A new study has found supplementing with the amino acid taurine is beneficial in reducing metabolic syndrome variables.
Metabolic syndrome is a medical condition that is defined by a “clustering” of different symptoms. A person is diagnosed with metabolic syndrome if they have any three of five different health risks: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol.
If a person has metabolic syndrome they have a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and to be at risk of stroke. Due to the implications of these serious health conditions, a person with metabolic syndrome is also likely to suffer early death.
Previous studies have identified taurine as a probable metabolic syndrome treatment due to its involvement in mitochondrial function, cell membrane integrity and antioxidative defense. However, since the conflicting results made it difficult to evaluate taurine’s effectiveness, researchers in Taiwan endeavored to conduct a meta-analysis.
In a meta-analysis, scientists are reviewing all the existing clinical trials in order to establish a consensus on a particular nutrient’s benefits. The study was published in Nutrition & Diabetes in May 2024.
Study details
To conduct the study, researchers examined the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Web of Science databases for records published until December 1, 2023. The study focused on all the known metabolic syndrome diagnostic criteria.
In the end researchers included 25 trials encompassing 1,024 individuals that met the strict criteria.
The researchers used “meta-regressions” to investigate dose-dependent associations depending on the total dose of taurine throughout treatment. (Regression analysis is simply a statistical method that relates a dependent variable to one or more independent variables.)
For better results, the researchers only included random-controlled trials, and excluded short follow-ups, herbal remedies with unknown active components, studies without data for intervention endpoints, and those testing the immediate impacts of “energizing beverages.”
The researchers compared taurine supplementation to other therapies and also evaluated secondary outcomes. The secondary outcomes included: body composition parameters such as weight and body mass index, glycemic control, fasting insulin and cholesterol profile. Side effects were also tracked.
Taurine dosages in the trials varied from 0.50 grams to 6.0 grams daily. Follow-ups ranged from 5 days to 365 days.
Findings
At the conclusion of the meta-analysis, researchers reported a number of health improvements attributed to the taurine supplementation:
• Improvement (reduction) of high blood pressure
• Improvement (increase) of low blood pressure
• Improvement (reduction) of high blood glucose
• Improvement (reduction) of high cholesterol
Summarizing the study findings, the researchers wrote: “In conclusion, our meta-analysis of random controlled trials highlights taurine supplementation’s significant potential in mitigating key metabolic syndrome risk factors… This underscores its potential as a complementary therapeutic agent for metabolic syndrome management, offering a multifaceted approach to glycemic control and cardiovascular health. Future clinical trials should focus on determining optimal taurine dosage and treatment duration, especially in metabolic syndrome-susceptible populations.”
Since heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. and around the world, taurine holds the potential to literally add years to the lives of people who undergo an appropriate supplementing regime.
In fact, just a year before the current analysis another study found that taurine supplementing extended the lifespan of different animals by as much as 12%.
While similar studies are yet to be conducted on humans, researchers have established that taurine in the human body declines by over 80% during a person’s lifespan—so it is not unrealistic that taurine supplementing could provide a similar dramatic effect.
Find taurine in from Optimal Health Systems:
– – –
Sources: Nutrition & Diabetes (Nature.com).
