Taurine Research and Healthy Aging

Energy drinks have come under a lot of criticism, but there's a new report out that talks about. It was just reported in Science Magazine that taurine, which is an amino acid that's found in meat and shellfish and it's a supplement that's added to a lot of energy drinks. Now it suggests that the nutrient may help with healthy aging. It slows down the process leading to longer, healthier lives in animals. They haven't done any human tests yet, but what they found is supplementing middle-aged animals led to better health. So maybe taurine, which has come under so much criticism, isn't that bad for us.

Sally: Yes, this is very exciting research. Any research that teaches us how we can stay younger and healthier longer. We all love to hear that. Now, while this research doesn't show that we can reverse aging with this amino acid, it does show that it can help slow down the process and keep you healthier as you are aging. It is found in some foods such as scallops and tuna. It's found in beef, tilapia, octopus, turkey. You can get it from chicken and seaweed. There's not a lot of plant-based foods that you can find that get this amino acid from, so that becomes harder for vegetarians and vegans, unless you really love seaweed. And we do see a lot of energy drinks that have this supplement, but the problem with energy drinks is that they also usually come with a lot of sugar, so you've got to think about.

Phil: And caffeine.

Sally: Yes, so maybe choosing the zero sugar red bull is a better choice, or the ones that have this amino acid but don't have as much sugar or caffeine.

Phil: Or just get it naturally from all the foods that you just described, especially from from seafood.