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Home » Health Articles » Cut Through The Marketing Hype And Taurine Can Still Be Of Great Benefit

Cut Through The Marketing Hype And Taurine Can Still Be Of Great Benefit

Taurine is one of those perhaps lesser known amino acids which are known to medicine as "non-essential". But "non-essential" in this context simply means that it is not essential to ensure a daily intake from diet, because the compound can be manufactured by the body, albeit in fairly small quantities. It should not be taken as lessening the importance of taurine or the other non-essential amino acids in any way.

Much publicity has recently been given to taurine as a way of preventing hangovers and slowing or even reversing the liver damage caused by long term excess alcohol consumption. So taurine is commonly added with caffeine to the energy drinks increasingly sold as mixers to take with alcoholic drinks. Whilst it has to be said that the "jury's still out" on some of the wilder claims made in this regard, there is evidence that taurine may be beneficial not just for the liver but for the heart, kidneys and other organs which may become subject to inflammation or the accumulation of fluid or fat.

Complementary medical practitioners are particularly enthusiastic in using taurine supplements as therapy for conditions including hypertension, macular degeneration of the eyes, congestive heart failure, fluid retention and asthma. Although these conditions may appear diverse, if there is a common factor it is probably an imbalance in body chemistry, particularly perhaps the relative concentrations of potassium, magnesium and sodium within the cells. And there is some good research evidence to suggest that taurine's effect in restoring proper fluid balance may be very effective in reducing blood pressure and tackling congestive heart failure.

When taken in conjunction with magnesium, taurine may help maintain good heart rhythm, and it is also an anti-oxidant which helps protect against atherosclerosis and the formation of potentially dangerous blood clots.

As a fat soluble anti-oxidant, taurine is also invaluable in protecting the light sensitive cells of the retina, which contain a very high concentration of fats, from the free radical damage which can lead to loss of vision through macular degeneration. Taurine's role as an anti-oxidant has also been highlighted as a possible protector of the lungs against free radical attack, with potentially particularly valuable implications for sufferers from asthma.

Finally, although it remains a matter of some controversy, taurine's role in balancing cell chemistry is also believed by some nutritionists to protect against epileptic and other types of brain seizure. It is also found in very high concentrations in the white blood cells which are the key to a healthy immune system, and is believed to help stabilise blood sugar levels.

To manufacture sufficient taurine within the body a good supply of the essential amino acids is required, particularly methionine. By far the best sources of these are the so-called "first-class" protein foods, called first-class precisely because they contain all of the essential amino acids. Meat, poultry, fish and dairy products are all within this group, and for the purposes of taurine, shellfish are a particularly rich source.

A diet providing normal quantities of these food groups will usually be adequate to prevent taurine deficiency, but not necessarily to secure the maximum benefits for sufferers from the conditions mentioned above. Those following a vegetarian diet will also have to take particular care to combine foods correctly in order to obtain an adequate supply of the essential amino acids; methionine especially.

Fortunately, however, there appear to be no toxicity issues with taurine supplementation, except for sufferers from excess stomach acidity or ulcers. So some nutritional therapists commonly recommend therapeutic doses of up to 4,000 mg a day, particularly when treating the heart and cardiovascular conditions detailed above, with no reports of ill-effects. It's worth noting, however, that some minor gastro-intestinal disturbances have been observed when even higher doses have been applied.

But as always, when considering any program of supplementation, it needs to be remembered that the body is a holistically functioning organism, and that no one nutrient can function 100% effectively in the absence of an adequate supply of all the others. Taking individual supplements of amino acids can create an imbalance, and is not therefore recommended except in the short term, and is in any case best accompanied by a comprehensive multi-vitamin and multi–mineral regime. In the case of taurine, however, it is also worth pointing out that its action seems to be particularly dependent on good supplies of vitamin B6 and the essential mineral, zinc.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How You Can Make $1000 A Week Part Time

About 6 years ago I started to notice that certain friends of mine had quit their jobs but continued to live very luxurious lifestyles - seemingly without doing very much. I thought they must just be using up their savings until I discovered they were all making a fantastic living by spending just a few hours a week doing something I had never heard of before - 'financial spread betting'.

More and more people are now becoming familiar with the phrase 'financial spread betting'. Once, the sole preserve of City Whiz kids or sophisticated gamblers, financial spread betting is now gaining in popularity as a great way to earn a very sizeable tax-free income without the risk of losing the shirt off your back!

So why is financial spread betting becoming so popular?

Well, with a bit of understanding and practice, ordinary people, with no prior experience, can earn enormous sums whilst controlling their risks and limiting their losses. You do not even need a stockbroker or a city dealing account to do get involved. An on-line account is very simple to open and anyone with web access can do it.

Spread betting, aka futures trading, is easy to understand if you stick to a simple index like the FTSE 100 or the DOW JONES.

In basic terms, this is how it works:

When you buy a 'future' you take a position on what you think

the index (e.g. the FTSE 100, or the DOW ) will be at some future date - e.g. June 2005. Let's say the FTSE is currently at 5200 and you think it will rise over the next three months as 'terrorist fever' abates. You would buy the June FTSE at (say) $10 per point. For every point it rises, you make $10. If it goes up 100 points, you make $1000. Of course, if you get it wrong and the index falls by fifty points (say), you lose $500.00.

You must be very aware of the risks before you get involved. As with any investment or business, you can lose money. If, by nature, you are a timid, cautious person, then it is definitely not for you. But if you have some money to play with, and aren't risk adverse, then financial spread betting is the one of the best possible ways you can make a great deal of money completely tax free... and there are clever ways of limiting your losses so you never lose more than you can afford.

Unlike most businesses, it is possible to get involved with an absolute minimal outlay and take a position without buying a single thing. You do have to 'back' your position with a certain amount of cash, but this is 'insurance' money, NOT stake money.

The best thing is you can try it for free without any risk at all. You can 'dry trade' with 'monopoly' money until you get a feel for how it works and are confident enough to start using real money.

Financial spread betting has become so popular primarily because of the relationship between risk and capital. It is highly leveraged and you can make huge profits with only a limited amount of capital and risk. The fact that there is (unlike with most investments) no stamp duty or tax also helps make it extremely attractive.

So if you are of the right temperament, spread betting can be a very lucrative way of making an amazing income in your spare time. But be warned, if used recklessly or without the correct knowledge it can result in large losses.