Taurine - are you getting enough?
Taurine is a type of chemical that occurs in the body. If you have never heard of it, pay attention. It affects your ability to live long, your muscles, and more. Let's dig in.
Taurine is made in your body by breaking down the protein that you eat. In particular, cysteine and methionine are used along with enzymes to produce taurine.
Your body has a limited capacity to produce this chemical, and in any case, a lot depends on the availability of the types of proteins required to make it.
Why does this matter?
Taurine has been shown to help prevent sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is a condition where your body is losing muscle.
In a study on mice, researchers were able to show that mice that were given taurine showed improved muscle regeneration compared to those that were given saline water.
Similarly, taurine has been shown to reduce the effects of ageing.
Bear with me while I try to simplify something that is slightly complicated.
Your body undergoes a chemical process known as the Krebs cycle. Think of the Kreb's cycle as the furnace in which your body produces energy for its use.
As you can imagine, in any process, there is a chance of errors. In this process, one of the errors is that your ability to kill and remove dead cells starts to diminish over time.
It is here that taurine can play a role. Taurine not only helps promote the ability to kill and remove dead cells, but it also helps stimulate DNA repair and reduce inflammation.
Taurine is predominantly found in seafood. Scallops, mussels, and clams, for example. If you are a vegetarian and consume nori, the seaweed used to wrap sushi has taurine.
But chances are that even if you eat Nori, you may not get all the taurine you need. Researchers suggest between 1000 and 3000 milligrammes per day.
As always, please consult your doctor before you take anything. Also friendly reminder to get your annual health check up. Trust me, knowing early is the best medicine for preventing a problem.
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