Body Building, Weightlifting, Muscle Gain, Weight Loss, Nutrition

Average Daily Consumption from Food

Taurine occurs naturally in food, especially in seafood and meat. The mean daily intake from omnivore diets was determined to be around 58 mg (range from 9 to 372 mg) and to be low or negligible from a strict vegan diet. In another study, taurine intake was estimated to be generally less than 200 mg/day, even in individuals eating a high-meat diet. According to another study, taurine consumption was estimated to vary between 40 to 400 mg/day.

Biosynthesis

Mammalian taurine synthesis occurs in the pancreas via the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway. In this pathway, the sulfhydryl group of cysteine is first oxidized to cysteine sulfinic acid by the enzyme cysteine dioxygenase. Cysteine sulfinic acid, in turn, is decarboxylated by sulfinoalanine decarboxylase to form hypotaurine. It is unclear whether hypotaurine is then spontaneously or enzymatically oxidized to yield taurine.

Taurine is naturally produced in the testicles of many mammals. Urban legends surrounding the source of taurine have included bull urine extract and bull semen. While it's true that taurine is found in both sources, taurine in the pharmaceutical or food industry is chemically synthesized.

Health Benefits

Despite being present in many energy foods, taurine has not been proven to be energy-giving. A study of mice hereditarily unable to transport taurine suggests that it is needed for proper maintenance and functioning of skeletal muscles. In addition, it has been shown to be effective in removing fatty liver deposits in rats, preventing liver disease, and reducing cirrhosis in tested animals. There is also evidence that taurine is beneficial for adult human blood pressure and possibly, the alleviation of other cardiovascular ailments (in humans suffering essential hypertension, taurine supplementation resulted in measurable decreases in blood pressure).

It is believed that prematurely born infants lack the enzymes needed to convert cystathionine to cysteine and may, therefore, become deficient in taurine. Thus, taurine has been added to many infant formulas as a measure of prudence, since the early 1980s. However, this practice has never been rigorously studied, and as such it has yet to be proven to be necessary, or even beneficial.

Taurine is also used in some contact lens solutions.