This substance not only fights fatigue, but also fights aging and helps lose weight. It can be supplemented by food and exercise

If you say there is something that can resist aging, lose weight, and fight the three highs, people may be very curious. If you say this thing is edible and delicious, then people will immediately take action to show their love for it.

A few days ago, a new study on taurine was published in another top academic journal, Nature, which confirmed that taurine can help mice fight obesity caused by dietary intake and has a positive effect on weight control and energy balance. As soon as this study came out, it instantly attracted the attention of the academic community.

Looking back, in April this year, several Chinese scholars published research results in the top academic journal Cell, showing that taurine supplementation can help enhance the effect of cancer treatment. Previously, Science also published an article on taurine and aging research, which confirmed that taurine can extend the life expectancy of mice and monkeys and improve many health indicators in their later years. Similar effects have also been found in humans. For ordinary people like us, what exactly is taurine, do we need to supplement taurine, and how to supplement it effectively? Today we will talk to you about it.

Taurine - a health all-rounder

The scientific name of taurine is 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, which is widely present in human cell tissues, especially in excitable tissues such as the heart, eyes, brain and muscles. It can be produced by cysteine ​​metabolism in the human body and does not necessarily have to be ingested from food, so it is considered a non-essential amino acid.

Taurine. Copyrighted images from the image library. Reproduction and use may cause copyright disputes.

Of course, it would be better if you could supplement some from food. Taurine plays many important physiological functions in the human body and can definitely be called a health all-rounder.

1

Anti-fatigue

Taurine is often added to various sports drinks on the market to improve fatigue and decreased athletic ability after strenuous exercise.

This is because the presence of taurine can reduce the redox stress response of mitochondria in cells, reduce the generation of free radicals, enable mitochondria to work normally, and produce ATP in a timely and sufficient manner to supply energy to the human body, thereby improving athletic performance.

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2

Anti-aging

Mitochondria are the "powerhouse" of the human body. When their functions are impaired, the energy supply of human cell tissues is affected, and the performance of various physiological functions will also be hindered. This is actually a manifestation of aging. The higher the level of mitochondria in tissues, such as the nervous system, the more obvious this aging manifestation will be, and there will be obvious cognitive function decline. That's why people lament that "when I get older, my brain is obviously not enough."

Studies have found that the level of taurine in animals and humans decreases with age. Supplementing taurine can improve mitochondrial performance, reduce "senescent cells" formed by mitochondrial dysfunction, reduce free radical damage to DNA, and improve the ability of cells to sense nutrition, which can naturally fight aging.

3

lose weight

The latest research results published in the journal Nature show that taurine's metabolite N-acetyltaurine can reduce the food intake of both obese and normal mice, resulting in weight loss.

The researchers said that although it is still in the animal experiment stage, humans and mice have the same PTER base that is sensitive to N-acetyltaurine. In the future, it is expected that N-acetyltaurine-based PTER inhibitors will be explored to treat obesity caused by excessive eating.

4

Lowering the three highs

A study of nearly 12,000 middle-aged people in eastern England found that taurine supplementation may be negatively associated with the occurrence of hypertension and dyslipidemia.

Although some of the above research conclusions are based on animal experiments, whether they can play the same role in humans still needs more and more in-depth research. So don't be blindly excited after reading this, and don't rush to order supplements and sports drinks.

Exercise can also supplement taurine

In fact, many of our daily foods contain taurine. Moreover, generally speaking, the health effects of taking various nutrient supplements are often not as good as eating foods containing these nutrients directly.

Various animal foods, such as meat, eggs, and especially seafood, such as marine fish, shrimp, shellfish, and animal liver, are rich in taurine. Nuts and some algae also contain taurine, but relatively speaking, the taurine content in plant foods is relatively low. Therefore, for strict vegetarians who do not even eat eggs, there may be a risk of taurine deficiency.

The good news is that if you really don’t like eating meat, eggs and seafood, exercise can also promote the increase of taurine levels.

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Research has found that after exercise, the level of taurine and its metabolites in people's bodies will increase by 1.16 times, and the increase is more obvious for people who rarely exercise and often sit for a long time. Despite this, it is still recommended that everyone combine a balanced diet with exercise, and the effect will be twice the result with half the effort.

An interesting phenomenon is that taurine can improve people's sports performance and relieve sports fatigue, while exercise can promote the increase of taurine levels, thus forming a complete and virtuous closed loop. It can be seen that the health benefits brought by exercise are not only comprehensive, but also "circular".

Don’t take taurine supplements blindly

Too much intake is not good

So, does everyone need to take extra taurine? Not really. First of all, taurine is found in many natural foods. Secondly, excessive intake of taurine can also cause certain health hazards, such as digestive problems and increased metabolic burden on the kidneys, but overall taurine is still very safe. Studies have shown that the daily intake of taurine should not exceed 3 grams. In dietary supplements containing taurine on the market, the taurine content is usually lower than this dosage range, which is relatively safe. For friends who have regular exercise habits (such as anaerobic exercise with a certain intensity), you can take dietary supplements containing taurine before exercise to improve sports fatigue, but don't expect a leap forward. To reduce sports fatigue and injuries, you also need to rely on a reasonable exercise plan, scientific pre-exercise warm-up and post-exercise stretching. For ordinary people, as long as the daily diet structure is reasonable and the combination of meat and vegetables is good, there is no need to worry about taurine deficiency. After all, it is a non-essential amino acid, and the human body can synthesize part of it by itself. Some people may also want to ask, can you get better anti-aging effects by taking extra taurine? It can only be said that the current research results based on humans are not sufficient. If you feel that your taurine intake is insufficient and want to supplement it, it is recommended to focus on food supplements, such as eating more seafood appropriately, but be careful not to eat too much. According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", it is best to eat 300 to 500 grams of seafood per week. It is best to consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for a specific supplement plan. This article is not used as a basis for diagnosis. After all, a reasonable diet, scientific exercise, regular work and rest, and physical and mental pleasure are the cornerstones of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

References

[1]ParminderSinghetal.,Taurinedeficiencyasadriverofaging.Science380,eabn9257(2023).

[2]Wei, W., Lyu, X., Markhard, AL et al. PTERisa N-acetyltaurinehydrolasethatregulatesfeedingandobesity. Nature (2024).

[3]CaoT, ZhangW, WangQ, etal. CancerSLC6A6-mediatedtaurineuptaketransactivatesimmunecheckpointgenesandinducesexhaustioninCD8+Tcells[J]. Cell, 2024.

[4]GuanL,MiaoP.The effectsoftaurinesupplementationonobesity,bloodpressureandlipidprofile:Ameta-analysisofrandomizedcontrolledtrials.EurJPharmacol.(2020)

[5]LaidlawSA,GrosvenorM,KoppleJD.Thetaurinecontentofcommonfoodstuffs.JPENJParenterEnteralNutr.1990Mar-Apr;14(2):183-188.

[6]ShaoA.HathcockJN.Riskassessmentfortheaminoacidstaurine.L-glutamineandL-arginine.RegulToxicolPharma-col.2008.50:376-399.

Planning and production

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert