Vijay K. Yadav, PhD
Vijay K. Yadav, PhD, is an associate professor in the Systems Biology of Aging Laboratory, Center for Cell Signaling, at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
After World War II, many people began giving their pets commercial pet food. When a large number of animals went blind, scientists began to investigate what might be missing in pet food formulations. In 1967, they identified the lack of a single molecule behind the blindness: taurine, an amino acid. Once pet food was supplemented with taurine, pets were protected.
After this discovery, researchers began to investigate the many ways taurine—a unique free-form amino acid that is easily absorbed and widely distributed in the body—could affect both animal and human health. Over the decades, they have found links between taurine and health in nearly every system and organ in the body:
Heart. Taurine stabilizes and strengthens heart cells, and prevents irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias). It also improves the flexibility of arteries, helping regulate blood pressure.
Brain. Taurine acts as a neurotransmitter, a chemical that relays messages between neurons in the brain. It reduces “excitotoxicity” (overactivity) in neurons, helping ease anxiety and preventing seizures. And it shields neurons from oxidative stress—the free radical molecules that damage cells.
Muscles. Taurine helps muscles stay strong, with studies showing it can improve performance by reducing muscle damage, enhancing endurance, and decreasing fatigue.
Eyes. Taurine boosts the health of the retina, the part of the eye responsible for sharp, focused vision, peripheral vision, and night vision.
Blood sugar. Taurine regulates blood sugar (glucose), improving the action of insulin, the hormone that controls glucose levels.
Digestion. Without taurine, your body can’t manufacture bile salts, which are essential for the digestion of fats and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A and D.
Liver. The amino acid protects the liver from oxidative stress, and also may aid in detoxification, the liver’s main function.
Reproduction. Taurine helps make sperm more active and hardy, a must for fertility.
Kidneys. Taurine shields kidneys from toxins and high glucose levels, and also helps maintain electrolyte balance, which is essential to kidney function.
Lungs. Research shows the nutrient can ease asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Immunity. Taurine balances the immune system, reducing chronic inflammation, which is a driver of many chronic diseases.
A group of scientists at Cambridge University in England were investigating molecules in the bloodstream that decline with age, and discovered taurine had one of the most dramatic declines. On average, people in their 60s have 80 percent less taurine in their blood than children. They set out to determine if adding taurine to the diet could help improve health during aging and also extend life. Thirteen years later, in a 2023 paper published in Science—one of the world’s top scientific journals—they presented conclusive evidence showing that taurine is something akin to an anti-aging tonic.
“This study suggests that taurine could be an elixir of life within us that helps us live longer and healthier lives,” said the study’s lead researcher.
The scientists studied the anti-aging effect of taurine on mice, worms, zebrafish, and monkeys. If taurine was found to extend health span and life span in several non-human species, it was likely it would affect all species, including humans. The scientists also conducted a human study, matching blood taurine levels to the risk of disease. Here’s what they found:
Mice. Taurine extended the average lifespan of female mice by 12 percent and male mice by 10 percent, compared with mice not receiving taurine. For mice, that meant three to four extra months of life—equivalent to seven or eight human years.
Not only did the mice live longer—they were a lot healthier, too. They didn’t have age-associated weight gain. They burned more calories. They had more bone mass. Their muscles were stronger, and they had more endurance. They had fewer depression-like and anxious behaviors. They had less insulin resistance, a feature of prediabetes and diabetes in people. Biologically, their immune systems were more youthful.
Worms. Supplementing the diet with taurine extended the lives of worms from 10 to 23 percent compared with worms not receiving taurine.
Zebrafish. In zebrafish genetically altered to age rapidly, putting taurine in the water in which the fish were born and bred slowed the process of aging and decreased the rate of death.
Monkeys. The researchers studied two groups of rhesus monkeys with an average age of 15 (the equivalent of 45 to 50 years old in humans), giving one group a daily taurine supplement. The taurine monkeys were much healthier. They gained less weight and had a lower percentage of body fat. They had better bone density. Their blood sugar levels dropped by 19 percent. Biomarkers of liver damage were up to 36 percent lower. Their immune systems were younger, with less oxidative damage.
To find out if taurine had anti-aging effects in people, the researchers analyzed health data from nearly 12,000 people ages 60 or older—correlating blood levels of taurine with more than 50 risk factors. The people with higher blood taurine had:
There are several ways you can maximize blood levels of taurine.
Eat more animal-based products. With the exception of red algae, taurine is found only in animal products. Shellfish—a category that includes shrimp, scallops, lobster, crab, oysters, clams, octopi, and squid—are particularly rich in taurine.
Consider a taurine supplement. Currently, a two-year clinical trial is underway to see if taurine supplements improve the hallmarks of aging, health span, and lifespan. Until that trial is completed, scientists cannot make a responsible, research-based recommendation on taurine supplementation. The study is using taurine levels ranging from 3,000 milligrams (3 grams) to 6,000 mg daily—levels that have been used safely in many human studies on taurine, and a level that the European Food Safety Authority says is safe for people.
Exercise. A bout of exercise boosts taurine levels in the blood—perhaps the reason behind exercise’s anti-aging effects. That boost occurs in anybody who exercises, whether you’re sedentary and out of shape or a highly trained athlete.
Aim for a nutritionally varied diet. Taurine is only one among many anti-aging compounds in the diet. The key to getting all these compounds—known and unknown—is to eat a wide variety of whole foods, and to minimize ultra-processed foods like baked goods, lunch meats, and sugary beverages.
