What is Taurine?

Ever wonder why Red Bull is called Red Bull? I never gave much thought to it until my friend mentioned that taurine is cow bile. With the growing number of energy drinks out there, Amp, Rock Star, Monster, Venom, Red Bull, etc there is a common ingredient in them that is supposed to give energy and it's the taurine.

Soooo what is Taurine?

Taurine is an amino acid that supports neurological development and helps regulate the level of water and mineral salts in the blood. Taurine is also thought to have antioxidant properties.

Taurine is found naturally in meat, fish and breast milk, and it's commonly available as a dietary supplement. Some studies suggest that taurine supplementation may improve athletic performance, which may explain why taurine is used in many energy drinks. Other studies suggest that taurine combined with caffeine improves mental performance, although this finding remains controversial.

Up to 3,000 milligrams a day of supplemental taurine is considered safe. Any excess taurine is simply excreted by the kidneys. Moderation is important, however. Little is known about the effects of heavy or long-term taurine use.

It's also important to remember that there may be high amounts of other ingredients in energy drinks, such as high amounts of caffeine or sugar. Too much caffeine can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, interrupt your sleep, and cause nervousness and irritability. And added sugar may provide unwanted added calories. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/taurine/AN01856

But don't be fooled taurine is also found in foods such as: eggs, fish, meat, and milk. Taurine is also found in some plant foods like seaweeds, but present in very low levels. It is highly present in sea foods such as clam, squid, octopus, and oyster.

These are some of the health effects of taurine:

1. It acts as an antioxidant, and helps prevent macular degeneration and other serious eye diseases.
2. It reduces blood pressure and cholesterol level, thus, helps prevent arteriosclerosis.
3. It improves detoxification function of the liver.
4. It helps to strengthen the heart muscle, thus, stabilizing the function of the heart.
5. It lessens the accumulation of lactic acid which becomes the cause of fatigue.
6. It immediately restores and protects corneal cells from harmful ultraviolet rays and alike.http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles07/taurine.htm

A study done on the positive effects of taurine can be found at this government website:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586397/