The Dangers of Taurine, Commonly Found in Energy Drinks
The multi-billion dollar phenomenon of energy drinks has the attention of scientists everywhere. One of the main reasons is taurine, a big player in the caffeine and sugar-laden concoctions.
Taurine in Energy Drinks
Taurine is a free form amino acid contained in foods and manufactured in the body from the amino acid cysteine. It was first discovered in the bile of bulls, and now produced synthetically by the truckload. Since taurine is created naturally in the human body, a good diet supplies all you need.
Studies have implicated synthetic taurine in illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to strokes and seizures to heart disease. For these reasons it’s been banned in some Scandinavian countries – like Switzerland – after being linked to the deaths of three consumers.
Because taurine is utilized by the body during exercise and in times of stress, it’s become a popular ingredient in energy drinks. But taurine has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system that’s very unnatural.
Is Taurine an Upper or Downer? Surprising New Research on the Brain
Scientists have known for a couple of years that taurine is involved somehow in the development and function of the brain. But recently they’ve discovered a more defined area of taurine’s neurological activity.
Taurine and Brain Health
In a recent article from MedicalNewsToday.com, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York say they were “surprised” to find taurine “extraordinarily active” on brain receptors. Even though taurine is known to be a key amino acid, the researchers say they’re curious and puzzled still about the function of taurine in the brain, and have more questions than answers.
They found taurine working deep inside the brain, in the “regulatory” area of the thalamus, interacting with neurotransmitters. The thalamus is involved in sleep/wake cycle pathways in the brain and other activities.
“Its inclusion in these supplements is a little puzzling, because our research would suggest that instead of being a pick-me-up, the taurine actually would have more of a sedative effect on the brain,” the scientists said.
Doctors involved in the report stated:
- “Remarkably little is known about the effects of energy drinks on the brain. We can’t even be sure how much of the taurine in the drink actually reaches the brain! Assuming that some of it does get absorbed, the taurine-which, if anything, seems to have a sedating effect on the brain-may actually play a role in the ‘crash’ people often report after drinking these highly caffeinated beverages. People have speculated that the post-Red Bull low was simply a caffeine-rebound effect, but it might also be due to the taurine content.” [1]
That’s a huge concern because it’s become trendy with young people to mix the drinks with alcohol. The daily dose of Taurine should be between 100-500mg, and one can of a popular energy drink, for example, has 1000 milligrams of synthetically produced Taurine. Some people are drinking up to eight cans a day (8000mg of Taurine), an amount that can have drug-like effects on the body and cause damage. Furthermore, mixing stimulants with sedatives, especially alcohol, is extremely risky.
Taurine: The Magic Bullet for Energy?
There’s no magic bullet for strength and endurance. I would recommend that you avoid energy drinks. Treat them like soft drinks, or even worse. The lofty claims on these drinks for instant vitality are simply outrageous. A good, varied diet of whole organic live foods gives you all the Taurine you need, without the highs and lows of energy drinks.
Natural Taurine is actually beneficial for the body and can be found in cows milk, meat, fish and eggs and for vegetarians it can be found seaweed. The daily dose of Taurine should be no higher than 500mg.
Make sure you exercise and get enough sleep, and remember, medicine and illness can zap your energy. Stay properly hydrated with lots of purified water, especially when you’re exercising hard or you’re stressed. It’s a good idea to drink lots of water regardless.
Take a pass on the “crash and burn” high from caffeine and sugar – and taurine. The ingredients of these drinks, both mysterious and some not too mysterious, are a recipe for disaster. They may “give you wings,” but you’ll soon come tumbling down – and in the long run, crash really hard.
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Dr. Edward F. Group III has his Naturopathic Doctorate, Clinical Herbalist, Holistic Health Practitioner, Clinical Nutritionist certifications, and is a Diplomate of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition and the American Board of Functional Medicine. He founded Global Healing Center Inc. in 1998 which has earned recognition as one of the largest alternative, natural and organic health resources on the Internet.
A dynamic author and speaker, Dr. Group focuses solely on spreading the message of health and wellness to the global community with the philosophy of full body cleansing, most importantly colon cleansing, consuming pure clean organic food, water, air, exercise and nutritional supplementation. Visit GlobalHealingCenter.com to learn more about living green and healthy!
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Comments
Rhonda E. Walsh
This is very interesting, because we had a cat who had a taurine problem, and the best way to get that into my cat was through the dark meat from chicken. The legs and anywhere that had muscle meat.
This being the case, wouldn't that be the best place for us to get that into us? I know we are not cats; however, we share some things with all animals. If one is a vegan obviously there would be another method involved probably through some kind of lentil, vegetable protein, etc.
Hope this helps. Rhonda
Anonymous
Taurine is really not an amino acid, but is similar to amino acids.
Switzerland is not a Scandinavian country.
Need to keep facts straight for this article to have more merit. Consuming gram amounts of taurine is really crazy. That's for sure. There is some evidence also that it lowers blood pressure.
Anonymous
Is there a difference between taurine and L-taurine?
Anonymous
"produced synthetically by the truckload" - so? Every bottled supplement on earth is produced synthetically.
"Studies have implicated synthetic taurine in illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to strokes and seizures to heart disease." - Citation needed. Oh, and again, what has the fact that it's synthetic got to do with anything?
"But taurine has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system that’s very unnatural." - and yet you go on to quote actual doctors who say it's a sedative? Which is it?
"“extraordinarily active” on brain receptors." - Oh no! Not brain receptors!! Which ones? Which subtypes? Or does 'brain receptors' mean 'things that receive brains?'
"Natural Taurine is actually beneficial for the body" - a molecule of Taurine is a molecule of Taurine. It's exactly the same atoms in exactly the same shape regardless of where it comes from.
"The lofty claims on these drinks for instant vitality are simply outrageous." - Finally, something that makes sense. Unfortunately, your article is weak enough to seriously undercut your point.
Anonymous
Wow...im confused now...i read an article on wikipedia that said the complete opposite. In this it says it was linked to things like heart disease and siezures and things...but on wikipedia it implies that taurine can be used to combat the problems...if im reading it correctly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tau...
Troll
anonymous 11/23/09: ... no one is attacking energy drinks, just pointing out facts.
I think the emphasis of the "produced synthetically by the truckload" claim is the "by the truckload" factor.
A product that is intended to produce energy must obviously have the side-effects it has on the body, because that 'energy' must come from somewhere, and those very things affected are the very things the 'energy' is derived.
Something synthetic is, by nature, not natural. As being a natural body, a human should not process unnatural things.
True, a molecule is a molecule regardless of its origin, but when introduced to a body that regulates its own compounds the excess molecules complicate natural processes...
just consider that...
E. Lopez
wikipedia is not a reliable source, as is this, both are written from a different perspective, and as stated in this article: " More questions than answers". how is that convincing??
Anonymous 2
Thank you for your warning about taurine drinks. I totally agree that it is better to get taurine from food rather than experiment with supplements that have so many unknowns. I regret having tried it. At the time, I wasn't expecting much in the way of side effects. WRONG! Even a miniscule amount of a 1,000 mg capsule (maybe one twentieth or so mixed in water) caused me to immedieately felt dizzy and sick. I plan to get my taurine from whole foods like eggs.
Anonymous III
Synthetic and natural usually aren’t the same. The “molecule is a molecule” notion is a naive oversimplification of biochemistry. Look up the definition of “stereoisomer” to understand the difference. Generally speaking, only one is found in food, whereas both are usually found in synthetics. Sometimes the net effect is simply to dilute the bioavailability, but other times – as is the case with vitamin E – it is detrimental.
However taurine is one of the two amino acids lacking a stereoisomer (glycine being the other). Thus, there is no such thing as L-taurine (only taurine); synthetically produced taurine is chemically the same as naturally found taurine. Taurine and glycine are thus unusual in this regard, and exceptions to the general rule that synthetic production yields inferior, less bioavailable products.
Here is a good write-up on taurine and glycine: What is the difference between L-Taurine and Taurine, or between L-Glycine and Glycine?
Anonymous
I'm an insulin-dependent diabetic and was having trouble controling morning sugars - as low as 67 to highs of 187. Am also fibromyalgic. Real about taurine being good for diabetics, have been on 1 gram a day since January 10 and have felt no boost in energy but have had remarkable results in stabilizing my blood sugars. ?????
Serturner
Taurine in a dose of 2.5 gm and above has a positive inotropic effect on the heart. It acts to increase the strength of the hearts contraction, resulting in a significant increase in stroke volume, without increasing blood pressure. The 2001 j of amino acids felt that this may be a good candidate to treat CHF patients. In 2001, there were no 16, 24 or 32 oz energy drinks. Back then the 8.2 oz (Red Bull) size contained 1000 mg of taurine. I have received many reports from Red Bull users that they have better reaction times and have improved test scores as compared to their times when not using it. And I have no connection to Red Bull. Now we have 32 oz E Drinks that contain 4000 mg of Taurine! Red Bull never intended the drink to be for thirst, but the size ramp up and huge competition have turned the 8.2 oz drink into a carbonated drink replacement. Only time will tell if consuming huge amounts of taurine is a bad idea but Captain Phil (Deadleast Catch) consumed i believe 55 Red Bulls in 5 days and then had a Pulmonary Embolism. He recently died but one can't help but wonder if too much stroke volume in a unhealthy individual could "knock something loose"
Karl
This article is misleading! I take 3-4 grams of Taurine everyday for my Arrythmia. Read a real scientific study done with Taurine and L-Arginine, and the combination of these two amino acids decrease the number of arrythmiatic episodes per hour. Furthermore, for CHF, they are finding that Taurine is beneficial.
Captain Phil was also over weight, and from what I read his diet was not one that you'd compare to an Ornish diet. 50 Red Bulls a day is allot of caffenine as well, so who knows why he died.
Anonymous 777
Wow this artical is all over the place.... I like your comment Karl.. being over weight, loaded on caffine and sugar!! is probably more of a killer than just Taurine alone.
Dr. Phil
50 Red Bulls per 5 days? that is 10 per day, that is quite a lot, i am not a scientist, i am no expert on taurine nor Red Bull. I just drink this energy drink for energy, one per day, and find that it actually gives me some sort of a boost by the end of the day. It actually acts more as a stimulant than a provider of energy. I believe though too much of anything is bad, specially being un-natural, taurine is only one of the many ingredients in Red Bull that one must consider before drinking in large quantities. I am trying to work on myself, to reduce such a need to be so dependant. I am sure any healthy person would agree with me that this is just an excuse, a type of addiction, and easier way to get energy... Maybe our bodies losing energy, is clearly a way (a Signal) that our natural body is letting us now that we need healthier foods, and more rest. Pumping our bodies with unnatural energy is tricking our overall natural system. It's Basically cheating our body and mind.
LUthor0
I was extremely interested that it is considered a "suppresant" (sp). I have a rather interesting and converse theory. What if it doesn't really "sedate" but opens or makes other venues open? Then what? ::shrugs:: I don't really care how it sounds......but just think of the first guy to question MDMA or LSD......I really don't want to be made fun of here.....I'd rather have your actual opinion.
RICHARD LEE
I AM A DIABETIC AND I DRINK NOS ALL DAY LONG FOR SOME REASON IT LOWERS MY BLOOD SUGAR WHY????????DOES ANYONE OUT THER KNOW?????
ibebozen
I think if you look at Dr. Edward's background studies you can conclude that there is going to be a certain bias toward anything that he is going to consider to be "unnatural". Having him give us an objective view on something like red bull would be like having Keith Olbermann talk objectively about Sara Palin. Plus (as mentioned above) Switzerland is not only NOT a Scandinavian country… it is NOT one of the countries that has band red-bull. Only France, Denmark and Norway have banned the drink. So once again we have “experts” giving us slanted opinions not based on facts. And Dr. Edward…. France is not a Scandinavian country either.
Anonymous
I am 31 years old & have had tremors in my hands that are similar to Parkinson's disease tremors since I was 5. I also have had high blood pressure & insomnia for 5 years. I began drinking Red Bull 2 years ago...usually 2 or 3 cans a day & stopped drinking coffee and coke. I noticed after a few weeks that the tremors in my hands stopped almost completely after drinking Red Bull. I began researching Taurine & found out that it effects the same part of the brain that the neuro-meds the doctors wanted me to take for the tremors. Also, my blood pressure is now in the normal range & I sleep better than I have in years. I don't usually drink Red Bull on the weekends, but do take a Taurine supplement that I buy at a local health food store. I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any proof that this is what has helped me, but I do know that I have felt much better & I don't shake uncontrollably any more....and I'm not taking an expensive medicine for an irreversible progressive disease that has seemingly disappeared when Taurine is in my system....take it as you will....
Milutin Trisic
I am glad i found this page cause I NEED HELP! i was on excursion about a bit more than a month ago and i was there 2 days.I did not sleep whole night and i drank about a guarana or two and a bit of vodka.I did not mix it but i drank it both in about 30 mins difference.Anyways,next day i had some kind of ''attack'' while i was in a bus. Suddenly i started to react violently on the sounds around me,everything seemed louder than it was,i shaked a lot and whenever someone would say something i would (i'm not sure how to say this) ''jounce''; i would shake in face as some of my friends said and i'm not sure how to describe that feeling but i was scared like never before.After it,when i returned,i had dizziness,some kind of instability in my head,i felt that i was kinda weak,and some more symptoms that i cannot remember or i don't know how to describe.I was @ all kinds of doctor specialists and first they defined it all as a result of guarana and vodka,but i still don't feel normal after more that a month,so it cant be all because of it.I believe its virus because my mother's blood test is positive on some adenovirus and she was ill for about 2-3 months and she had similar symptoms.But i think it was not all because of virus cause she didn't have that kind of ''attack'' i mentioned before and i had some symptoms that she didn't have.Thing that worries me the most is that I've been told not to drink any fizzy drinks or anything containing things like taurine,caffeine or stuff like that.Never again.There is nothing that clearly confirms that i have virus or guarana illness,its all just assumptions.Please help!
Im almost 16,i live in Serbia
If u need to know something else or you want to ask me something please contact me milutintrisic [at]gmail.com is my mail
Anonymous
thank you for all the comments stating that this article is clearly opinion. get ur facts straight. yea lets ban energy drinks, but keep cigarettes on the market so we can die of lung cancer and various other diseases.
Lpeters
Something similar happened to me, but it was not the result of drinking vodka or guarana. I was preparing for a trip to Scotland, and it began where I was having heart palpitations, and dizziness, Nausea, high and low blood pressure, it was all over the place. Got to Scotland, and ended up in an emergency room overnight. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, just felt horrible, and scared. I had always enjoyed good health til then. They put me on propanolol til I could get back to the states, but I think it made me feel worse.
When I went to my Dr back in the states, I ended up with a barage of cardiology test. They found nothing wrong with my heart. They said that it was panic/anxiety attacks. and put me on prozac, ziac, prilosec, and klonozopam. After a time it seemed to level out, but I was still having good days and bad days. But much more tollerable! Then I mentioned to my dr about having issues with Restless leg syndrome. He put me on Requip and it seemed to help for about a week! Then I started having trouble with RLS during the day as well, and he said i had a reaction to the requip. So his answer to that was I didn't have restless leg, I was bipolar. This made me very upset, and I asked him if it could be a food allergy, and he said adamently NO! NO way! To make a long story short, I came accross a website about MSG, and related symtoms, and guess what! I have several of the symptoms listed there! I am now doing an organic diet, have added Taurine and CoQ10 and Magnesium to my diet, and we shall see. But on day 3, i have to say I do feel better. I will keep you posted! But as for the prior post about the reaction versus a virus, I've often wondered if it wasn't some sort of virus because, It hit me like a ton of bricks, and so suddenly. That still has me baffled!
If any one out there has any thing similar going on, I'd be glad to hear from you!
LInda
snot
Taurine is not the issue here. It's probably the caffeine. I've read that there's many types of caffeine. The caffeine in red bull allegedly doesn't look like any of the types found in natural souces eg coffe, tea, cocoa, kola nut, etc. and probably is harmful to the body. This doesn't just adhere to red bull, of course.
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