I originally got this in the powder form for a cat we had who had cancer and this was recommended for his diet. We have since lost the cat, and I am now adding this to my 97 year old mother's supplement cocktail. It is an amino acid that is supposed to help with brain function, heart functionality, liver function, etc. This is one of those things that many people are deficient in. Whether this supplement is helping anything, is very difficult to tell conclusively. If we don't see a difference in the long term, we will stop using it. If I do see a difference, I will update this review.
UPDATE 6/18/18
Although taurine has multiple health benefits that you can easily research in the internet, my main use for it was for my aging eyesight. I am 71 years old, and over time my distance vision improved, but my close vision has increasingly worsened I had to keep reading glasses handy to read cooking instructions on boxes and even noticed that when eating dinner the food I was eating was not clear. I started taking taurine in hopes that it would improve my close vision. Supposedly, it can reduce vision loss. I have been taking taurine for a few months, and have noticed that I can sometimes see print that I couldn't previously see. Although the change isn't dramatic, I am finding that I can read labels that I couldn't see in the past. I can't tell you that this supplement will help with decreasing sight, but I believe that it has helped me to see a little better. Even if it didn't help my sight to get better, it would be beneficial if it helped it to not get worse. I generally do a lot of research to learn about the benefit of supplements before i decide to take them.
This is some of the information that I have found in my research:
Taurine is a conditional amino acid (can be manufactured by the body) that is a required building block of protein. Excess taurine is excreted by the kidneys. Taurine naturally comes from meat, fish and dairy products.
• Weight loss and obesity - the consequence of obesity impacts nearly every area of our bodies. Our abdominal fat stores are known to cause inflammation, which can lead to cardiovascular concerns. Taurine has the ability to significantly help lower lipid levels within the bloodstream and improves the body's ability to cope with excess glucose in the bloodstream. Lipid lowering may help to protect against cardiovascular concerns whilst glucose tolerance is significant because many obese people go on to develop diabetes.
• Cardiovascular disease â€" the heart contains a high concentration of taurine and various studies indicate the benefits of supplementing taurine for a variety of heart concerns. In studies, taurine was found to increase the retention of potassium and magnesium in the heart muscle which are necessary for electrical stability and regular heart muscle contractions. Studies also suggest that patients with high blood pressure have lower than normal levels of taurine in the bloodstream. When taurine levels are lower than normal, a protein called ‘angiotensin' is released that causes the elevation of blood pressure.
• Cholesterol reduction â€" elevated cholesterol is a common feature of cardiovascular disease. Taurine is required to produce a compound that causes more cholesterol to be excreted in bile. Taurine has also been shown to improve the ability to reduce low density lipoproteins (LDL) which is often referred to as ‘bad cholesterol'. In this way taurine may protect the body against the hardening of the arteries and cardiovascular disease.
• Eye Protection â€" taurine is the most abundant amino acid in the retina and protects the eye from various toxins. Its levels also decline significantly with age. Age-related vision loss has many different causes, but high on the list of causal factors is oxidative stress on the light sensory cells in the retina. Taurine's ability to remove damaging molecules in the eye may implicate its ability to protect the retina.
• Tinnitus â€" generally damage to hearing occurs to the nerve cells that convert sound waves into electrical energy, which the brain becomes aware of. Like nearly all nerve cells, the hair cells within the ear depend upon the flow of calcium into and out of them. Taurine helps to control the flow of calcium into and out of the hearing cells in the ear. These properties may help to prevent progressive hearing loss and may also be invaluable in the control of tinnitus.
• Liver Protection â€" the liver is the body's master organ of detoxification filtering toxins and harmful chemicals from the bloodstream as they pass through. Studies indicate that taurine helps to protect the liver cells against oxidative damage thus ensuring that the liver cells efficiently remove harmful compounds. This is vital in both alcohol and non-alcohol fatty liver diseases both of which can lead to eventual liver failure.
• Exercise â€" taurine helps muscles work harder, longer and safer. Taurine increases muscle contractility both within the heart and joints resulting in more powerful workouts. Taurine also helps to remove lactic acid build-up which means that you can carry on working out for longer than you would otherwise. Finally, taurine's ability to mop up compounds that cause oxidative stress thus protecting them from damage.
• Lowers cortisol which may aid in better sleep, improved stress management and controlled anxiety.
I hope this information is helpful for you in your decision to take the supplemen
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