RogB's R arm vs L re blood pressure reminded me...

A month or so back one of the fitness types I follow in Twitter tweeted something like "Taurine should be in everybody's stack." I'd heard of and read about Taurine before, so I researched it again.

Turns out Taurine supplementation may have several benefits. It may:

• Improve exercise performance and post-workout recovery
  
• Improve fat metabolism (weight loss)
  
• Improve sleep
  
• Help fight diabetes
  
• Benefit eye health
  
• Benefit hearing
  
• Offer neuroprotective effects (e.g.: Alzheimer's)
  
• Support liver health
  
• Reduce total cholesterol and triglyceride levels
  
• Improve heart health

Note the mays. Taurine supplementation is not well-studied. This is important because, oft-times, many claims by supplement makers and "fitness gurus" later turn out to be unsupportable.

There are also potential contraindications:

• May be contraindicated for people with kidney disease or impaired kidney function
  
• May be contraindicated for people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis (ironically, it may lower inflammation due to arthritis)
  
• Will probably lower blood pressure, so monitor BP closely when beginning to use if you have naturally low BP or are on BP medication

It is that last point that is the main thrust of this post.

Seeing all potential upsides and no potential downsides, for me, I decided to give it a try.

I've been on 5mg of Lisinopril for marginally high blood pressure for nearly thirty years. That marginally high BP has been pretty consistent regardless of lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, sleep). Sometimes it's gone up some. Sometimes it's dropped some.

After Day 2 of 3g/day of Taurine, and keeping in mind the BP caution, I checked my BP: 91/63!

I cut that days Taurine to 1.5g, dropped the Lisinopril that night, then went back to 3g/day of Taurine the next day. Then I checked my BP each morning for a week. It stayed reasonable.

Here are the results of my Monday morning health/fitness checks:

Lisinopril, 5mg daily, five week average: 117/77
Taurine, 3g daily, four week average: 120/80

Less than a three point difference.

There were no other lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, sleep) between the two periods.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ensigmatic,

Thanks for posting this
I know a lot of the post workout supplements have Taurine, but I did not know about the possible benefits to BP.

I will give it a try along with doing a little more research.

I would love for it to help me lose about 1 inch on my waist..

Especially for these stupid tape tests that the Army is still doing.
( About 1.5 years left on this enlistment and I am throwing in the towel after 14)

I usually drink 2-3 Red bulls a day so I'm on a 2-3g supplement too.

Other than wings, I've noticed no changes.

I add beet powder to my morning shake.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I usually drink 2-3 Red bulls a day so I'm on a 2-3g supplement too.

Other than wings, I've noticed no changes.

Considering the fact the potential side-effects of Red Bull are nearly diametrically the opposite of those of Taurine, that comes as little surprise

(To each their own, but, personally, I wouldn't touch that stuff with a 3.05m pole.)

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I usually drink 2-3 Red bulls a day so I'm on a 2-3g supplement too.

Other than wings, I've noticed no changes.

Considering the fact the potential side-effects of Red Bull are nearly diametrically the opposite of those of Taurine, that comes as little surprise

(To each their own, but, personally, I wouldn't touch that stuff with a 3.05m pole.)

LMAO

You do realize that taurine is it the key ingredient in Red Bull, right? Also caffeinated and carbonated. Lol

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
You do realize that taurine is it the key ingredient in Red Bull, right? Also caffeinated and carbonated. Lol

Don't wish to turn this into a pro- vs. anti-Red Bull thread, but...

Yes, I know Red Bull contains Taurine. It also contains massive amounts of caffeine and either sugar or sugar substitutes--neither of which are particularly good for you and both of which serve to elevate, rather than decrease, blood pressure, thus counteracting any positive effect Taurine may have on lowering BP (the primary subject of this thread).

See, for example: Long-term consumption of energy drinks induces biochemical and ultrastructural alterations in the heart muscle

^^ that explains why my brain doctor said to quit redbulls et Al.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
You do realize that taurine is it the key ingredient in Red Bull, right? Also caffeinated and carbonated. Lol

Don't wish to turn this into a pro- vs. anti-Red Bull thread, but...

Yes, I know Red Bull contains Taurine. It also contains massive amounts of caffeine and either sugar or sugar substitutes--neither of which are particularly good for you and both of which serve to elevate, rather than decrease, blood pressure, thus counteracting any positive effect Taurine may have on lowering BP (the primary subject of this thread).

See, for example: Long-term consumption of energy drinks induces biochemical and ultrastructural alterations in the heart muscle

How do you 1000% know that it’s not the taurine?

Lol

Omg

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
How do you 1000% know that it’s not the taurine?

Oh... I dunno... perhaps because every study of Taurine suggests it lowers blood pressure and improves cardio function, if anything, and every study of caffeine and sugar suggests they raise blood pressure, with some studies suggesting caffeine may be detrimental to cardiovascular health?

"Lol" "Omg"



In fact:

quote:

Taurine was first used to treat heart failure patients and demonstrated the ability to improve symptoms — as evidenced by improved cardiac output and stroke volume — which spurred research to determine whether it elicited other cardioprotective effects.

More recent evidence demonstrates that taurine modestly reduces blood pressure, and it seems to be more effective in people with prehypertension or hypertension. Taurine may also reduce total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Ref: Taurine

I love it when people think that any substance/drug is strong enough to help isn’t strong enough to hurt.

Ignoring the first rule of pharmacology lol OMG!

Questions for ensigmatic: Where are you buying this? What brand are you using?

It is interesting that Taurine may help. That said it is safer to take Lisonopril daily. It is has been on the market a long term and longitudinal studies have supported its use. See no reason to switch unless you are getting unwelcome side effects. Taurine is unlikely to get an long term studies by Big Pharma because of money.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

it is safer to take Lisonopril daily <snip> unless you are getting unwelcome side effects

A known side-effect of lisinopril is a persistent cough. I had this, very annoying. Mentioned it to my primary care doc via email and he responded promptly, telling me to discontinue the lisinopril immediately, and sent Rx for a different med. The cough is gone, took a couple weeks for it to go away.

At least one source (webMD) indicates no significant side-effects from Taurine at dosage levels of no more than 3g / day.

Yep. Ace inhibitors can cause that. Some patients cannot tolerate it.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Questions for ensigmatic: Where are you buying this? What brand are you using?

BulkSupplements.com Taurine Powder

It was well-reviewed by Labdoor, back when I first looked into it, a couple years ago, and it's currently well-reviewed by ConsumerLab.

These sites actually lab test for purity, that the product contains what it says it does, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Taurine is unlikely to get an long term studies by Big Pharma because of money.

Though Taurine hasn't been as well-studied as, say, Creatine, it has been studied. While some of the claims of its benefits are apocryphal (e.g.: aiding fat loss), certain others are not in doubt. Aiding heart health and lowering blood pressure are two that are not in doubt.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
A known side-effect of lisinopril is a persistent cough.

I didn't have that problem, but, there are a number of (alleged) benefits to Taurine, none of which obtain with Lisinopril. Since they both lower my moderately-high blood pressure essentially equally, I'm opting for the Taurine.

I will, of course, continue to monitor my BP.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Yep. Ace inhibitors can cause that. Some patients cannot tolerate it.

And the beta-blockers can have other side-effects. The doctor that originally prescribed to me Lisinopril said at the time "This is the BP med with the least likely possibility of unwanted side-effects, so we'll try it, first."

Hibiscus tea can also lower your blood pressure. Plus it tastes good.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6621350/

Somebody asked me, in email, how I was taking Taurine (empty stomach, morning/afternoon, w/meals, etc.) I thought I'd copy my answer, here, for the benefit of all.

quote:

I split it into two: The first goes into the big slug of just-out-of-bed re-hydration water I drink, along with 5g of Creatine.

The second is added to the water bottle I start later in the day, to which I also add 5g of BCAA (aids recovery from exercise--I feel it also improves my performance).

Usually I start that water bottle 15-30 minutes before I begin strength or cardio training. I finish it after training.

Splitting it into two, like that, seems to be more effective for me than when I was dumping it all into that first hydration drink. (As reflected in daily morning BP checks for a couple weeks.) But most of what I've read suggests it doesn't really matter. A lot of people just dump it in the morning coffee or whatever. Then again: Some of the formal studies I read split it up like that.

Is there any advantage to powder vs. capsules?