Taurine is an organic amino acid, one of the fundamental blocks of protein.

It’s mostly found in the brain, blood platelets, retina and the heart (1). It primarily acts as a stabilizer against free radicals which make it a good antioxidant for the body.

By regulating the salts and minerals in your blood, taurine draws additional nutrients for recovery and growth which helps to increase muscle volume.

Taurine can be found in meats and fish, though there are energy drinks and pure taurine supplements that offer higher doses.

The list below ranks the best taurine supplements on the market according to price, customer reviews, and product quality. Then, we broke down exactly how it works along with the benefits and possible side effects.

So what’s the best taurine supplement in 2020?

1- ALLMAX Nutrition Taurine

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With 3g of taurine per serving and outstanding reviews, ALLMAX Nutrition Taurine has earned the reputation as our #1 recommended taurine supplement.

With an 8.7 out of 10 rating on bodybuilding.com, there is no question that customers are pleased with the product quality.

Recent customer reviews reflect positive results and note that the taste is plain and mixes well with pre-workout supplements.

One of the more affordable taurine supplements available as well, making AllMax’s taurine our top choice all-around. The tub contains 400g of taurine, giving you about 133 servings.

Suggested use: mix 3g (approx. 3/4 tsp) of AllMax Taurine in 6-8 oz (180-240 ml) of water or juice.

Take ALLMAX Taurine 30 minutes before your workout.

2- NOW Taurine Double Strength

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If you are looking for a taurine supplement that comes in capsule form, this is our top recommendation.

Packed with 1000mg of taurine in each dose and a best seller on Amazon, NOW Taurine Double strength is known for its potency and efficacy.

This product is GMP quality assured and the other ingredients in the capsule include gelatin and stearic acid.

Some users have left reviews saying the supplement helped them feel happier by improving their mood like a nootropic, which helps you improve your workouts.

1000mg of taurine per capsule, 120 capsules in the bottle.

3- Infinite Labs L-Taurine

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This big yellow tub comes with 120 servings of pure L-taurine (500mg per serving).

Infinite Labs also recommends stacking this taurine supplement with L-norvaline and AAKG supplements for an all around pre-workout mix.

This product is recommended only for healthy adults 18+ years old. If you are planning on undergoing any surgeries, it is recommended to discontinue use two weeks prior.

4- LifeExtension Taurine 1000 mg

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Just 1000 mg of pure taurine in a veggie capsule.

Similar to our #2 taurine product, but a bit more expensive and sophisticated. Better quality? Debatable.

Bottle comes with 90 capsules, giving you 90,000mg of taurine in total. Recent reviews indicate customers have found the supplement to give them more energy and help them think more clearly.

Recommended that you take this supplement 2-3 times daily on an empty stomach.

5- PrimaForce Taurine

taurine-supplement-5

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This giant tub comes with a whopping 250g of pure taurine.

With highly rated customer reviews on BodyBuilding.com, it’s become one of the most well-liked taurine supplements out there.

It’s a bit pricy but you get a bulky container that should last you much longer than other leading brands (178 servings per container).

Recommended that you take 1.5 g with your pre-workout shake. Produced and manufactured in a GMP certified facility.

How does taurine work?

Experts have determined that taurine helps improve heat functions in the left ventricle of the heart.

It also helps decrease blood pressure (like shiitake mushrooms and maca root extract) and helps calm the sympathetic nervous system or the one responsible for stress responses.

Taurine is a conditional amino acid making it different from essential amino acids (2). The latter is a type of amino acid that cannot be produced naturally in the body, but is found in foods.

Conditional amino acids on the other hand can be found or manufactured in the body.  Infants aren’t old enough to make their own taurine in their bodies so it is commonly found in baby formula. Moreover, those who are tube-fed also have taurine supplements included in their formula feeding.

Any excess taurine in the body is filtered through your kidneys and released in your urine. 

Why taurine is needed in the body

According to a study conducted in November 2012, they found out that taurine is one of the essential substances the body needs because of the cytoprotective properties it has (3). Apart from that, it helps in your cell development, nutrition and survival.

Although your body can produce taurine, supplements are generally needed to achieve optimal amount. Reaching your body’s optimal amount leads to improving diabetic complications, restoring the sensitivity to insulin,  preventing fatty liver, resolving tinnitus, and even helps cure seizures (4).

Taurine offers a number of benefits:

  • Taurine benefits for athletes

There was a study conducted by the Japanese in 2003 where involving 11 men in between 18 to 20 years old (5). They were told to exercise on a bike until exhaustion.

Then, they were asked to take taurine supplements for seven days. After the time period of the study, the participants showed significant increase in time and VO2max, or the maximum capacity of oxygen a person can transport throughout the body (6).

  • Taurine benefits for cardiovascular health

Taurine helps lower the fatality for people with coronary artery disease. Moreover, there is evidence it can help lower levels of dangerous lipids, lower blood pressure, even lower your body mass index (BMI).

In recent studies, taking oral taurine supplements lowers the stiffness and arterial wall thickening, a characteristic of atherosclerosis.  Taurine also helps regulate endothelial nitric oxide where it reduces inflammation.

There have also been studies done for patients who need bypass or coronary bypass surgery where patients were asked to take a liquid with 3 grams taurine, 150 mg CoQ10, multivitamins, and 3 grams of carnitine (7).

After taking, it reduced the left-sided ventricular volume during diastole or the resting phase of the heart. Scientists found this interesting because increased left-ventricular diastolic volume contributes to the risk factors of patients who need stent placements and bypass surgeries.

Taurine, along with other vital nutrients, are essential for the body and commonly ignored.

  • Taurine benefits for the eyes

Adequate levels of taurine helps in eye health and avoids age-related loss of vision. However, a deficiency can be very alarming. Insufficient taurine leads to retinal ganglion cell degeneration as well as retinal dysfunction in children (8).

There is related loss of vision causes and one of it is due to the decreasing taurine levels when one ages.

Moreover, the risk is doubled for those who have diabetes because there is not enough nerve growth factor when one has diabetes.

  • Taurine benefits for seizures

In mammalian biology, taurine is essential because it regulates the excitable tissues. In patients who have seizure disorders, there is disruption of excitable brain tissue no matter what type of epilepsy it is.

This study was further strengthened with animal studies where supplements were given to animals with epileptic disorder.

Taurine also helps in increasing the glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) which is the enzyme that helps produce neurotransmitter GABA and binds the GABA receptor thus helps calm and reduce the uncoordinated firing of electrodes in the brain during a seizure (9).

  • Taurine benefits for liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can be treated and with enough levels of taurine. This kind of fatty liver is one of the main causes of liver disease in the United States and when too much fat is present in the liver, it can lead to diabetes mellitus type 2 or insulin resistant insulin (10).

If this is not treated, it can lead to a severe problems, even an untreatable one, liver cirrhosis.

Keeping the liver healthy is very essential because just like the colon, it serves as a detoxifying organ and everyday there are toxins that need to be filtered by the liver to protect the body.

Taurine helps defend the liver cells against toxins and free radicals and helping the liver lower its oxidative stress that causes liver injury.

  • Taurine benefits for diabetes and glucose control

Taurine helps lower the risk for diabetes and helps reduce the blood glucose and increases insulin sensitivity.  Reversely, the low levels of taurine can promote obesity (11). The animal study has shown that adequate taurine levels can prevent and reverse the consequences related to diabetes (similar to green coffee bean and camu camu extract).

As for human studies, taking about 1.5 grams of taurine everyday for 114 days can reverse the abnormalities caused by diabetes.

  • Taurine benefits for tinnitus

Tinnitus is a condition where there is ringing or buzzing in the ear. Taurine is helpful in the sense of hearing because it can reverse the process biochemically for hearing loss.

Studies showed that the hearing problems are not mechanical but from the nerve cells that interprets the electrical energy which is then perceived by the brain. 

In  an animal study, about 700 mg to 3,2 grams of taurine was given to them in seven weeks and it showed positive effect in resolving tinnitus problems (12).

Human studies were also promising since 12% of the subjects responded well through taurine supplements while having tinnitus.

What are the side effects of taurine supplements?

As long as you are sticking to the recommended dosage provided by the manufacturer, you shouldn’t experience any negative side effects with taurine.

Taurine is known to mitigate anxiety and help people feel more calm. If you drink a caffeinated beverage or take an energy supplement, taurine may dull the effects.

If you are taking any other medications, check with your doctor first to make sure that combining them with a taurine supplement won’t cause any problems.

Recap

Overall, there are many benefits of taurine for the human body. Taurine supps can help you improve your mental focus, energy levels, and body composition more easily.

If you are interested in buying taurine, check out the rankings above and let us save you the hassle of finding the best products on the market.


The HealthRanks Team

The HealthRanks Team is composed of like-minded health experts who share a passion for sharing their health knowledge for the benefit of others. Check out our about page for more information.

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