7/28/2019 Taurine for Vegans

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by Jack Norris, RD &Ginny Messina,

MPH, RDFor Updates: Follow @JackNorrisRD or subscribe to JackNorrisRD.com

Taurine

Technically, taurine is not an amino acid, but rather an amino sulfonic acid. But it is often referred to as an aminoacid, even in scientific literature.

Taurine is not an essential nutrient; in other words, the human body makes its own taurine. Cats, on the other

hand, are not able to make taurine and it must be supplied by the diet in order to keep their retinas healthy.

Taurine is made by the body from cysteine, which is a protein amino acid. If you eat the recommended amountsof protein, you should be getting enough cysteine to provide enough taurine.

Taurine is not found in plant foods. Non-vegetarians typically eat 40 - 70 mg of taurine per day (1). Vegans havebeen shown to have lower blood levels of taurine (3). It is not known whether this compromises health in anyway, but very few vegans supplement with taurine, including healthy teenagers who have been vegan from birth.

Carnitine

Carnitine is a non-essential amino acid found primarily in animal products. If you are eating enough protein, yourbody should make what you need. While there is no reason for most vegetarians or vegans to be concerned withcarnitine, there have been cases of vegans who do not thrive unless they are taking carnitine supplements.

A carnitine metabolic problem has been linked to migr aines. If you are a vegan who started getting migraines

after becoming vegan, you might consider talking to your health professional about carnitine supplementation.The average person consumes 100 - 300 mg of carnitine per day (2).

Click here for more information regarding carnitine and sports nutrition.

References

1. Rana SK, Sanders TA. Taurine concentrations in the diet, plasma, urine and breast milk of vegans compared withomnivores. Br J Nutr. 1986 J ul;56(1):17-27.

2. Siebrecht S. L-Carnitine: physiological and pharmacological effects! Ann Nutr Metab 2000;44:79.

3. Laidlaw SA, Shultz TD, Cecchino J T, Kopple JD. Plasma and urine taurine levels in vegans. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988Apr;47(4):660-3.

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Page 1 of 1Non-Protein Aminos

13-Jun-13http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/amino