Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Taurine has so many benefits it's a wonder I've never heard of it. First, taurine and zinc cannot be taken together. The taurine will block the absorption of zinc. Take the two at least 2-3 hours apart. Drink lots of water to speed up absorption. Insomnia - taurine helps with insomnia. My doctor prescribed Seroquel so I always sleep but I wasn't sleeping *restfully* until I started taking taurine (500 mg with dinner & 1000 mg before bed) along with either holy basil (aka, tulsi) or ashwagandha (stress reducing adaptogens). I prefer 1500 mg of the holy basil. Between these two, I sleep restfully. I wake up with that Ahhhh! feeling the morning. That has not happened in so many years, it was a shock when I got it a week ago. Some days I'm not even groggy from the ADHD and I can just get up without the battle to wake up first. More tentative results Cramping - Taurine regulates electrolytes. It actually controls the movement of electrolytes and water across cell membranes. I have savage muscular cramps, strong enough to pinch a nerve in my shoulder. I've tamed the cramping withCasada Massage Cushion Maxiwell III with Jade Stone and Heating and BulkSupplements Pure Magnesium Glycinate Powder (100 grams)but these solutions last a few weeks to a few months. I'm hoping to extend it with the taurine. For those of you who are bipolar, taurine controls mania. It works by tempering the activity of the dopamine, norepinephrine, glutamate and aspartate neurotransmitters in the brain. It increases acetylcholine activity (inhibitory). Don't use taurine while depressed, you really, really, don't need to exacerbate the problem. It won't stop mania all by itself, that's been demonstrated in the scientific literature but it will help prevent mania. The Natural Healing for Bipolar Disorder: A Compendium of Nutritional Approaches The therapeutic dose is 1500 mg split into three doses and timed to avoid any pill that contains zinc. For emergencies, the maximum dose is 2-3 gms per day. Thyroid and adrenal output - Taurine helps with overactive thyroids and overproduction of adrenal hormones like adrenaline. It protects from the effects of excess adrenaline and HELPS with STRESS. Lowers blood sugar - it increases the release of insulin Early studies shows taurine counters seizures. Since I don't have seizures, I'll just have to take it on faith. Update Oct. 30, 2017 I've got the A1C results back and ... it's 5.1 - Even my most hardened doctor was impressed. Is it due to the taurine? That's really hard to say. I don't notice changes in the glucose read in the morning when I start/stop the taurine. It seems to more slow acting. In addition, I also changed the way I eat ginger. I was having a crisis of inflammation and decided to encapsulate my spices, specifically, powdered ginger and garlic. Then I really ramped up my consumption of anti-inflammatory spices. It was really helpful, controlling the arthritis pain in 3 days flat. Later, I discovered ginger helps control blood sugar AND cholesterol (yup, my cholesterol is HDL=70, LDL = 70), so the ginger is definitely working. So, the take home is - I'm pretty sure the taurine does help the blood sugar but it's hard to tell with the increased ginger consumption. Is the taurine helping with the mania? Yes, but I would say other supplements have more of a "hit". The work faster and have a more perceptible effect immediately. On the other hand, these other supplements (inositol, kava) could make you manic if you over-methylate (histapenic). I under-methylate so it works and it's safe. I also met a doctor of restorative medicine (a psychiatrist) with experience using protocols like this. It takes approximately 6 months for any of these supplements to take full effect. Update Nov. 11, 2017 Sometime in the last 2-3 weeks, my manic mood has decreased. I lowered my dose from 1500 mg split into 2 doses in the evening to 1000 mg taken with dinner. Still I keep waking up in the morning with a numb feeling in the brain. It seemed like I couldn't generate any spontaneous thoughts - I had to initiate thinking. I was also oddly unmotivated until about 3-5 PM when suddenly my willpower turned back on. That was the clue. Norepinephrine is associated with motivation and taurine inhibits norepinephrine. So I just cut out the taurine cold turkey. I felt a quick change on the first night. I was not very sleepy until 2 AM and just woke up alert and brain-lively at 6:58 AM. I was also stiff as a board. The overdose of taurine resembles morning grogginess from all sorts of other conditions like not enough sleep, being woken up right in the middle of a sleep cycle or ADHD. The big difference is taurine will do this to you every morning, you'll never wake up alert. That's when the finger points to taurine and you need to lower the dose or cut it out entirely. Aargh! Not one of my doctors like to hear that I'm getting this little sleep. So, it's time to twiddle with the dosing until it stops shutting me down for so long. Sleep Aid - a resounding yes! Dosing is important, because an overdose might turn you into a zombie in the morning. It only seems to take full effect slowly because I needed to get used to going to bed at such an early hour. Stops cramping - oh yeah. Huge difference with and without. Balances electrolytes? I don't have any direct evidence that it's the taurine but my sodium and potassium levels came out dead solid perfect. My doctors all breathed a sigh of relief because I'm on lithium for my bipolar. If the electrolyte balance is off, then the lithium will destroy my kidneys and I'll be on dialysis/need a kidney transplant. Helps prevent mania - You bet. It shut me down so hard, I could only shuffle around the house bumping into walls in the morning. Caffeine had NO EFFECT while I took taurine. On, the other hand, there are kinder, gentler ways to temper mania - for under-methylators/histadelic bipolars, Kava is safe, fast, puts you to sleep and shuts down the mania for days. For occasional use only and right before bed. I drank one small cup of Kava prepared in the traditional polynesian manner and I was out like a light in one hour flat. It was a race to get into bed before I just fell asleep. Inositol is also very good. You produce more serotonin which helps balance all those excitatory neurotransmitters (just like the taurine only good for daytime). Of course, if you overmethylate (histapenic), kava and inositol will make you manic in high doses. Taurine is a KEEPER. Update Nov. 26, 2017 My doctor had many strong words to say to me when she found I went cold turkey off the taurine like that. You need to increase/decrease supplement doses gradually especially as you approach therapeutic doses (1.5-3.0 gms). She found a doctor with expertise in this area that hopefully both of us respect (willing to listen to).. So, my happy, carefree, outrageously dangerous days of playing with supplements will soon be over (!!!??? really?). BTW, I have no idea what "gradually" means for taurine but for other supplements making changes of 1/3 the therapeutic dose per week was considered reasonable. And yes, I didn't know about the graduat changes thing. I jumped to the therapeutic dose with every supplement I've ever tried. This approach does lead to increased side effects and stomach upset.