Newsletter #323: Taurine and Liquor 🍸
Sure, we’ve been drinking the stuff since the beginning of recorded history, but alcohol consumption is largely not healthy for humans, even at modest levels typically consumed (see our blog below), and is a significant public health concern. Chronic use triggers harmful inflammatory processes, damaging brain cells and tissues. Detoxification from alcohol can reduce gray and white matter in critical brain regions, impairing cognitive functions and overall brain health.
Recent research suggests taurine, an antioxidant amino acid, may offer neuroprotective benefits. You may recall a recent podcast Dan hosted on humanOS Radio where he interviewed Columbia Professor Vijay Yadav on research showing taurine positively impacts all hallmarks of aging (mostly in animal models but with some consistent evidence in humans, too). Well, taurine also regulates cellular osmolarity and modulates neurotransmission, and these effects may counteract alcohol-induced brain damage. This new research has been getting some attention so let’s see what it really says!
This Week’s Research Highlight
💊 Taurine Neuroprotection and Neurogenesis Effect in Chronic Ethanol-Induced Rats
In this study, 48 Wistar rats were acclimatized for seven days before experiments began. They had free access to food and water and were kept in a 12-hour light/dark environment. The rats were then divided into four groups (six rats per group):
- Water + Saline (controls)
- Alcohol + Saline
- Water + Taurine
- Alcohol + Taurine
Over 28 days, the alcohol group received a high dose of alcohol to start, with the dose increased each week. These rats were ‘tying one on’ as they say. The taurine groups received daily taurine injections, and the control groups received either saline or water.
The study had two parts:
- Assess taurine’s protective effects on hippocampal neurogenesis (new neurons formation) against ethanol
- See if taurine could reverse ethanol’s harmful effects.
Animals in the taurine group received an intraperitoneal injection (ip) of 300 mg/kg per day. To approximate that dose for humans - the human equivalent dose - we can use the body surface area normalization method, which is a common approach. This involves multiplying the animal dose by a conversion factor based on the ratio of the body surface area between the species.
The human equivalent dose for taurine, based on the rat dose of 300 mg/kg, is approximately 48.6 mg/kg. For a 70 kg (154 lb) human, that’s approximately 3.4 g per day. For reference, in the conversation with Professor Yadev, we discussed doses for humans up to 6 grams per day. However, those doses discussed were for oral ingestion, not i.p., injection like the alcohol study we’re discussing here.
When taurine is orally ingested, only about 60% makes it into the blood. When taurine is injected, most of it gets into the blood. We can therefore assume a 3.4 g injected dose is more like 5.8 grams taken orally for humans. This is speculation, not determined amounts, but it’s helpful to eye ball this for future human study.
What did they find?
As expected, metabolism of the high amount of alcohol produced a degree of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that led to cellular damage, including mitochondrial dysfunction, and it inhibited neurogenesis (new brain cell formation). High alcohol = bad for the brain.
In the taurine plus alcohol group, taurine supplementation reduced the number of damaged cells in the hippocampus in response to the alcohol administration versus alcohol alone.
While the researchers didn’t study the mechanisms directly, they did conduct a literature review on possible mechanisms at play. They suggested that taurine's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties played a role in the observed effects.
Limitations and Contradictions
Surprisingly, though, the taurine and water group also showed a decrease in hippocampal volume. Wait, what? Yes, this was unexpected.
In general, all experimental groups exhibited a significant increase in cell death in the dentate gyrus or its anterior and posterior divisions compared to the untreated control group.
The bottom line here is that the addition of taurine reduced the alcohol-induced neurogenesis impairment. But, taurine without alcohol also significantly reduced neurogenesis in the entire dentate gyrus (19.7%) when compared to the control.
This amino acid did not induce neurogenesis in the tissues of healthy rats, implying that its activity may be contingent upon post-injury stimuli.
Because taurine is a antioxidate and anti-inflammatory, too high of a dose could be problematic in the non toxic control condition. To me, this is an interesting finding with potential implications about age and dose. As we get older, our ability to handle oxidants and inflammation diminishes. This could be why the high dose discussed with Professor Yadev may be helpful in older people, but less health or not healthy in younger people at that high dose. The dose of taurine needed to be healthy for younger people is likely much less than in older people. Or, conceivably, a high dose in a younger person may only be protective and healthy when paired with a toxic substance, like a heavier night of alcohol consumption.
Recovery
Some good news is that 28 days after stopping alcohol intake, hippocampal volumes recovered across all groups. Thus, you remove the toxic stimuli and the brain recovered.
The results observed in this experiment demonstrated that after 28 days following the cessation of ethanol consumption, cellular proliferation returned to levels comparable to those of the control group animals who received only water.
Despite intriguing and possible conditionally-promising results, the study had several limitations. It did not include behavioral assessments to determine if volumetric changes impacted cognitive or memory functions. Additionally, the interaction between taurine and alcohol requires further exploration to understand the underlying mechanisms fully.
It would be great if this was a cleaner story. But I wanted to highlight it because taurine is getting more attention these days after the Yadev article in Science, and I have seen incomplete reporting on this new alcohol paper.
My conclusion is this: taking high doses of antioxidant substances willy nilly is very possibly not helping. Tinkering with substances like these requires a lot of research before we are more confident in our well-intentioned usage. For now, don’t fall into the trap of more is better. For me, I don’t drink much at all any more. But if I do plan to go out and kick back a few Manhattans, I will consider taking a few grams of taurine before I go out that evening.
Random Trivia & Weird News
The Chemist’s War of Prohibition
Photo credit: Slate
The Prohibition era in the United States lasted between 1920 and 1933. But, despite the fact that the consumption of alcohol was prohibited by the government, many people continued to drink. In fact, the urge to continue to drink was so intense, some people resorted to drinking industrial alcohol used in paints, solvents, and fuels. Obviously, this wasn’t good for those who entertained this behavior.
To deter this, the government mandated that manufacturers add toxic chemicals to these industrial products, such as methanol, to make them “undrinkable.” But, some people continued to consume these now-even-worse-for-you products, leading to approximately 10,000 people dying from consuming the poisoned alcohol. This controversial policy, known as “The Chemist’s War of Prohibition,” highlights the extreme measures taken during this unique period in American history.
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Danny Lennon: Is Unprocessed Red Meat Problematic for Our Health? Via Sigma Nutrition Radio.
- Josh Turknett & Tommy Wood: Can You Increase Neuroplasticity As You Age? Via Better Brain Fitness.
Products We Like
Nutricost Taurine
Taurine supplements are valued for their potential neuroprotective benefits and potential to impact the hallmarks of aging. It is well-absorbed by the body and can help regulate cellular osmolarity and neurotransmission. Taurine is relatively easy to find and may counteract alcohol-induced brain damage.
humanOS Catalog Feature of the Week
Is Moderate Drinking Really Good For You? Podcast with Todd White
Alcohol is fun and rewarding for many, so it's unsurprising that its purported benefits have garnered much attention. However, recent debates question the merits of moderate drinking. A $100-million study on moderate alcohol's health effects was terminated due to industry influence, and a global analysis concluded there's no safe alcohol level, casting doubt on the notion that moderate drinking is beneficial.
This article examines the relationship between alcohol and health. Moderate drinking is believed to offer health benefits, but the evidence is controversial. Observational studies suggest light-to-moderate drinkers are healthier and live longer than heavy drinkers and abstainers, but this could be due to biases like the “sick quitter” effect and selection bias.
The abstainer category often includes former drinkers with health issues, skewing results. Non-drinkers also tend to have poorer health due to various factors unrelated to alcohol. Randomized trials would help but are impractical, so we rely on observational data.
A recent analysis found the lowest risk of all-cause mortality at around 100 grams of alcohol per week, lower than current moderate drinking guidelines. Alcohol may benefit cardiovascular health by thinning blood and raising HDL cholesterol, but it also increases cancer risk, particularly in women.
Ultimately, the tradeoffs are complex. The Global Burden of Diseases study found a mild protective effect against heart disease but increased risks for cancer and other diseases, concluding that the safest level of alcohol consumption is zero. Balancing these risks and benefits is crucial for informed decisions.
Wishing you the best,
