What is taurine, and why is it called the elixir of life? And can it really slow down aging? Well, it looks like it might, just maybe. A new study published last week in the journal Science (one of the top journals in science) shows for the first time that taking high doses of taurine can have a positive effect on a variety of things, including slowing the aging process.
First question: what is taurine? It is an amino acid, but it is not one of the 20 amino acids that make up all the proteins in your body. It's a slightly different amino acid, and our bodies naturally produce it in small amounts. We need more than our bodies make even from infancy, but we get it from breast milk and it's added as a supplement to baby formula.
We also get taurine supplements through diet: the best food for taurine is meat, especially shrimp and other shellfish, but also beef and dark meat in chicken and turkey, writes Zafodna.rs, reports N1.
And what did the new scientific work show us?
Well, first the authors (from Columbia University, India's National Institute of Immunology and the Sanger Institute in the UK) describe how taurine levels clearly decline with age in humans and other mammals. But just because taurine is declining doesn't mean that taking it through a supplement or diet will reverse the aging process, but it definitely establishes it as a possibility.
The scientists then describe a series of experiments, mostly on mice, but also on monkeys, where they fed the animals relatively large amounts of taurine daily, and the results were quite impressive:
Lifespan in mice was increased by 10% to 12%.
In mice that began taking taurine supplements in middle age, lifespan increased by 18% to 25%.
Increased bone density in female mice and osteoporosis seemed cured.
Muscle strength increased in both male and female mice compared to mice that did not receive taurine.
The number of old cells—those that don't do much except emit harmful inflammatory signals—appeared to be reduced.
Of course, there is always a big risk with mouse results: they are mice, not humans. And many, many times we've seen results in mice that just don't translate to humans. So the scientists also did a (smaller) study on monkeys, which are genetically much closer to humans. This also had very good results:
Increased bone density in the spine and legs.
Body fat was lower than in monkeys that did not receive taurine.
Several measures of inflammation decreased.
Monkeys live much longer than mice, so scientists don't yet know whether taurine extends monkeys' lifespans, but all signs are promising.
In an accompanying article in the journal Science, Joseph McGann and Joseph Baur of the University of Pennsylvania point out that we do not know for sure what the risks of long-term taurine supplementation would be, but it is already widely taken as a supplement in infant formula and energy drinks, with no known adverse effects.
However, the amounts used in the Columbia study were very high, much higher than you would get from energy drinks or even standard taurine supplements. The doses given to the monkeys in the study would be equivalent to 68 grams per day for a 5,5 kg person. It's not much, and it would be easy to take this much taurine, but no one knows the effects of such high doses on humans.
This study is really intriguing. More studies are needed, especially to measure taurine's effects on humans, but all signs are positive, maybe we'll all be taking taurine supplements one day.
Bonus video:
