Taurine in energy drinks may be an ‘elixir of life’: study

health

To Mark Laranilla

Jun 9, 2023 | 11:05 am

The Fountain of Youth may now be in your refrigerator.

A Columbia University study found that taurine (a nutrient found in meat, fish, dairy, and some energy drinks such as Celsius, Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar) appears to slow the aging process and increase healthy life expectancy. One thing became clear.

“This study suggests that taurine may be an elixir of life that helps us live a longer, healthier life within our bodies,” said the researcher of Genetics and Development at Columbia University. Assistant Professor Dr. Vijay Yadav said. said in a news release.

Yadav and a team of researchers conducted experiments in animals and humans to see how taurine, which is also produced in the body, might play a role in health and longevity.

Researchers found that a 60-year-old’s taurine levels were about one-third that of a 5-year-old.

The research Published in Science magazine.

Studies in mice and monkeys have confirmed that taurine levels drop significantly over time in animals as well. “That’s when we started looking at whether taurine deficiency was responsible for the aging process and started a large-scale experiment in mice,” Yadav said.

They found that diets containing taurine supplements increased life expectancy by 12% in female mice and 10% in male mice. This is roughly equivalent to about 7-8 human years.

Additional experiments show that taurine “increases energy expenditure, increases bone mass, improves muscle endurance and strength, reduces depression-like and anxiety behaviors, reduces insulin resistance, and promotes a younger-looking immune system.” It has become clear that

“We found that not only were the animals living longer, but they were also living healthier lives,” Yadav said.

And when middle-aged rhesus monkeys were given daily taurine supplements for six months, they avoided weight gain, lowered fasting blood sugar, increased bone density, and improved immune system health.

But Yadav and other experts warn that it’s too early to take massive amounts of taurine supplements in hopes of living to 150.

Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, said, “I don’t think this is for prime time. People should start eating animal-derived foods to increase their taurine intake.” It can be harmful,” he said. , told CNN.

“Further studies in humans using taurine supplements would be interesting, but are far from suggestive of their use,” added Willett, who was not involved in the study.

Yadav agrees, saying that “whether taurine has real health benefits can only be determined by randomized human clinical trials.”

Nevertheless, taurine has several advantages over other compounds that have been studied for potential longevity effects.

“Taurine is naturally produced in our bodies, is naturally available in our diet, has no known toxic effects (although it is rarely used in the concentrations used in this study), and increases with exercise. It’s possible,” Yadav said.

“Since the amount of taurine decreases with age, restoring taurine to youthful levels later in life may be a promising anti-aging strategy.”