When we talk about taurine, we immediately think of RedBull and this urban legend that it is a highly dangerous product that comes from the testicles of bulls. We hear much less often about the fact that taurine is an amino acid present in humans that is extremely important in several functions of the body. When is it supplementation during physical activity? Here is a brief overview of the studies that have been done on this subject.
A double-blind study published in 2017 [1] of male triathletes in their early thirties successfully proved that taurine supplementation reduced markers of oxidative stress, suggesting that taurine could prevent oxidative stress during long-term physical activity. This stress can create significant cell damage in muscles and joints, which leads to reduced muscle strength and faster onset of fatigue. It goes without saying that these qualities of antioxidants can play an important role in endurance sports.
A meta-analysis dating from 2018 [2] , bringing together 10 peer-reviewed studies, demonstrated that taurine ingestion improved overall endurance during physical exertion. A sub-analysis also established that perceived exertion was lower when there was taurine supplementation. Another interesting point of this study is that there does not seem to be a difference in performance between sporadic and continuous supplementation, suggesting that taurine ingestion is only beneficial during exercise.
Finally, a 2019 study [3] showed that taurine supplementation improved physical performance, but also the body's ability to thermoregulate. This can have a major impact in races performed in the heat. The body temperature of the subjects was seen decreased by 0.5 degrees at the end of the effort following the taurine supplementation compared to the effort without supplementation, which is considerable. With a short summer period, we often have to train or compete in the sometimes extreme heat, so this quality of thermoregulation is very important for endurance athletes.
In making the Upika Endurance formula we wanted to maximize all aspects of your performance, and that's why we added 1g of taurine per serving. All your efforts deserve attention to detail. These are the details that set our product apart and make a huge difference when added together.
[1] De Carvalho FG, Galan BSM, Santos PC, Pritchett K, Pfrimer K, Ferriolli E, Papoti M, Marchini JS, de Freitas EC. Taurine: A Potential Ergogenic Aid for Preventing Muscle Damage and Protein Catabolism and Decreasing Oxidative Stress Produced by Endurance Exercise. Front Physiol. 2017 Sep 20;8:710. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00710. PMID: 28979213; PMCID: PMC5611412.
[2] Waldron M, Patterson SD, Tallent J, Jeffries O. The Effects of an Oral Taurine Dose and Supplementation Period on Endurance Exercise Performance in Humans: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2018 May;48(5):1247-1253. doi: 10.1007/s40279-018-0896-2. PMID: 29546641.
[3] Page, Lee Kevin et al. “Acute taurine supplementation enhances thermoregulation and endurance cycling performance in the heat.” European Journal of Sport Science 19 (2019): 1101 - 1109.
