Supplements

Taurine

Taurine is an amino acid found in the heart muscle, white blood cells, skeletal muscle, and central nervous system. It is a building block of all the other amino acids, as well as a key component of bile, which is needed for the digestion of fats, the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and the control of serum cholesterol levels.

Taurine polices our cell membranes, keeping potassium and magnesium inside the cells and keeping excess sodium out. Taurine acts like a diuretic, without the side effects of a pharmaceutical diuretic.

Regular supplements of taurine contribute to our antioxidant defenses, reinforce the immune system, strengthen the heart muscle, stabilize heart rhythm, prevent blood clots, guard against diabetes, and aid digestion.

Bile is an enzyme manufactured in the liver with taurine's help. In taurine's presence, bile remains in a liquid state and is less likely to form gallstones. Persons with cystic fibrosis can digest fats more successfully when they take taurine supplements.

In addition to encouraging the excretion of excess fluid, this amino acid dampens the sympathetic nervous system (which can constrict blood vessels), thereby relieving arterial spasms that cause blood pressure to rise.

Taurine strengthens the heart muscle and maintains the calcium balance. It plays a major role in regulating the heart's contractility, and it guards against the toxic threat of drugs like Adriamycin (doxorubicin), a medication used in chemotherapy that frequently causes heart attacks, cardiac arrest, and arrhythmia.

Taurine has a protective effect on the brain, particularly if the brain is dehydrated. It is used to treat anxiety, epilepsy, hyperactivity, poor brain function, and seizures. Seizures caused by the swelling of brain tissue, such as those that occur with brain tumors, are relieved by taurine.

The highest concentration of polyunsaturated fats is contained in the rods and cones in our retinas. These fats need constant antioxidant protection provided by nutrients, including taurine. A deficiency damages the retinas of both animals and people.

Taurine is one of the few substances that can influence the treatment of macular degeneration. Sometimes the amino acid can also be useful against another cause of blindness, retinitis pigmentosa.

Taurine helps stabilize blood sugar in both Type I and Type II diabetics. For Type II diabetics, it improves cellular sensitivity to insulin; for Type I diabetics, a daily 1.5 gram dose keeps blood sugar lower over the long term and reduces abnormal platelet activity.

According to animal studies, taurine offers nearly complete protection from respiratory hazards such as ozone. Asthma attacks are diminished significantly when a daily 500 mg dosage is taken as a lung aerosol.

Deficiency: A taurine deficiency can exist if you do not eat shellfish, the nutrient's most abundant source.

Depleting Agents: Estrogen replacement therapy blocks the manufacture of taurine, as will chemotherapy or a lack of good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. (Supplements of beneficial bacteria and vitamin B6 can restore the balance.)

Sources: Taurine is found in eggs, fish, meat, and milk, but not in vegetable proteins. It can be synthesized from cysteine in the liver and from methionine elsewhere in the body, as long as sufficient quantities of vitamin B6 are present. For vegetarians, synthesis by the body is crucial.

Herb Sources: Alfalfa, green tea, kelp, nettle, oat straw, and shepherd's purse.

Precautions: Few adverse reactions are associated with taurine supplementation. However, the amino acid should not be taken indiscriminately by people with ulcers because it can increase the secretion of stomach acids.

Dosage Ranges and Duration of Administration:

• Adults: 1-3 grams daily
• Constipation: 5 grams
• Seizure disorders, edema, high blood pressure: 1.5-4 grams daily, in divided doses. (Atkins, et. al)