Is there a recipe for longer life?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying, let’s look at that one in reverse.
Take the amino acid Taurine. Taurine deficiency in youth leads to impairments akin to age-associated disorders like high blood pressure. Over time, we naturally produce less of it. So could taurine supplements SLOW aging?
Parminder Singh from the National Institute of Immunology in Delhi, India and an international team investigated.
They started with over two-hundred “middle-aged” mice. Half were given taurine supplements and the other half were given placebos. Results? On average the taurine group lived FOUR months longer than the placebo group. That’s like EIGHT human years! The taurine mice were also HEALTHIER!
The researchers also found older adults with naturally higher taurine levels have less diabetes, inflammation, and lower blood pressure. So, scientists want to conduct clinical studies to further understand the link between taurine and aging.
Who knew the fountain of youth was just a supplement away!
Reference:
Singh, P., Gollapalli, K., Mangiola, S., Schranner, D., Yusuf, M. A., Chamoli, M., Shi, S. L., Lopes Bastos, B., Nair, T., Riermeier, A., Vayndorf, E. M., Wu, J. Z., Nilakhe, A., Nguyen, C. Q., Muir, M., Kiflezghi, M. G., Foulger, A., Junker, A., Devine, J., … Yadav, V. K. (2023). Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging. Science, 380(6649). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn9257