2023-06-19 13:54:00
New research has found that taurine, a nutrient produced in the body and found in certain foods, may be the key to slowing the aging process. The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal Science, found that taurine-deficient animals age more vigorously. The study also found that taurine supplements slowed the aging process in monkeys, mice and worms and that the animals’ healthy lifespan increased by 12%.
Taurine is an organic acid that is a component of bile salts and also functions as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system.
The researchers conducted tests on 250 14-month-old mice, which are considered middle-aged. Each day for a year, the researchers fed 125 mice taurine in addition to their controlled diet. The mice received 1,000 mg of taurine per kg of their body weight.
The average lifespan of the taurine-fed mice was 10 to 12 percent longer than that of mice fed only the standard diet. The researchers also performed a variety of physical tests that proved that the mice that ingested taurine were healthier.
Taurine suppressed weight gain in female mice by 10%, increased their energy expenditure, increased their bone mass, and improved their muscle strength and endurance. Taurine is also thought to reduce anxiety and depression in mice and improve their immune system.
In tests on rhesus macaques, the researchers reached similar results. Half of the monkeys were given taurine supplements for six months. The subjects who received the supplements benefited from weight loss, a decrease in signs of liver damage, an increase in bone density and an improvement in the immune system.
The researchers also found that taurine levels were 85% lower in the 15-year-old monkeys compared to the five-year-old monkeys.
“Not only did we find that the animals lived longer, we also found that they lived healthier lives,” said Dr. Vijay Yadav, a researcher in the study and professor of genetics and development at Columbia University’s Vogels College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Can Taurine Help Humans Live Longer?
The researchers examined a sample of 12,000 European adults over the age of 60. Preliminary data revealed that taurine concentrations were on average 80% lower among older adults compared to younger adults.
By measuring the participants’ health with 50 markers, the researchers were able to conclude that people without taurine deficiency were in better health.
People with higher taurine levels had fewer cases of type 2 diabetes, lower levels of obesity, reduced hypertension and less inflammation.
“These are associations that do not establish causation,” Yadav said, “but the results are consistent with the possibility that taurine deficiency contributes to human aging.”
In the second human study, the researchers divided the participants into two categories: athletic and sedentary.
All participants were asked to ride a bicycle. Participants in both groups had higher levels of taurine after exercise than before.
“No matter who the person was, they all had higher taurine levels after exercise, suggesting that some of the health benefits of exercise may come from an increase in taurine,” explained Yadav.
The secret to a longer life
“The amount of taurine decreases with age, so bringing taurine back to a low level in old age may be a promising anti-aging strategy,” said Yadav, adding: “For the past 25 years, scientists have been trying to find factors that not only allow us to live longer, but also We increase the time we stay healthy in old age.”
The researchers noted that “the research actually shows that taurine can be a life elixir within us that helps us live longer and healthier lives. We realized that if taurine regulates all these processes that decline with age, taurine levels in the bloodstream affect overall health and lifespan, so we began to ask if Taurine deficiency causes the aging process, and we conducted a large experiment in mice.”
Taurine can be found in abundance in shellfish (snails, octopuses), chicken and turkey. Traces of taurine are also found in dairy products.
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