with sulfur-containing amino acids - such as nuts and legumes (including soybeans) and a healthy variety of sulfur-rich vegetables, such as onions, garlic, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and turnips - will do. It's not available from vegetable sources other than seaweed. The reason taurine can be a desired ingredient in energy drinks is that stressful situations cause the body to lose taurine, and quickly putting it back is beneficial.ĭietary taurine is found mostly in animal proteins, which also contain the methionine and cysteine necessary for its synthesis. ![]() Sobe's fruit punch-flavored Power energy beverage contains a blend of creatine (25 mg), taurine (50 mg) and proline (25 mg). Despite this, taurine is still considered conditionally essential, because although we can synthesize our own, there are times when is it necessary to obtain an outside source, especially for infants and persons on total parenteral nutrition. Unlike cats, humans can make sufficient taurine from the sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cysteine as long as we have sufficient vitamin B6. Cats don't synthesize enough taurine to make up for daily losses and, when deficient, they display many abnormal symptoms, such as dilated cardiomyopathy, retinal degeneration and abnormal platelet function. It's called a "free" amino acid because it does not act as a building block for proteins, but rather works independently performing a variety of important tasks, a testament to its ubiquitous presence.įirst isolated in 1827 from ox bile, taurine remained behind the scenes until about 1978 when studies showed it to be an essential nutrient for cats. Taurine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body, with highest concentrations in brain, heart, retina, skeletal muscle and leukocytes. Two things come to mind when I hear the word taurine: cats, and bile. ![]() Check the label on most energy drinks, and you'll find an ingredient called taurine. ![]()
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