Latest news with #taurine
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Hyped longevity pill loved by biohacker Bryan Johnson fails to stop aging, study reveals
A supplement beloved by Bryan Johnson and other biohackers for its age-defying properties might be flawed, new research reveals. Previous animal studies have suggested taurine, an essential amino acid that supports immune health and nervous system function, declines with age. It's found naturally in the body, in various high-protein foods, and it is also added to energy drinks for its potential to enhance mental and athletic performance. It was thought that replenishing it by taking supplements could keep the body young by protecting against damage to DNA and cells. Off the back of the research in 2023, taurine was quickly picked up by those looking to fight the effects of aging and Johnson became one of its proponents, with it added to his daily roster of supplements. But scientists behind a new study claim taurine doesn't actually decline with age; instead it either increases or stays stable and can vary wildly from person to person. Therefore, the amino acid is not a good indicator of age-related changes as originally thought, and taking a taurine supplement may have no effect whatsoever on a person's longevity. What's more, other studies have shown high doses or prolonged taurine intake can actually cause a variety of side effects, including gastrointestinal discomfort, kidney strain, and in rare cases, liver pain or even leukemia. The human body uses taurine for actions in cells, such as energy production, and helps the body process bile acid and balance fluids, salts and minerals. The amino acid also has important functions in the heart and the brain and helps support nerve growth. There are no current recommendations on how much taurine a person should consume or what adequate levels are in the body. However, lower levels have been associated with an overactive thyroid, vision impairment and kidney dysfunction. It may benefit people with heart failure and prevent their condition from worsening by lowering blood pressure and calming the nervous system. It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and has been studied for its role in energy production and improving exercise performance. Commenting on the findings of the new study, Joseph Baur, a professor of physiology at the University of Pennsylvania, told Live Science: 'The main takeaway is that a decline in taurine is not a universal feature of aging.' Scientists analyzed data from both humans and animals. Included in the research were 1,000 people aged 20 to 100 years old who had participated in several studies from around the world. In animals, the team analyzed blood from rhesus macaque monkeys ages three to 32 and blood from lab mice ages nine to 27 months old. What surprised the researchers is that over time, taurine levels actually increased with age. Thus, study co-author Maria Emilia Fernandez, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging, said taurine is 'unlikely to serve as a good biomarker of aging'. Meanwhile Rafael de Cabo, chief of the Translational Gerontology Branch at the National Institute on Aging who was another co-author of the study, added: 'It's not a reliable biomarker of anything yet. 'I think that we need to be digging into the basic mechanisms… before it can be used reliably as a marker.' Vijay Yadav, an associate professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School who co-authored the 2023 taurine study, is currently taking part in an ongoing clinical trial to see if it could have any effect on aging in middle-aged humans.
Gizmodo
5 days ago
- Health
- Gizmodo
Taurine Might Not Be the Anti-Aging Miracle We Hoped For
New research hasn't found any connection between taurine levels in the blood and our age. You might want to hold off on stockpiling taurine supplements as part of your anti-aging cocktail. Research published today failed to find evidence that our levels of taurine shrink as we get older, contrary to some earlier studies. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health led the research, published Thursday in Science. They analyzed long-running data from past human, mice, and monkey studies, finding that taurine levels didn't change much over time and widely varied between individual animals. The results suggest that taurine isn't a good marker for age and throw into doubt the idea that it can prolong healthy aging. 'Circulating taurine doesn't decline with age in healthy individuals of these three mammalian species across the adult lifespan,' said lead study researcher Maria Emilia Fernandez, a postdoctoral fellow in the Translational Gerontology Branch of the NIH's National Institute on Aging, in a press conference Tuesday announcing the findings. Taurine is a semi-essential and important micronutrient. Our bodies naturally produce taurine, though it can also easily be found in animal products, supplements, and energy drinks (people once collected taurine from bulls, but it's now produced synthetically). Taurine plays many roles in the body, such as helping us make bile acid and keeping our blood pressure stable. In recent years, some studies have indicated that taurine—or rather, the loss of taurine—might also be a key driver of our worsening health as we get older. A 2023 study that looked at several different animal models, for instance, found that taurine levels circulating in the blood appeared to decline as the animals aged. When the researchers added taurine supplements to the animals' diets, it appeared to slightly extend the lifespan of mice and worms in addition to improving the health of older monkeys. The study also found an association between lower taurine levels in humans and an increased risk of age-related diseases. Though this wasn't the first research to suggest taurine's anti-aging potential, it certainly sparked people's attention, including the authors behind this latest research. Not every bit of research on the topic has supported this link, however, and many studies have only analyzed taurine in people and animals at a single point in time or for a relatively brief period. The researchers behind the new study wanted to take a closer look at how these levels fluctuated over time across different species and in both males and females. They turned to other existing studies or projects involving people, mice, and rhesus monkeys that had longitudinal data on taurine levels in the blood—meaning they could track these levels across the lifespan. Overall, they found that taurine levels didn't decline in any of the animals or humans they studied; if anything, taurine levels usually increased over time in different groups (the sole exception being male mice). They also found that differences in taurine levels between individuals could sometimes vary significantly, and that these differences were usually larger than the changes seen over an animal's lifetime. In other words, there doesn't appear to be much of a connection at all between taurine and aging, at least in this research. 'On the basis of these findings, we conclude that low circulating taurine concentrations are unlikely to serve as a good biomarker of aging,' the researchers wrote. These are still findings from a single study, so more research will be needed to settle the question. The results also don't mean that taurine isn't important to our health. And it is still possible that low taurine levels can contribute to chronic health problems, including conditions that become more common as we age. Likewise, there may be some older people with low taurine who would benefit from increasing their intake. Vijay Yadav, one of the authors behind the 2023 study, and his colleagues are currently running a randomized clinical trial testing whether taurine supplements can improve the health and fitness of middle-aged adults. He expects the trial to conclude by the end of 2025, with analysis coming soon after. For now, though, Yadav isn't saying that people should be downing taurine like it's candy. 'We cannot really recommend any supplementation. We need to have a better understanding if it does or it does not [improve health]; that can only be addressed by a placebo controlled trial,' said Yadav in the same press conference Tuesday. 'And of course there are a lot more questions that need to be addressed before you can really understand the biology to more depth of a particular molecule.' While there are certainly things people can already do to stay healthier into their golden years, such as exercising regularly, the track record for anti-aging drugs or supplements overall remains spotty for the time being. And it seems that a universal fountain of youth—if we can ever truly find it—probably won't contain any taurine.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Warning issued for common energy drink ingredient that elevates risk of blood cancer
A recent study published in Nature has raised concerns about taurine, a widely used amino acid in energy drinks such as Red Bull and Celsius, indicating it may increase the risk of blood cancers. Researchers at the University of Rochester's Wilmot Cancer Institute discovered that leukemia cells absorb taurine, which develops in bone marrow, using it to fuel their growth through a process called glycolysis. This is the process where cells break down glucose to produce energy, which cancer cells use to grow. While taurine is naturally produced in the human body and found in foods such as meat and fish, it is also added to many energy drinks for its purported benefits, such as improving mental performance and reducing inflammation. It has also been used to alleviate chemotherapy side effects in leukemia patients. However, the study suggests that the excessive intake of taurine, particularly through supplements and energy drinks, could exacerbate leukemia by providing additional fuel for cancer cells. The study looked at mice with a special gene called SLC6A6, which helps move taurine around the body. Scientists also gave these mice human leukemia cells to see how they would react. They discovered that healthy bone marrow cells produce taurine, which the SLC6A6 gene then transports to the leukemia cells, potentially helping them grow. The researchers emphasized the need to weigh the risks and benefits of extra taurine for leukemia patients and energy drink consumers, given its widespread availability. Although the study is still early, researchers are hopeful that blocking taurine in leukemia cells could lead to new treatment options. The study is part of a larger effort to find whether taurine may also contribute to the spike of other cancers, such as colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society projects that over 192,000 Americans will receive a diagnosis of blood cancer in 2025. This includes an estimated 66,890 new leukemia cases, 89,070 new lymphoma cases, and 36,110 new myeloma cases.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Common energy drink ingredient linked to blood cancer, People reports
A common energy drink ingredient has been linked to the progression of the blood cancer leukemia, prompting researchers to voice concerns about the consumption of those beverages, People's Cara Lynn Shultz reports. Taurine – an amino acid that occurs naturally in proteins like meat and fish – is a common ingredient in energy drinks like Red Bull. As the Mayo Clinic explains it can help balance fluids, salts and minerals. But according to research published in Nature, taurine may promote leukaemogenesis – the development of leukemia cells – and 'identifies taurine as a key regulator of myeloid malignancies,' which, like leukemia, are cancers that begin in the blood, the author notes. Publicly traded companies in the space include Monster Beverage (MNST) and Celsius (CELH). Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks straight to you inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See the top stocks recommended by analysts >> Read More on MNST: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Monster Beverage price target raised to $56 from $50 at Roth Capital Monster Beverage upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at CICC Monster Beverage's Earnings Call: Growth Amid Challenges Monster Beverage: Hold Rating Amid Mixed Performance and Valuation Concerns Monster Beverage: Hold Rating Amid Mixed Performance and Market Uncertainties
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Common energy drink ingredient linked to leukemia cell growth, study says
A new study has identified taurine, a naturally occurring amino acid, as a critical factor in the growth of certain types of leukemia. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] It was published on May 14 in the journal Nature. They said the findings could lead to new treatments of myeloid cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), according to researchers at the University of Rochester's Wilmot Cancer Institute. These blood cancers all start in the bone marrow, and the research shows that cancer cells depend on taurine from their environment to grow and survive. TRENDING STORIES: Coroner IDs human remains found in woods as missing Ohio man since 2022 Mother, daughter killed, 5-year-old missing after being hit by train in Ohio 4 men arrested during local prostitution sting Our sister station in Seattle, KIRO TV, says the Wilmot team discovered that leukemia cells cannot produce taurine on their own. Instead, they use a transporter to absorb taurine from the surrounding bone marrow microenvironment. Scientists could stop leukemia growth by using genetic tools to block this uptake in both mouse models and human cell samples, KIRO TV reports. 'We are very excited about these studies because they demonstrate that targeting uptake by myeloid leukemia cells may be a possible new avenue for treatment of these aggressive diseases,' said Jeevisha Bajaj, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Genetics and a member of Wilmot's Cancer Microenvironment research program. The study also says that there is growing metabolism, how cancer gets energy, is just as important as genetic mutations in driving cancer. KIRO TV reports that researchers discovered that once inside leukemia cells, taurine promotes glycolysis. That is a process that breaks down glucose for energy and supports cancer progression. 'This study is one of the first to show that taurine may actually help drive cancer growth,' Bajaj said. 'Leukemia cells hijack taurine to fuel their survival.' Jane Liesvaeld, M.D., a Wilmot oncologist and co-author of the study, has urged caution when it comes to taurine supplements. The amino acid is a common ingredient in energy drinks, protein powders, and certain foods. This includes meat, fish, and eggs. The amino acid is also found in the brain, heart, and muscles. KIRO TV adds that cancer patients sometimes take it to ease chemotherapy side effects. 'Dr. Bajaj's work shows that local levels of taurine in bone marrow may enhance leukemia growth, suggesting caution in the use of high-dose taurine supplementation,' Liesveld said. Researchers said more work needs to be done to understand what role taurine plays in cancer development and resistance to treatment. Bajaj said one of the next steps is to study taurine levels in leukemia patients. Then, develop methods for safely blocking taurine from entering cancer cells. 'Since taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks and is often provided as a supplement to mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy, our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the benefits of supplemental taurine in leukemia patients,' the authors wrote in their conclusion. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
