In a groundbreaking study published in the prestigious scientific journal "Science" in June of this year, Professor Vijay Yadav and his team at Columbia University revealed a potent anti-aging substance that not only is commonly found in our daily lives but also extends lifespan by an impressive 23%—Taurine!
What is the magic behind taurine? Why is its anti-aging effect so powerful? Let SRS guide you through an understanding of this anti-aging superstar (for information on how to supplement taurine in daily life, please refer to the end of the article).
Terrifying! A Vital Substance Decreases by 80% as You Age!
Taurine, a unique amino acid distinguished by a sulfonic acid group on its molecule, was initially isolated from the bile of cows, hence named taurine.
Amino acids in the human body are categorized into essential and non-essential. The former cannot be synthesized internally and must be obtained through diet, while the latter can be synthesized within the body. Taurine, despite being a non-essential amino acid, plays a crucial role, providing silent support to various tissues in the body. Taurine deficiency may lead to retinal degeneration, chronic liver disease, muscle atrophy, reduced physical performance, and conditions like diabetes.
In this study, researchers found that mice lacking taurine exhibited severe premature aging and reduced lifespan, affecting the health of bones, muscles, and nerves.
Despite being a non-essential amino acid, taurine is akin to an hourglass in biological organisms, steadily decreasing with age. Taurine levels drop by 30% in middle-aged mice compared to young individuals, and in monkeys and humans, individuals in old age experience a staggering 80% reduction in taurine levels.
Supplementing the body with taurine – does it impact aging? Researchers delved further into this question.
Extending Lifespan by 23%! The Invincible Taurine Aiming to Illuminate the Entire Aging Spectrum
This research, published in a top journal, owes its prominence to its comprehensive experiments involving yeast, nematodes, mice (primarily), zebrafish, and macaques. The study extracted a wealth of data, revealing taurine's extensive and potent anti-aging and lifespan-extending capabilities.
*No.1 Anti-Aging Insights*
The most dazzling data is undoubtedly taurine's lifespan extension effect. Median lifespan increased by 10-12% in mice and 10-23% in nematodes with taurine intervention.
Beyond extending lifespan, taurine significantly improved aging-related unhealthy conditions in experimental animals, prolonging healthy lifespan:
- Weight reduction: Taurine inhibited age-related weight gain in mice, achieving a 10% decrease in weight at an intervention dosage of 1000mg/kg body weight. The proportion of fat weight also significantly decreased, possibly due to improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
- Increased bone mass and muscle strength: Taurine's effects were prominently observed in bones and muscles, with increased spinal and femoral bone mass, alleviating menopause-induced osteoporosis, and enhancing muscle strength.
- Cognitive improvement: Under taurine intervention, mice exhibited reduced anxiety and depression, along with improved memory.
- Inflammation relief: Experimental mice showed reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines, indicating an improvement in age-related inflammation.
No.2 Taurine Improving Aging Markers
- Cellular aging: Taurine intervention improved radiation-induced cellular aging.
- Telomere damage: Taurine intervention did not affect telomerase activity but reduced mortality caused by telomerase deficiency.
- Genomic instability: Supplementing taurine significantly reduced DNA damage markers, even reclaiming some mouse lifespan from a potent DNA-damaging agent, paraquat.
- Epigenetic changes: Taurine reversed the methylation levels of muscles and cerebral cortex in old mice to levels comparable to young individuals.
- Nutrient sensing and autophagy imbalance: Taurine not only reduced mTOR pathway activity but also activated autophagy in multiple organs.
- Chronic inflammation: Taurine intervention significantly lowered the expression of inflammatory cytokines.
To validate these findings for human relevance, researchers analyzed blood samples from 11,966 participants, exploring the correlation between blood taurine levels and over 50 clinical risk factors.
Results revealed positive correlations with lower blood pressure, blood sugar, body fat percentage, inflammation, etc., suggesting potential positive effects on human health and providing reassurance for future clinical trials of taurine as an anti-aging agent.
Comprehensive Guide to Taurine Supplementation
While taurine offers numerous benefits, its transformative power into anti-aging strength requires effective supplementation. Elevating taurine levels in the body involves enhancing synthesis capabilities or additional intake through diet. Here are some methods SRS has compiled, ensuring there's an approach suitable for everyone.
No.1 Exercise
In a small-scale study, researchers recruited four groups of volunteers for a test: sedentary individuals, bodybuilders, endurance athletes, and speed athletes. After subjecting them to the same exercise test, taurine and its metabolite levels were measured.
Magically, after exercise, everyone showed an increase in taurine levels, with an overall increase of 1.16 times and a 1.36 times increase in the metabolite. Although the sedentary individuals showed a less significant increase than the other athletes, an overall upward trend was observed.
Since the test only included exercise without food intake, it can be inferred that exercise can elevate taurine levels!
No.2 Meat and Fish
In terms of dietary taurine supplementation, humans might take a cue from cats.
Cats lack the enzyme to synthesize taurine in their livers, so they must ingest taurine to survive normally and maintain good eyesight. Therefore, the foods cats love, such as meat and fish, are rich in taurine, making them "preferred" foods.
Fish and poultry, like cats love, are excellent choices. Shellfish tops the taurine content chart, followed by chicken and turkey. Surprisingly, milk and vegetarian sources have lower taurine levels.
Interestingly, within poultry, chicken breast and chicken leg meat differ significantly, with the former being white meat and the latter being dark meat. Taurine is more concentrated in dark meat, even reaching over 20 times that of white meat. Given that taurine supplementation also reduces weight and fat, there's no need to compromise on chicken breast for weight loss – isn't chicken thigh delicious?
No.3 Shortcut – Supplements
Besides exercise and diet, there's a third path to supplement taurine: supplements. However, some everyday items we encounter may already contain taurine.
Due to high demand during growth and development but inadequate synthesis, taurine is often added to infant formula. Some elderly and adult formulas also contain taurine for added nutrition.
In addition to formula, taurine is commonly found in various functional beverages.
Moreover, as a mature and safe substance, taurine has not shown significant adverse reactions in previous studies. Therefore, there are several taurine supplements on the market, with individual doses ranging from 200mg-1000mg and daily recommended doses varying from 1-2g. The prices are much lower than other common anti-aging substances, providing anti-aging enthusiasts with a broader range of choices.
Compared to many "star products" in the anti-aging circle, taurine's unexpected "rise" seems both surprising and reasonable.
Previously, research primarily focused on taurine's protective effects on infants who cannot synthesize it independently. However, in this era where
aging biology is becoming increasingly important, supported by a robust theoretical foundation, taurine might soon become a new trend in the anti-aging industry.
In the era of advancing aging biology, taurine emerges as a new star in the anti-aging field, supported by strong theoretical foundations. As the interest in taurine grows, SRS Nutrition Express stands ready to provide high-quality taurine raw materials. For more information, please contact us.
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Reference:
[1] P. Singh et al. (2023). Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging. Science 380, eabn9257. DOI: 10.1126/science.abn9257
[2] Jong, C. J., Sandal, P., & Schaffer, S. W. (2021). The Role of Taurine in Mitochondria Health: More Than Just an Antioxidant. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(16), 4913. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26164913
[3] Wójcik, O. P., Koenig, K. L., Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, A., Costa, M., & Chen, Y. (2010). The potential protective effects of taurine on coronary heart disease. Atherosclerosis, 208(1), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2009.06.002
[4] Knopf, K., Sturman, J. A., Armstrong, M., & Hayes, K. C. (1978). Taurine: an essential nutrient for the cat. The Journal of nutrition, 108(5), 773–778. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/108.5.773
[5] Hayes K. C. (1982). Nutritional problems in cats: taurine deficiency and vitamin A excess. The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 23(1), 2–5.
[6] Caine, J. J., & Geracioti, T. D. (2016). Taurine, energy drinks, and neuroendocrine effects. Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine, 83(12), 895–904. https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.83a.15050
Post time: Nov-29-2023
