Boost Taurine Levels To Protect Against Liver & Kidney Damage

As if you needed yet another reason for following a high protein, low carb diet, aside from the weight loss, energising and health-protective benefits it can bring... well, here's another. A high protein diet boosts your body's supplies of an amino acid called taurine.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, needed to facilitate hundreds of vital functions in your body. Taurine in particular has many important roles, from regulating your heartbeat to carrying out essential repair work in your body following an injury - it greatly speeds up the recovery time of wounds.

Taurine is present in almost all your body's tissues, including vital organs like your heart, eyes and brain. High concentrations also exist in protein-rich foods, including lean meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

Now, exciting new research findings are revealing that taking in extra amounts in supplement form may provide many health-related benefits. Researchers believe that its therapeutic actions result mainly from the fact that it is a potent antioxidant. This means it is able to fight harmful free radicals which are implicated in many age-related conditions (Nutrition 2002; 28(10): 872-879).

Taurine has been found to be effective against a wide range of conditions, such as diabetes, anaemia, high blood pressure, kidney and liver damage.

Improves diabetes and shields your kidneys from the damaging effects of salt

Taurine is proving beneficial for sufferers of Type 2 diabetes. Tests have detected low levels of taurine in many Type 2 diabetics, in addition to low insulin and high glucose levels that are normal indicators of the disease.

A study found that replenishing depleted supplies through supplementation was able to reverse this deficiency and improve symptoms of diabetes. Not only that, but taurine was also able to prevent the destruction of kidney cells caused by high blood sugar levels (J Investig Med 2002);50(6):443-451).

Further kidney-protective benefits have been linked to this amino acid also. Japanese researchers found that taurine supplements can help prevent kidney damage caused by too much salt in the diet (J Hypertens 2002; 20(11): 2269-2274).

Excess salt can damage your kidneys, as it forces them to carry out extra work in an attempt to balance the salt content in your blood. Left unchecked, this can cause the kidneys to eventually malfunction and result in high blood pressure.

Taurine also helps maintain the health of another vital organ, your liver. It helps the cells in your liver work more effectively. This strengthens your liver's ability to eliminate harmful toxins from your body (Biol Pharm Bull 2002;25(9):1231-1233).

For this reason, many people take taurine after drinking alcohol, as it helps flush its toxic effects more quickly from your system.

Taurine helps correct iron deficiencies in anaemic patients

Taurine can also improve symptoms of anaemia, as it promotes the efficient transport of iron from the blood stream to the tissues. This allows oxygen to reach the cells of your tissues more efficiently, where it is needed for the production of energy (Eur J Haematol 2002;69(4):236-242).

It has also been given to patients shortly before undergoing an operation. This is because it can prevent potential problems arising from surgery, such as anaemia resulting from excessive blood loss and kidney damage due to the restriction of fluids following an operation.

As mentioned earlier, this amino acid is also an effective agent used to accelerate the wound healing process. Turkish researchers working at the Gazi University in Ankara found that taurine was able to significantly speed up the recovery time of wounds and strengthened the skin around the wound.

These healing properties are believed to be largely due to its ability to increase the production of collagen - bundles of protein fibres which form the connective tissue of your skin - that is normally damaged following an injury (Amino Acids 2002; 22(2):187-198).

What to take for best results

Obviously one of the best ways to boost your body's own levels of taurine is to eat a high protein diet. However, for therapeutic purposes, such as the treatment of the conditions mentioned above, it is recommended that you take 500mg up to three times a day.