Taurine Deficiency

2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, or taurine is found in the lower intestines of animals and humans where the bile is produced. It is a derivative of the sulfur-containing (sulfhydryl) amino acid cysteine. Taurine is produced from the essential amino acid methionine and it is related non-essential amino acid cysteine. It is synthesized in the pancreas through the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway. There are many sources of taurine in seafood and meat and those who are vegetarians, usually suffer from taurine deficiency. It is not known to be energy giving, but is an essential requirement in the body. When there is a shortage of taurine in the human body, there are a few symptoms which are observed due to this. These are mentioned in the following paragraphs along with their prevention and treatments, hence take a look!

Causes of Taurine Deficiency

• Though taurine deficiency is a relatively less hyped topic in the medical world, it is a fairly important amino acid which helps to detoxify the body.
• It also plays an important role in the proper functioning of metabolism, brain and visual pathways and nervous system.
• Stabilizing cell membranes by allowing passage of the sodium and potassium ions inside and outside the cells in your body is also a major function of taurine. When people suffer from taurine deficiency, they are caused by some particular reasons.
• Production of the amino acid is the biggest reason of deficiency, as there are other products which have to be produced for the production of taurine. Zinc,vitamin A, B-6, methionine and cysteine are needed for this production and when there is a deficiency in them, taurine deficiency is also observed.
• There are certain enzymes which are needed for the production of this amino acid, one of them being cysteinsulfinic decarboxylase. It is commonly found in fish, meat and eggs.

Taurine Deficiency Symptoms

There are very few symptoms shown by taurine deficiency, which are caused due to the above mentioned causes. These symptoms can be very serious problems in your body which are as follows;

• Impaired vision
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Hypertension
• Weight gain
• Kidney problems

The only answer for how to prevent taurine deficiency is to provide taurine supplements through medication, if you are a vegetarian. If not, increased consumption of fish and eggs will definitely help you get rid of the deficiency symptoms of taurine.

Health Benefits of Taurine

There are many health benefits which are observed when there is no taurine deficiency observed in your body. These taurine benefits are as follows:

• Taurine has a major function of fighting troublemakers which are cellular that may damage the cardiovascular system in many ways and accommodates over 50 percent of the total free amino acids of the heart.
• Also a treatment for other seizure disorders, muscular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, hepatic disorders, alcoholism and cystic fibrosis.
• Used as a treatment for congestive heart failure like cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolemia, epilepsy.
• It helps gallbladder to function properly by forming tauracholate (helps increase cholesterol elimination in the bile) from bile acids. It also regulates the heartbeat and maintains cell membrane stability.
• Another health benefit of taurine which can be affected due to taurine deficiency is that it is a potential treatment of arrhythmias which follows ischemia.

With so many causes, symptoms and effects of taurine deficiency on our health, you must have fairly got an idea of how important taurine is. These deficiencies are also observed in animals like cats and dogs, but they have a completely different health effect. So make sure you are healthy with enough taurine levels, as they are very important for insignificant yet essential health problems.