What is taurine
Taurine is an organic acid – often incorrectly referred to as an amino acid – that is produced during metabolism by the breakdown of the amino acids cysteine and methionine.
Taurine is found throughout the body, but especially in the eyes, heart, blood, brain and muscles. These are not only extremely important for strong performance in sport. To do this, they must function properly and therefore be supplied with a sufficient amount of important nutrients, such as taurine.
Many athletes like to take taurine because they expect it to boost their performance. Incidentally, the name is derived from Latin, as “Taurus” means “bull” or “ox”. However, the chemical name is 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid.
Taurine was long regarded as a non-essential amino acid, as the substance is produced by the body itself. However, only in the quantities necessary for survival in order to maintain organ function.
The body produces around 125 mg of taurine per day, with a balanced diet adding another 400 mg through food. A taurine deficiency is therefore extremely rare and only occurs under certain circumstances.
Effect of taurine
In general, you probably know amino acids from muscle building. Protein is made up of amino acids, and the more protein your body gets, the more your muscles will benefit. However, the situation is different with taurine: a low concentration of taurine can occur in the blood.
However, this is particularly elevated in certain organs that are dependent on a sufficient taurine concentration: Muscles, brain and leukocytes. Based on these findings, numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of the nutrient on the human organism [1].
Numerous indications of a positive effect on the body have been found, which still need to be researched in more detail. Nevertheless, the effect of taurine has not yet been fully researched. So far, these are approaches that have not yet enabled any generally valid, health-related statements to be made about taurine.
This requires further clinical studies. Above all, however, the interaction between taurine and other nutrients is always a mystery and leads to new discoveries. The taurine content produced by the body’s own metabolism is usually sufficient for the functions mentioned.
Side effects of taurine
As is so often the case, it depends on the dose: In normal quantities, taurine is not harmful and has no side effects. In general, the substance is therefore classified as harmless. However, anyone who thinks they need to take large amounts of taurine from energy drinks should be careful.
This is because excess taurine is excreted via the kidneys. In normal quantities this is not a problem, but in very large quantities the kidneys can be affected.
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