Taurine – Helps You Lift Heavier & Last Longer In The Gym

Taurine, an ergogenic aid first isolated in 1827 from ox bile, had not been the hot topic in research journals and remained behind the scenes until about 1978 when studies showed it to be an essential nutrient.

The name ‘taurine’ comes from the Latin word ‘Taurus’ which means ox or bull.

Taurine, an amino acid is naturally found in the human body, concentrated more in the brain, spinal cord, retina, heart and muscles. Animal foods such as meat, fish and dairy are the chief providers of taurine.

Unlike most amino acids which contain carboxyl group, taurine has a sulfonate group and is chemically described as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid.

Taurine is not considered an essential amino acid in humans but is considered as conditionally essential. This is because although taurine can by synthesized in the body, through a process involving vitamin B6 and amino acids, methionine and cysteine, there are times when it may be required to obtain it through supplements.

Taurine is a free amino acid because it does not act as a building block for proteins, but rather works independently performing a variety of important tasks.

Research has shown that taurine supplement can defend against exercise-induced muscle damage, improve recovery rate, lengthen the time before exhaustion sets, workout intensity, the supplement can benefit nearly all aspects of training. 

Rule out the myth: Taurine found in commercially available supplement is not extracted from ox bile. It is made synthetically by the ammonolysis of isethionic acid (2-hydroxyethanesulfonic acid).

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM TAURINE SUPPLEMENTATION?

• Taurine supplements will benefit weight lifters, athletes, individuals undergoing physical activity in whom intense training will be taxing on your body and central nervous system and intracellular taurine levels will deplete following exercise.

• Since taurine is found mainly in animal foods, vegans and vegetarians will benefit from supplementation.

• Supplemental taurine augments muscle taurine levels and increase muscular strength.

 

ZENITH SPORTS TAURINE

Zenith Sports Taurine is a vegetarian dietary supplement that provides 500mg of taurine per capsule. The supplement is ensured for quality and potency, is gluten-free, does not contain fish, flavour, sugar, salt, colour, lactose and preservatives.

 

 TAURINE CAN BOOST MUSCLE STRENGTH & GAINS

One of the renowned benefits of taurine supplementation is its role in increasing muscle strength. As decrease in muscle concentrations of taurine leads to the decrease in muscle strength, taurine supplementation augments muscle taurine levels leading to an increase in muscle strength, force production, and decrease fatigue.

Taurine allows muscles to work harder while increasing the muscle’s ability to contract and produce force. Supplementation with taurine reduces muscle breakdown, decrease muscle soreness.

Taurine increases levels of testosterone, which is an anabolic hormone that helps in improving the development of lean muscle mass and fight against any kind of fat gain by the body.

Taurine regulates fluid balance, works to optimize cellular hydration and make muscle cells appear full.

All these properties of taurine have obvious importance in ensuring optimal muscle performance which eventually leads to enhancement in muscle strength and gains.

 

TAURINE CAN IMPROVE FOCUS & COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

Stress of any kind doesn’t just hamper your sleep, but can also affect your muscle gains and contribute to weight gain. Excessive stress hormone can have a negative impact on testosterone, if you are more stressed, the higher your cortisol levels and less testosterone you’ll produce.

Taurine is able to cross the blood brain barrier, as such it is vital to many physiological functions through its interaction with the central nervous system.

When our body has low levels of taurine, the nervous system gets over-responsive whenever we encounter any kind of stress.

Taurine can calm down the nervous system and stress hormone cortisol by producing the neurotransmitter called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). Optimum levels of GABA modulates inhibitory excitatory balance necessary for proper brain function, help manage anxiety, increase cognitive performance, focus and time on task.

TAURINE PROTECTS MUSCLES FROM CELL DAMAGE

Muscle induced oxidative stress is often unavoidable and may require supplementary interventions that regulate redox process. Taurine has been referred to as a potent antioxidant due to the presence of sulfonic acid, which promotes the conversion of highly cytotoxic substances including chloride and hypochlorous acid into relatively stable chloramine. Intense bouts of exercise can increase oxidative stress in the body, increase muscle soreness. Increased muscular contraction increases ROS generation which causes various physiological and biochemical adaptions such as mitochondrial biogenesis and changes in active myofibres. Taurine supplement helps reduce muscle soreness, limit oxidative stress, contributes to higher performance. The Taurine helps the body get rid of waste products that lead to fatigue and cause muscle burn, aside from supporting detoxification, enhances the muscle’s ability to contract and produce force.

Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5611412
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501277/