Taurine May Treat Depression And Psychosis In Humans

haidut

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A human study, and as such very relevant. The dose (4g daily for 12 weeks) was a bit on the high end but that was probably because the scientists designing the trial were unaware of the studies showing benefits of taurine plateau after 2g daily. In any event, good news for those with mood/mental disorders.

Trial finds Red Bull additive taurine improves symptoms of young people suffering first episode psychosis

"...Taurine is an amino acid naturally occurring in the body that has various functions, including aiding the function of the cardiovascular system. It exhibits an inhibitory neuro-modulatory effect in the nervous system and also functions as a neuroprotective agent. It is also involved in development of the nervous system. For all these reasons, it was chosen as an interesting substance to study for potential treatment of psychosis. In this new study, the authors analysed the efficacy of taurine supplementation in improving both symptoms and cognition in patients with FEP. A total of 121 patients (aged 18-25 years) with FEP, taking low dose antipsychotic medication, and attending Orygen's early intervention services in Melbourne agreed to take part in the study. Patients received taurine 4 grams or placebo once daily. A scoring system called BPRS (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale) was used to assess symptoms, and a different tool called MCCB (MATRICS consensus cognitive battery) was used to assess cognition. A total of 86 patients (47 receiving taurine and 39 placebo) were included in the final analysis. Taurine was found to be both safe and well tolerated. Taurine significantly improved symptoms on the BPRS scale, both in overall score and the part specifically analysing psychosis. There were also improvements in depression symptoms (rated by the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia [CDSS]) and general overall functioning (including social and workplace functioning). However, there was no difference between groups regarding cognition. The authors conclude: "Although taurine supplementation did not improve cognition, it appears to improve core symptoms and depression in patients with FEP. The use of taurine warrants further investigation in larger randomised studies, particularly early in the course of psychosis."
 
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Really interesting, thanks. Strengthens my sense that Taurine supplementation might be good for me. I wonder, how would one have to eat in order to consume significant enough amount of Taurine to positively affect mental health? (Or equivalent to, let's say, regular 2g supplementation).
 

Tarmander

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Doing a stint on Taurine seems like such a no brainer. Take a bunch for a month, pretty simple.
 

Peater Piper

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Really interesting, thanks. Strengthens my sense that Taurine supplementation might be good for me. I wonder, how would one have to eat in order to consume significant enough amount of Taurine to positively affect mental health? (Or equivalent to, let's say, regular 2g supplementation).
Scallops and mussels might get you there, and goat milk is supposed to have a lot of taurine compared to cow's milk, but I doubt many people are hitting 2g per day from food alone, especially considering taurine is easily degraded by typical cooking methods.

The potential protective effects of taurine on coronary heart disease

Edit:

This page lists average taurine amounts consumed. I haven't checked the sourced studies, but it really seems like you need to supplement taurine to get in the 1+ gram range unless you're really focusing on raw shellfish.

"Taurine occurs naturally in food, especially in seafood and meat.76 The amount consumed in most societies, however, is quite low. The mean daily intake from omnivore diets was determined to be around 58 mg (range of 9 to 372 mg).77 In another study, taurine intake was estimated to be generally less than 200 mg a day, even in individuals eating a high-meat diet.78 According to another study, taurine consumption was estimated to vary between 40 and 400 mg a day.77"

The Forgotten Longevity Benefits of Taurine - Life Extension
 
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paymanz

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Scallops and mussels might get you there, and goat milk is supposed to have a lot of taurine compared to cow's milk, but I doubt many people are hitting 2g per day from food alone, especially considering taurine is easily degraded by typical cooking methods.

The potential protective effects of taurine on coronary heart disease

Edit:

This page lists average taurine amounts consumed. I haven't checked the sourced studies, but it really seems like you need to supplement taurine to get in the 1+ gram range unless you're really focusing on raw shellfish.

"Taurine occurs naturally in food, especially in seafood and meat.76 The amount consumed in most societies, however, is quite low. The mean daily intake from omnivore diets was determined to be around 58 mg (range of 9 to 372 mg).77 In another study, taurine intake was estimated to be generally less than 200 mg a day, even in individuals eating a high-meat diet.78 According to another study, taurine consumption was estimated to vary between 40 and 400 mg a day.77"

The Forgotten Longevity Benefits of Taurine - Life Extension
the first link you provided just shows that cooking doesnt effect the taurine content, well a bit , which probably released in cooking juices!
 

Peater Piper

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the first link you provided just shows that cooking doesnt effect the taurine content, well a bit , which probably released in cooking juices!
The problem is it looks like they're comparing 100g of raw to 100g of cooked, but a raw piece of meat will generally lose about 25% of its weight through cooking, so there's more loss than appears in the chart. Whether it's due purely to taurine leaching out with the water, or if heat degradation is also contributing, I don't know.
 

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