Since you have mentioned taurine, I'll give you my story. Three months ago, my niece advised me her 16yr old daughter had a seizure and was diagnosed with epilepsy. So I started searching for causes of and natural treatment. I was stunned to find that taurine is being used very effectively as treatment for epilepsy. Of course, I continued looking and found that taurine is benefit for many things, including asthma. My bronchial asthma had gotten so bad I was needing the nebulizer first thing every morning. I always have taurine on hand for the cats. I took a taurine capsule before bedtime and next morning I awakened breathing easy and feeling great. I have not needed the nebulizer since. I continue taking taurine and will forever.
It is naturally produced by the body (not included in amino acid supplements for this reason) BUT there are many things that will cause deficiency, such as eating foods with MSG, medications, on and on. All fast foods are full of MSG and many things in our kitchen. "Natural" on a label means MSG.
It was easy to find in Texas but here in the Tampa Bay area I had to go to a health food store. I will copy some info below but you will research. Add taurine to your family daily consumption and everyone will be much healthier.
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Michael Lam, MD, MPH
DrLam.com - The Authority on Natural Medicine[/CENTER][/CENTER]
Taurine is an important amino acid in our body. It is found mostly in our central nervous system, skeletal muscle, and in greater concentration in our heart and brain. It is made from two sulfur containing amino acids called methionine and
Methoinine and cysteine are found in egg yolk and meat as well.
Taurine is commonly found in animal protein and not in Vegetable protein. Vegetarians with a low intake of protein may have difficulty producing taurine in their bodies. In addition to meat, taurine is found in abundance in shell fish. Vegetarians as well as those on a low fat diet will have to be mindful on the amount of taurine consumed.
Cardiovascular Disease
In the cell, taurine keeps potassium and magnesium inside the cell while keeping excessive sodium out. In this sense it works like a diuretic. But unlike prescription diuretics, it is not a cellular poison. It does not act against the kidney, but improves kidney function instead. Taurine is very useful in fighting tissue swelling and fluid accumulation. People with heart failure, liver disease , late stage ovarian cancer, congestive heart failure frequently have unwanted fluid accumulation inside their bodies and people who take long plan flight usually have slight fluid retention.
Taurine has been very successfully used to treat people with high blood pressure. When excessive fluid is normalized, blood pressure becomes normalized. Taurine functions to dampen the sympathetic nervous system, thereby relieving arterial spasm. When blood vessels relax, the body’s blood pressure will fall.
There have been studies showing the positive effectiveness of taurine on heart failure. Aside from having diuretic properties, taurine is able to strengthen the heart muscles and maintain proper calcium balance. Together with Coq10 and
carnitine, taurine is able to regulate the heart’s contractility and guard against toxic threat of chemotherapeutic drugs such as adriamycin(doxorubicin). .
Working together with magnesium, taurine also is able to regulate heart rhythm and help to stabilize it.
Women’s Health
Taurine is an important amino acid in the female body. The female hormone estradiol depresses the formation of taurine in the liver. Women who are on estrogen replacement, birth control pill, or those suffering from excessive estrogen (this is a widespread condition commonly called estrogen dominance) may need more taurine. Taurine is also helpful in clearing excessive fluid retention during menstrual period.
Furthermore, synthetic estrogen replacement therapy blocks the production of taurine in the body , as well as in the case of chemotherapy or the lack of good bacteria in the intestinal tract.
Neurological
Taurine functions in the brain and the heart to stabilize the cell membrane by regulating the electro-chemical forces. It tends to inhibit and modulate neurotransmitters in the brain and helps to stabilize cell membranes. It is beneficial to the gall bladders, eyes, blood vessels, and has some antioxidant and detoxifying activities. Because it aids the movement of potassium, sodium, and calcium in and out of the cell, taurine has been used as a supplementation for epileptics as well as for people who have uncontrollable facial twitches. However, because of its inability to cross the blood brain barrier, the use of taurine to treat people who are in a neurological dysfunctional state is limited.
Between 1 and 3g a day, there is usually no problem. (1000mg = 1g)
However at a dosage of more than 5g a day, taurine may occasionally cause loose stool. The general dosage for people who have edema, high blood pressure, and seizure disorders range from 0.5-4g a day. In high doses, taurine may increase slightly the secretion of stomach acid.
Benefits and Uses of Taurine include
· Agitation
· Alcoholism
· Anxiety
· Arrhythmias
· Asthma
· Antioxidant for the eyes
. Autism
· Bile production & fat metabolism (ability to reduce body cholesterol)
· Bloating
· Blood Clots
· Breathing constriction
· Chemical sensitivities – manages as a powerful sulfur donor which removes foreign material & oxidized chlorine
· Congestive heart failure
· Cystic fibrosis
· Diabetes/glucose metabolism/potentiates & improves the actino of insulin
· Depression
· Epilepsy
· Fat digestion - useful with mal-absorption of fats
· Fat metabolism & bile production (ability to reduce body cholesterol)
· Gallbladder disease
· Heart strength & rhythm/Congestive heart failure/Heart irregularities
· High blood pressure
· Hyperactivity
· Immune problems
· Insomnia
· Liver and Kidney disease
· Lung ailments
· Macular Degeneration/retinitis pigmentosa
· Ovarian Cancer
· Thyroid issues
· Vegetarianism (taurine not found in foods of non-meat origin – found in fish, meat, egg yolks)
· Vision impairment, including decreasing development of cataracts