I recently found some interesting info re: Taurine, an amino acid that can be missing in the brain or lower in people with neurological disorders with extreme anxiety or stress. I've been taking it at night and was just told I could take more of it without harm.
Severe stress uses up Taurine in our body and it must be replaced. A dose of the powder type is easy to put into water and tasteless or directly on the tongue. My bottle says a dose is 2000 mg. (1/2 tsp.) but I was only using 500 mg. (1/8 tsp.), along with melatonin and other amino acids, as a sleep aid. If I wake up all stressed during the night I take an extra dose of Taurine and feel very able to go back to sleep. I don't see why it couldn't be taken throughout the day as needed which I plan on doing now that I know I won't overdose.
It can be purchased quite inexpensively but I do recommend the powder over capsules and start at 500 mg. and go from there. It can't hurt to talk it over with the doctor and do some online research as well.
Sometimes natural healing can work as good as or better than a drug.
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rideabike
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Good find, my brain is an anxiety factory...even admiring a blue sky can cause overall jitteriness ! I'll try it along with my Hardy's amino acid capsules.
Taurine is a sulfur amino acid and one of the most abundant compounds in the brain, central nervous system, retina, heart, gallbladder, kidneys, pancreas, and muscles.
It plays an important role in many aspects of the health and function of these organs.
It aids the movement of potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium in and out of cells.
Taurine almost qualifies as a neurotransmitter, chemicals used by brain cells to communicate with each other.
For years, scientists believed brain shrinkage was inevitable and irreversible.
Cutting-edge research has shown that brain cells can regenerate.
An amino acid called taurine plays an important role in creating new brain cells.
Researchers found that taurine increased the growth of brain cells by activating “sleeping” stem cells. Taurine also increased the survival of new neurons, resulting in an increase in adult brain cell creation.1-3
Recent studies reveal that taurine has unique biochemical properties that promote new brain cell formation.4,5 Animal studies show that taurine triggers new brain cells to grow in the hippocampus, the area of the brain most concerned with memory.1,6 This can lead to dramatic improvements in cognition and recall.7,8 Low levels of taurine have been observed in patients with Parkinson’s disease.9,10
In addition to these impressive brain benefits, taurine also boosts cardiac function and reduces arterial stiffness as well as reducing the negative impacts of metabolic syndrome.11-16 In fact, taurine supplementation added to the drug metforminhas been shown to offer tremendous reductions in tissue damage.17
Taurine levels fall significantly with age, leaving the brain, heart, kidneys, and other tissues deprived of this vital healing compound—one capable of rescuing dying cells and restoring cellular communication.1,6,18
Experts are beginning to recognize that with age, many can experience a taurine deficiency that is a real and fundamental threat to health.
The great news is that taurine is a super low-cost supplement, meaning everyone can benefit from its potential to slow and reverse degenerative processes.
Taurine Grows New Brain Cells
Taurine Grows New Brain Cells
For years, scientists believed that brain shrinkage (atrophy) was an unstoppable degenerative process. New research reveals this loss of brain matter is partially caused byreversible processes.19,20 This knowledge opens the door to a new paradigm—one that aims to restore brain structure and function—as opposed to simply treating the symptoms.
One of the chief requirements for growing fresh brain cells is a little known amino acid:taurine. Taurine has a surprising number of critical actions concerning how cells protect and renew themselves.
Because taurine levels decline with age, older adults are unable to maintain the level of new brain cell formation required to preserve their youthful responses to toxic and metabolic insults.1,21 This taurine deficiency may lie at the heart of some of our most dreaded brain disorders.22
Studies now show that restoring taurine content in brain cells can reverse these trends, and rejuvenate brain structure and function. Animal studies show that taurine triggers new brain cells to grow in the hippocampus, a brain region centrally involved in memory.1,23
A study published in the journal Stem Cell Research found that taurine supplementation in middle-aged mice increased the growth of new cells in regions of the brain associated with learning and memory. It accomplished this by activating“hibernating” stem cells that were then capable of maturing into several different kinds of cells.1
In fact, one study showed that when human neural precursor cells (the early-stage neurons and supporting cells in the brain), were cultured with taurine, it produced significantly more brain cells, demonstrating how taurine stimulates stem-like cells to differentiate into functioning brain cells.2
In animals, taurine deficiency impairs brain growth by delaying normal neuronal development.2 Lab studies show that taurine can reverse this problem. When taurine-deficient brain cells are grown in culture and then taurine is added, it results in a sharp increase in the development of new cells. This is attributed to multiple mechanisms of action, including improved mitochondrial function; activation of genes required for normal proliferation, survival, and energy functioning;2 and blocking chemical signals that inhibit neuronal cell regeneration.3
In addition to promoting the growth of new brain cells, taurine enhances neurites, which are tiny projections that help brain cells to communicate with each other. Neurites maximize connections between those cells, along which electrical impulses flow to support memory, cognition, feeling, and thinking. Over time, chemical stresses and toxins can damage these neurites, contributing to slower cognition in older people.24 A lab study revealed that taurine restores normal neurite growth in nerves exposed to toxic chemicals, largely through its protective effects against chemical stresses.25
The findings that taurine can genuinely rejuvenate damaged brains are truly revolutionary, and are beginning to change the way scientists and neurologists are thinking about age- and trauma-related brain changes.26,27
Taurine’s Benefits For Brain Conditions
Two specific conditions taurine has been shown to help benefit are Parkinson’s disease and depression.22,28
Human studies show that taurine plasma levels are reduced in patients with Parkinson’s disease, suggesting both a potential contribution to the disease—and a possible treatment.28 This problem is compounded by the fact that standard treatment of Parkinson’s symptoms involves the drug levodopa, which may further deplete taurine.28 This makes it particularly important for Parkinson’s patients to supplement with this versatile amino acid.
Supplementing with taurine is also important for those suffering from depression.22 Depression is particularly prevalent in diabetics; indeed, there’s a strong school of thought that chronic blood sugar elevations are involved in depression and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.29-31 Intriguingly, taurine supplementation in diabetic rats has been shown to improve depressive-like behaviors; in addition, supplementation improved the diabetes-damaged neurotransmitter function, which helped lead to improved short-term memory.32
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Taurine Promotes Brain Cell Regeneration
Taurine Promotes Brain Cell Regeneration
Taurine is a free amino acid that is vital in slowing key age-accelerating processes, particularly in the central nervous and cardiovascular systems.
Laboratory studies show that taurine can achieve what was once thought to be impossible—stimulate new growth and connections of brain cells, which raises the real possibility for restoration of youthful brain function in older adults.
Taurine levels decrease with age and with metabolic and neurological disease.
Supplementation with taurine, in both animal and human studies, demonstrates the age-decelerating effects of this amino acid.
Laboratory studies reveal dramatic improvements in cognition and memory in taurine-supplemented animals, and suggest that human supplementation might slow or reverse changes seen in Parkinson’s disease.
Taurine supplementation boosts cardiac function and reduces arterial stiffness, both contributors to early death from heart disease and stroke.
Those with metabolic syndrome also stand to gain from taurine supplements, which substantially reduce that syndrome’s negative impacts on cardiovascular risk.
I hear you. Where do you get your supply of B1 from? I used to get Source Naturals 500 mg. from Amazon.ca but they aren't supplying the Canadian market anymore. I know you're in the states but I might be able to order from there.
The powder is tasteless and I can take as much as I need any time of the day. 1/2 tsp. of NOW brand is 2000mg. I take 500 mg (1/8th tsp.) at night and 500 mg during the day. I also take 5HTP, melatonin and L-theanine at night so a capsule would limit me to a certain amount that I might not need whereas the powder gives freedom to measure what works.
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Itching on the head
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Help with sleep
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