Taurine for ADHD?

Main Chapters:
00:00 Intro – Taurine for ADHD?
00:12 Take home message
01:23 What is Taurine?
08:05 Studies on Taurine for ADHD
11:16 Studies on Taurine for General Health
13:29 Conclusion

Although taurine is not one of the amino acids used to construct proteins, it's still a vital chemical. It's essential for the development of the eyes and brain, and binds to the inhibitory receptors for GABA and glycine in the brain. It serves to tamp down excessive electrical activity in the muscles, heart, and brain, as well as having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and mitochondrial protective properties. It's also one of the most widely used supplements in the world, since all of the major sports / energy drinks contain sizable doses of it. While promoters claim that it enhances and regulates some of the actions of caffeine that are also in those drinks, a majority of studies fail to find measurable added benefit, either for exercise or cognitive performance, from the addition of taurine. A few studies indicated that taurine might help improve reaction time, reduce fatigue, and burn fat more efficiently, but many of these results could be attributable to caffeine itself.

No human studies have been published regarding the benefits of taurine supplementation. Three studies on rat models of ADHD suggest that taurine can reduce hyperactivity, but that the dosage is critical - more isn't necessarily better. This benefit of taurine appears to be mediated by reduction in inflammatory chemicals in the striatum, leading to changes in dopamine in the frontal cortex.

Each year, individuals, primarily young men, are consuming 1.5 billion servings of energy drinks, most with doses of taurine 6-12 times higher than normal daily dietary intake. They deserve better documentation that taurine is really providing some benefit.

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References:
Caffeine and taurine: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of their individual and combined effects on physical capacity, cognitive function, and physiological markers (2025)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...

The Dark Side of Energy Drinks: A Comprehensive Review of Their Impact on the Human Body (2023)
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/18/...

Effects of energy drink major bioactive compounds on the performance of young adults in fitness and cognitive tests: a randomized controlled trial (2022)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.11...

Prevalence and Amounts of Common Ingredients Found in Energy Drinks and Shots (2022)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...

Effects of taurine on resting-state fMRI activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats (2017)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art...

Effect of increasing taurine and methionine supplementation on urinary taurine excretion in a model insectivore, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) (2017)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...

Taurine, energy drinks, and neuroendocrine effects (2016)
https://www.ccjm.org/content/83/12/89...

Full Chapter list:
00:00 Intro – Taurine for ADHD?
00:12 Take home message
01:23 What is Taurine?
03:19 Sources of Taurine
05:00 Taurine and the Brain
06:46 Taurine Deficiency
08:05 Studies on Taurine for ADHD
09:19 Lack of Research in Humans
11:16 Studies on Taurine for General Health
13:29 Conclusion

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Psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author John Kruse, MD, PhD presents practical, actionable, well-researched information about treatment options that scientists and clinicians recommend for adult ADHD and other mental health conditions.
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