I admit Red Bull tastes like well, bull piss, but however ….
Taurine, an amino acid often used by bodybuilders and added to energy or sports drinks, may be an “elixir of life”, according to the author of a new study – at least when it comes to extending the health and lifespan of worms, mice and monkeys.
Will it be helpful – or potentially harmful – in people? No one knows, so save your money, experts say.
[…] Considered a non-essential amino acid, taurine exists in the brain, retina and nearly every muscle and organ tissue in the body. Studies have found it may be anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective in older brains but potentially harmful to the developing brains of adolescents. Taurine deficiencies are linked to heart, kidney and retinal damage.
[…] Tests in monkeys found those who took taurine supplements were leaner, had better blood sugar levels and less liver damage, had increased bone density, a younger-looking immune system and gained less weight, according to the study.
“These studies in several species show that taurine abundance declines with age and the reversal of this decline makes the animals live longer and healthier lives,” Yadav said. “At the end of the day, the findings should be relevant to humans.”
But worms, mice and monkeys are not people, and science is years away from proving taurine’s anti-aging value in humans – if it even exists, experts warn.
[…] The only experiment on humans in the study found exercise – often called the key to longevity – improved taurine levels in people. However, exercise also reduces cholesterol; improves blood flow; lowers blood pressure; strengthens muscles, including the heart; boosts energy; improves sleep; and fights chronic disease.
“I really dislike claims of extreme longevity extension in humans because we simply just don’t know,” said Gordon Lithgow, professor and vice president of academic affairs at the Buck Institute in Novato, California, an independent biomedical research institute focused solely on ageing.
Spoilsport.
“I’m not saying it’s not possible, but we need to have proper double-blinded clinical trials in people to see what happens,” said Lithgow, whose lab conducted the research on worms included in the new study.
[…] Despite these caveats, “it’s hard not to get excited about this study,” Lithgow said. “You’ve got something like 400 million years of separation between worms and people, and yet you see beneficial effects with the same restoration of this natural metabolite (taurine) in both worms and primates.”
The research, over 10 years in the making, involved more than 50 scientists in labs around the world who investigated the impact of taurine on several species – yeast, worms, mice and monkeys.
[…] “Taurine is hitting the ageing brake. It is not putting the vehicle in the reverse gear,” Yadav said. “It is slowing down the ageing process, and that is why animals are living longer and healthier.”
[…] “We do not recommend buying off the shelf,” Yadav said. “Our views are that (people) need to wait for the human clinical trials to be completed. The benefits versus the risk factors will depend on the age of the population studied.”
[…] Then there’s the danger that people, including teenagers, will turn to energy and sports drinks packed with unhealthy sugars and caffeine along with taurine. Researchers have found between 750 and 1,000 milligrams per serving of taurine in energy and sports drinks – the normal diet typically contains 40 to 400 milligrams per day.
High levels of taurine, especially in combination with caffeine in energy and sports drinks, may be toxic to the developing adolescent brain and body, according to a 2017 review.
[…] The field of anti-aging is exploding, with taurine just one of many potential pathways to the holy grail of longer life. Clinical trials are underway to see if the diabetes drug metformin can reverse ageing “because people on metformin seem to have a lower risk of other diseases like cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease,” Lithgow said.
[…] “It’s likely we’re going to need a combination of things we have in our bodies already, along with some drug development and well known solutions like exercise and nutrition.”
All very exciting and most likely very, very, wrong. It’s a pity the media don’t take the same attitude when it comes to global warming “science”.
Regretfully I have to say that lazing on the couch with a six pack of beer and a bowl full of Cheetos still isn’t an option if you want to live to a good age. Bugger.
