At first, though, all I had were questions about the episode titled ‘Taurine: The Wonder Molecule to Rule Them All?’ 

Aren’t all molecules the same?

There’s no way taurine can be that great.

What even is taurine?

If you listen to the full episode below, you’ll find out how Lucas dissolved my doubts bit by bit as he discussed the broad benefits of this amino acid.

Listen to the full episode here, or dive in to my lessons learned below. 

There were a lot more impressive properties that proved how taurine is truly the ‘wonder molecule’ of the 21st century, but these were my favorites.

1. Taurine Is A Mood Booster

Working mostly on the body’s central nervous system, taurine helps lower neuro inflammation. This makes the ‘wonder molecule’ very effective in reducing stress, anxiety, and even depression.

If you’ve always struggled with social anxiety, you might be encouraged by the fact that it only took Aoun’s friend 2-3 days of taking 1.5 grams of taurine supplements twice daily to make his nervous tics disappear.

2. Kickstart My Heart

Scientific research posits that cardiac fibrosis, or the abnormal thickening of heart valves, is a common finding in many instances of heart failure. 

By helping regulate fibrosis, taurine supports heart health, while also keeping vascular resistance at healthy levels.

3. Taurine Helps Heal The Liver, Too.

As Lucas himself pointed out, simply walking the planet as it exists today makes it near-impossible to keep the liver in pristine health. Still, the body does wonders. Every time the liver is injured, it will try to repair itself. Through time, however, liver cirrhosis or scarring of the organ makes it more and more difficult to self-heal.

Glutathione is widely-known to help the liver recover some of its self-healing abilities. Thus, in raising glutathione levels in the body, taurine may just be your liver’s new best friend -- along with a healthier lifestyle, of course.

4. A Promising Antidiabetic

As triangulated by several peer-reviewed articles, Lucas discussed animal studies that proved taurine supplementation effective in increasing glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity among the obese and diabetic.

In helping offset the accumulation of excess sugar in the bloodstream and by helping the body release insulin, taurine is potentially an excellent ally for people engaged in a lifelong fight against diabetes.

5. Taurine Improves Endurance 

Being an athlete, I also found specific interest in the assertion that taurine supplementation also reduces the difficulty of exercise and enhances endurance performance.

The episode built an incredibly strong and scientifically-evidenced case for taurine, but frankly, all I needed to hear was ‘wonder molecule’ to give it a try.

Find Boost Your Biology podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or check it out right here.