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Taurine - Is it Right for You?

In the last decade, the market for energy drinks containing taurine seem to have exploded into a thousand colors: drinks with exotic flavorings, drinks with botanical extracts and drinks with antioxidants. With so many to choose from, here's the lowdown to help you pick the right one for you.

Most people call taurine an amino acid, although it isn't a building block for proteins like other amino acids. Usually the body can make taurine from other amino acids in large enough quantities for it to be considered nonessential. Nonetheless, those who workout regularly appear to have a special need for taurine. That's because taurine is ejected from muscle into the blood during high-intensity exercise, at which point it's lost in sweat and urine.

Slow-twitch muscle fibers lose taurine slowly, even though they have more to begin with than fast-twitch fibers. That's why muscle taurine reserves are depleted fastest during intense exercise. As a result, some body–sculptors benefit from taurine supplements.

Taurine also seems to have an effect on muscular performance. In muscle fibers, the presence of taurine results in a more forceful contractions. For example, that may mean a more forceful contraction of your biceps when you're doing curls. At least for isolated muscle fibers, scientists have discovered muscular force generating properties of taurine-containing drinks or supplements.

The most convenient way to get taurine is in a range of energy drinks, most of which contain 1,000mg of taurine in each 8.3-ounce container. Besides taurine, energy drinks can contain a number of other ingredients, most commonly vitamins and other antioxidants, stimulant herbs and caffeine, water or carbonated water, and a rainbow of different colors and exotic flavorings.

My sound advice is to check with your physician or nutritionist before using taurine supplements. There can be harmful side affects of taurine in body-sculptors who have health issues or who are using other supplements, and or medications. Be safe and check-in!

Rick Gusler is a certified personal trainer and diet nutritionist who serves his clients through Gusler Body Sculpting Fitness Center in central Denver. To schedule a free consultation, or to learn more about the Gusler method of body sculpting, spin yoga, or Rick's Boot Camp, please contact him at 303.860.7131 or online at www.guslerbodysculpting.com.

Gusler Body Sculpting Fitness Center, LLC
459 Acoma Street · Denver, Colorado 80204 · 303-860-7131
Hours: Monday-Friday: 6am-8pm · Saturday: Closed · Sunday: Closed