Where Does Taurine Come From?

Bodybuilders around the world seek supplements that will help their muscles grow and help them lift heavier weights for a longer period. This often means looking for natural substances that aid the body in developing into its peak condition. Taurine is one supplement used to help the muscles grow and increase energy. Taurine is also useful in the treatment of a number of medical conditions.

Understanding where taurine comes from involves understanding the body. Taurine is excreted as a component of the bile in your intestinal tract. Most animals also use it as a part of their bile for digesting their food. Taurine was discovered in 1827 when two German scientists isolated it from the bile in an ox.

Taurine is an organic acid that your body uses in the digestion of food. Many people consider taurine to be an amino acid but it is not technically one under the strict definition of an amino acid, because taurine does not contain a carboxyl functional group on the end of the molecule. It instead contains sulfur.

What Does Taurine Do?

Taurine has been found to affect a number of physiological processes in the body. Due to its ability to cross the blood/brain barrier, it is suspected of playing a role in calcium homeostasis, prevention of epileptic seizures, prevention of obesity and inhibiting neurotransmission. Taurine is used in many other places in the body in addition to helping with the brain's functioning.

Taurine aids in the prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. It also helps to lower high cholesterol. Taurine is used to combat the effects of aging, to improve memory in memory-impaired patients, to treat cystic fibrosis and to treat hypertension. Taurine can also lower the blood sugar of patients that suffer from diabetes.

Taurine Supplementation

Taurine supplementation is often advisable for people that suffer from any of the diseases it is shown to affect. Newborns also have a requirement for taurine because their bodies cannot produce it in the liver at birth.

There are also other general benefits of raising your taurine levels. For bodybuilders taurine helps to maintain hydration of the muscle tissue, promoting muscle growth and volume. Taurine plays an important role in driving water into the muscle cells as well, creating a fuller appearance in the muscles and promoting higher protein synthesis in the muscles. It also increases the energy in the muscles, allowing for longer more intense workouts.

Consuming Taurine

Part of knowing where does taurine come from involves knowing where you can find it in order to increase your taurine levels. Increasing the amount of taurine in your daily diet is not hard. Many foods have taurine in them and the taurine consumed from these foods will be utilized by your body as it needs it.

Milk products, eggs, meat and fish all contain reasonable amounts to taurine. Eggs, milk products and fish all have more benefits than just increasing your levels of taurine. They also add other important nutrients to your body such as omega3 fatty acids, calcium and protein. Since taurine helps to lower your cholesterol, you should not have to worry about an increased egg consumption.

Strict vegans show a decreased amount of taurine in their blood stream and should consider taking a taurine supplement to gain the benefits of sufficient taurine levels in the body. Normal human bodies also produce taurine in the liver by the cysteine sulfonic pathway.

Synthetic Taurine

The easiest to obtain source of taurine comes from taking a supplement.  Supplementation of taurine is done by taking a pill that contains taurine synthesized in a chemical plant. Energy drinks can provide part of your daily requirements, but while giving you some of the beneficial effects of taurine, such as improved mood and heightened memory function, you also suffer from the increased amount of caffeine consumed by your body. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that promotes dehydration and is highly addictive.

The consumption of various energy drinks containing taurine and caffeine has a dehydration effect on the body and will put a stress on the heart. Therefore, taurine supplementation should normally be done in moderation.