Is Taurine Worth the Hype & Does it Really Slow Age?

Full Episode: • Answering Your Questio...
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Hi, I'm Matt Kaeberlein. I spent the first few decades of my career doing scientific research into the biology of aging, trying to understand the finer details of how humans age in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. Now I want to take some of that knowledge out of the lab and into the hands of people who can really use it.
On this channel I talk about all things aging and healthspan, from supplements and nutrition to the latest discoveries in longevity research. My goal is to lift the veil on the geroscience and longevity world and help you apply what we know to your own personal health trajectory. I care about quality science and will always be honest about what I don't know. I hope you'll find these videos helpful!

[@DrBradStanfield]

Nice thumbnail 😂

[@nicholasarapis]

Next time we use you on the thumbnail, hopefully you’re in the video with us! 😂

[@DrBradStanfield]

@@nicholasarapis I’d love that!

[@ThomasNorthener]

Click bait 🤣 and it had nothing to do with Taurine 🧐

[@owen5819-rq4kb]

At 75, I have no idea whether two years of taking taurine has affected my rate of aging or life expectancy, but it has done wonders for my memory. Two days before beginning to take 2 grams in the morning, I had to pause halfway through entering a six-digit security code to look at the final three numbers again. Two days later, I could remember them without a problem. Two weeks later, I needed a 15-character part number from the outdoor half of my air conditioner. I remembered it after only two passes and could still recall it several months later. Taurine also repaired some cognitive functions I was not aware of having lost. After the mouse study, I went to 5.5 grams and recognized a small further improvement in my mental ability. Definitely not placebo effect. The benefit is much too large and long-lasting to permit that explanation.

[@barnabykent6698]

Thank you for sharing your experience

[@andreasrydstrom9112]

Sounds promising! Would love to see studies in humans with different dosages looking at cognition and neural function. Have you tried stopping it for 2-3 months and the going back on to confirm that it's the Taurine supplement?

[@Andrefa75]

You can find evidence to support any position you want to take on this (speaking about proteins), loved it. Thank you.

[@gmw3083]

You forgot the most famous Brian Johnson of AC/DC. I don't think he's doing anything to slow his aging. He is still alive, though. Pretty good for AC/DC alumni..

[@lansingdoesbusiness9356]

Brian Johnson of the Stones was more famous.

[@marpsr]

He lost his voice after Flick of the Switch, but man he could wail back then

[@nicholasarapis]

How could we forget him! My money is he will outlive all the Brian Johnsons🤘🏻

[@cornstar1253]

If keith can make it to 80 why can't I?

[@peringelarsson9578]

​@@lansingdoesbusiness9356Who???

[@spicaofla]

Mat, the chinese character "壽 "deco in your broadcast room is placed in reverse, please turn 180 degrees

[@optispan]

Good eye! We updated the studio and I mounted the symbol on the wall in the right direction - Nick

[@altname4742]

Discovered your channel today and became a fan! Loved the science and study based approach❤ Im 35 and just recently started to take "healthy aging" seriously

[@optispan]

Thank you for the support! Wishing you the best on your health journey.

[@user-ou3nc7hd3t]

would be great if you could talk about antioxidants when doing recistance training for muscle growth.

[@wpmitra7251]

Thanks for considering my question

[@user-bh5er5me2p]

You can’t compare humans to cats when it comes to taurine. For cats, taurine is an *essential* amino acid. They must get it from food. It’s not essential for humans (we make it from cysteine). Cats can go blind if they do not get enough taurine, as well as other problems like heart disease, lethargy, weakness. This is very well known. It is why cat food is nowadays fortified with taurine.

[@skincraftorganicsllc8537]

Excellent, thank you!

[@shinkyouma9058]

Lots of studies including RCTs and their meta-analyses also show improved CVD biomarkers when substituting out red meat in favor plant protein sources, so we do see pretty strong evidence that there are deleterious effects of red meat on CVD from the meat itself and not from mere correlation with other diet and lifestyle factors.

[@aryangod2003]

How about substitiuting Red meat for Wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon and Sardines..Other animal protein okay?

[@shinkyouma9058]

@@aryangod2003 Fish is better than red meat, but high quality plant protein seems to be even better. Check out Guasch-Ferré 2019 and Korat 2024, for example.

[@aryangod2003]

@@shinkyouma9058 Yes but Fish also have other things other than proteins like Omega 3 and Astaxanthin . I have a mix of Plant proteins (Peas, Almond, walnut, quinoa, lentils, beans) and Wild Fish like almost always Wild Sardines and Wild alaskan sockeye Salmon. I avoid Red and processed meat.

[@shinkyouma9058]

​@@aryangod2003 true, but both of those originally come from algae and can be found in algae oil. There are also plenty of plant sources of ALA omega 3 like chia, flax, hemp, Brussels sprouts. I would add that from an environmental and ethical perspective fish is devastating, but from a health perspective, mainly you have to be careful about eating too much and getting too much mercury, which varies depending on the source and species. Both the species you mention are relatively low in mercury but if you eat it frequently and in large amounts, it can still accumulate, which is a reason why it is generally recommended to limit it to 2-3 servings per week

[@peterz53]

I recall that Yadav said that people that higher levels of taurine appeared to be in better health (correlation). Might make sense to take just enough to ensure that one is not low, maybe higher end of reference range without taking large amounts equivalent to mouse study. I started taking a low dose (500 mg) about 10 years ago as there was some evidence it helped the vascular system (I have CVD) and I am on a plant dominant diet. Will do an amino acid panel to see where I land with taurine.

[@workingTchr]

"Might be helpful; very unlikely to be harmful". I'm on board!

[@MT-sq3jo]

Same, been taken Taurine for 6 months and saw improvement in exercise performance. I’m on the wrong side of the mid-50s 😂

[@workingTchr]

@@MT-sq3jo Ah ... to be on any side of the mid-50s again. I take 3g/day for hearing improvement, and it does help some. I really should exercise though!

[@ZoeyKs]

Thanks for the summary.

[@paulcohen6727]

I was recently reading a study on kidney disease and high acid loads. Over time too high consumption of sulfur bearing amino acids can harm the kidneys. I was surprised to see that taurine was included as one of these acids. So it appears to have long term risks, particularly when taken at several thousand milligrams daily : kidneys, osteoporosis. Sarcopenia and others.

[@helios4425]

What Is your opinion on the consumption of taurine via energy drinks may increase the number of hydrogen sulfide-producing bacteria in the colon, which may represent a risk factor for colorectal cancer?

[@raybod1775]

At age 66, Taurine is one of many supplements in my daily blend.

[@bill9989]

Biomarkers: I had my biomarkers tested twice using two different blood draws (3 months apart) and two different measuring organizations. Both showed a bio age 11 years "younger" than my chrono age. Then 3 months later, I had another blood draw and another biomarker analysis. The most recent had only a 6 year difference between bio and chrono. I didn't think it was subject to that kind of variation.

[@KasKade7]

If you got the flu or some kind of "hidden" inflammation, your bio test can easely be older than your chrono age. Probably the trend of many tests does give you a better picture on what direction you're heading. But alot of people seem to think that when the tests say you're 10-20years younger, you can now plan to be 100+ years old. That's not how it works.

[@bill9989]

@KasKade7 Thank you. In fact, for two weeks before the blood draw, I had something. My joints ached so bad I could hardly walk. I was afraid it was the start of a "new normal." When you're old like me, you view maladies with dread, thinking "well, here it goes." But I did fully recover.

[@johnnyb1368]

Without taurine in a cats diet will cause cats to slowly go blind, this is why taurine is added to most catfood.

[@eryksylvan801]

51 and over 10 years keto. Construction at least 10 hours a day. I’ve been modifying my supplements and diets by according to what works for me. Sickly and lose muscle when on low protein. Tons of grass fed butter high quality eggs and steak almost everyday. Fish when I can get wild caught, sardines otherwise. Seams like the cleaner you live if something off you feel it quickly so you can modify quickly. Right now taurine so cheap it’s worth it. 6 months in. I give to my mother and grandmother(95) daily as well.

[@aryangod2003]

I am a physician. Retarded with the steaks and eggs evvery day (You can have grass fed steak ocne every couple of weeks though just not everyday). your arteries are going to. Wild Sardines and Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon is good too, and hard physical work.

[@jackkrauser1763]

Thank you for this short video

[@nicholasarapis]

Happy you like it, more to come.

[@paulfiedler9128]

1/4 tsp of taurine in my daily smoothie. Good video length today. America has an attention span problem.

[@nicholasarapis]

Happy you’re enjoying the short content!

[@anthonyhopper7830]

I don't follow Bryan Johnson's biohacking regimen. However, I wonder what impact his outreach is having on generating funding for the field. I would assume that some people have become interested in geroscience as a result of becoming engaged in Bryan's "don't die" campaigns/messaging. I assume that at least a portion of these people, as a result, have donated to longevity-related philanthropies or have invested in longevity-related start-ups. It would be interesting to research this/produce a peer-reviewed report documenting Bryan's influence in this regard.

[@user-ou3nc7hd3t]

Also, I am tall and slim, have a hard time gaining both fat and muscle. in order to build muscle I neet to consume lots of calories. does this counterbenefit longevety? would I be better off accepting being slim with average muscles?

[@Krunch2020]

It takes a long time for naturally skinny people build muscle but I did since I worked in construction my whole life. I would humbly recommend working on strength and cardio and ignoring what the muscles look like. A good strength training program includes quite a few exercises that I skip when working out at home.

[@markiangooley]

Taurine is REALLY IMPORTANT if you’re a cat! Basically an essential amino acid for them. A can of Red Bull, I once calculated but perhaps incorrectly, has a month’s worth of taurine for a cat, but a dangerous amount of caffeine.

[@pelletey]

Cats can't synthesize taurine, they cant be compared to humans LOL

[@theancientsancients1769]

Taurine was recently linked with tumor growth in energy drink users . Since I took a vitamin product with Taurine I had a benign kidney tumour.

[@matttee1319]

I saw that... right after I bought a new bottle of taurine 😕

[@theancientsancients1769]

@@matttee1319 Sorry to hear that! A tumour in the kidney ? Benign or? In my case the scan from a year before had none! When I took taurine I never felt great anyways it felt like caffeine

[@iaan81]

It was not linked! There was a proposed trial to test it. The design of that trial is horrendous.

[@jordanlover23]

Is there a link to this study?

[@iaan81]

@@jordanlover23 it is not a study, only a proposal for a study. You find it by google search. Dailymail and similar picked it up as if it was completed research.

[@jakubchrobry3701]

People who adopt a low protein diet (e.g. ~50 g/day) _"look sickly and frail;"_ therefore, consuming 200 g/day is optimal for health. Always the extremes. This is pretty much worthless without defining low and high protein diets. It's also worthless when not citing the studies. Some of the studies regarding health outcomes and longevity (not bodybuilding studies) defined a high protein diet as 1.2 g/kg. The 200 grams referenced in the video is likely around 2.2 g/kg. Provide the evidence, please. I care about my health.

[@nicholasarapis]

Sorry for the confusion! I weigh over 200lbs and am extremely active. I was speaking about my personal routine, not recommending 1g per lb of body weight for everyone or trying to insist it’s ideal for longevity. I agree that less may be needed for people depending on their current age, activity level, goals, etc. In terms of studies, I’d recommend Brad Schoenfeld’s work on protein metabolism. As well as Antiaging diets: Separating fact from fiction by Lee et al 2021.

[@NickWestgate]

​@@nicholasarapisThat it was for you - and not a general recommendation - is perfectly clear from the context. Matt even said it out loud.