Taurine in Energy Drinks: Is it Beneficial?

Early in the millennium when the sickly-sweet energy drink with the radioactive yellow color known as Red Bull was gaining popularity, there were rumors flying that its main ingredient taurine is actually made from the reproductive parts of a bull, rendering it unappetizing. It’s not hard to imagine where that rumor started, Taurus is the bull according to the astrological chart, there’s a bull on Red Bull’s blue, red and silver aluminum can, and within the body taurine is a component of bile, secreted from the kidneys and can be found in the intestinal track and other tissues. If taurine is produced naturally by the body, and injected synthetically into energy drinks, it must be good for you, right?

Taurine is an amino acid that supports brain development and regulates water levels and mineral salts within the blood. Taurine has long been thought of as an antioxidant and is common as a dietary supplement. The amino acid is found mostly in proteins such as fish, meat, and breast milk.

Multiple energy drinks are enhanced with taurine and are said to improve performance, stimulate brain function, and boost adrenaline resulting in a focused high that can fuel a college student’s all-night study session. Many students and young adults these days are overloaded with stress and rely on supplements to keep them alert at night or wake them up in the morning. While energy drinks contain multiple times the caffeine effects as a cup of coffee, these carbonated sugary drinks are popular because they taste like soda but act like espresso.

Laboratory studies have been done using taurine in rats with many positive results. The rodents showed an increase in memory, exercise performance, protection from ischemic damage of the heart (a restriction of the blood supply that causes tissue damage), and an easing of hypertension and cystic fibrosis.

More research efforts have shown taurine to be impressive in brain function, effective in helping regulate bipolar disorder, epilepsy, and type-1 diabetes. Like zinc, your eye health can be maintained with taurine. In Japan, taurine is used for the treatment of ischemic heart disease and other common irregularities like congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, and hypertension. Rehabilitation clinics have used taurine to help reduce symptoms involved with alcohol withdrawal by dosing 1 gram three times a day for seven days. A study of 3,000 alcoholics given taurine while trying to stay clean had fewer relapses than the placebo group.

Controversial studies show that taurine when added to caffeine, provides a better stimulant than either of the two taken separately. However, each person is only supposed to consume up to 3,000 milligrams of taurine per day in order to still be considered safe. Too much caffeine can lead to irregular heart beats, increased blood pressure, disruptive sleep patterns, added nerves, irritability, and other more serious heart problems. There have been a few deaths in past years in other countries possibly related to over-consumption of energy drinks which dehydrate the body instead of replenishing its vital nutrients lost during strenuous activity or exercise. Most of the concern, however, lies in the consumption of taurine-laden energy drinks being mixed with alcohol. By using a stimulant alongside a depressant, the dehydration can become extreme and add stress to the heart.

Where energy drinks are concerned, they should always be used in moderation and not as a substitute for water or electrolyte-enhanced beverages before, during, or after a workout so as to fend off dehydration. If energy is what you need and you don’t want the risk, there are some healthier alternatives. Taurine seem to be beneficial for certain conditions and to strengthen the heart, but because the body produces the amino acid naturally and carnivores also get more absorbed through meat and fish, most professionals advise against adding taurine supplements to your body unless you have a deficiency or a prescription.