[Chaoticdopey]

Here is an article i came across while looking at some other forums.



Taurine Role in Cardiology and Cardiac Arrhythmias

George Eby, Austin, Texas
george.eby@george-eby-research.com


This page is about the extraordinary power, actually the extraordinary NATURAL power of an amino acid called taurine to effectively prevent cardiac arrhythmias. In my case, I was having pre atrial contractions (PACs) each five beats, totally 25,000 abnormal pre atrial contraction (PACs) per day. These pre atrial contractions (PACs) started suddenly in 1998 and continued more or less unabated until I started to regularly add taurine to my diet.

Pre atrial contractions (PACs) are nerve racking and lead to poor sleep habits and irritability. As far as I can determine the article below by Chazov et al. is one of the few articles ever published to demonstrate the extraordinary benefit of taurine in preventing and treating cardiac arrhythmias such as pre atrial contractions (PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). I knew from experience that magnesium taurate helped reduce my PACs from one premature beat each 5 seconds to one each 8 to 10 seconds. I had attributed this action to magnesium, and not taurate (taurine), but to more completely eliminate pre atrial contractions with much larger doses of taurine than is possible with magnesium taurate was a really significant observation.

What is going on here? Very briefly, in aging, taurine production by the liver can decline resulting in the "little old man / little old lady syndrome" known and clearly evinced by the mental image invoked. Low taurine production problems appear simple to alleviate with supplemental dietary taurine, which is available at nearly all health food stores, pharmacies and grocery stores in the United States and elsewhere. This is why the "energy drink" Red Bull gives people energy (not the caffeine), it restores their taurine levels to youthful levels, consequently they perform youthfully. A very simple solution to curing the "little old man / little old lady syndrome".

The top strip of the following ECG shows the effect of 12 grams taurine daily in eliminating the pre atrial contractions (PACs) shown in the lower strip (before administration of taurine), clearly showing the early beats are no longer a major issue, but they do occur from time to time always in the familiar every fifth to tenth beat pattern.

^^^CLICK^^^

How did I figure out this mess? In Timothy Birdwell's article, he writes, "Chazov et al. were able to demonstrate that taurine could reverse EKG abnormalities such as S-T segment changes, T-wave inversions, and extra systoles (extra heart beats like PACs and PVCs) in animals with chemically-induced arrhythmias." Who is "Chazov"? I looked up the Chazov article on PubMed to be disappointed since only the title of the article (Taurine and Electrical Activity of the Heart) was presented. I contacted Circulation Research an official journal of the American Heart Association, and they sent me a copy of the issue, and I republished Chazov's article below.

Chazov reported there were no side effects, so I experimented taking taurine to see what would happen. I started out with what I thought would be a high dosage, 2 grams with breakfast. Within a half hour, my PACs, which had been running along about every 5 seconds, were running along at about one every 5 minutes, a sixty-fold improvement. The effect wore off by lunch-time and I repeated the 2 gram dosage. Again, the PACs disappeared. Was taurine a cure for cardiac arrhythmias? It began to look like it for me! I was thrilled out of my mind! No more useless propranolol!!! Hurray! Within a few days, I settled on a 3 gram dosage with each meal and at bedtime. I now have zero PACs per day (unless I eat too much salt and/or my Candida yeast flares up), as long as I take taurine in these doses. What are the side effects? Diarrhea and excessive nasal and throat mucous can develop from too much taurine. The solution? Reduce taurine intake or stop it for a while. I suspect that my PACs are more realistically reduced by one half, with none over long times.

Please understand that there may be multiple causes of cardiac arrhythmias in the same individual, and low taurine may only be one of them, or taurine treatment may mask the effects of the real cause. For example, if cardiac arrhythmias are caused by a cardiovascular toxin or an allergen, one must become a detective and figure our what that toxin or allergen is. One toxin or allergen that can cause irregular cardiac rhythm is acetaldehyde, a toxin released in large amounts from Candida Albicans fungal/yeast intestinal infections and decay of them. People can be highly allergic to candida and its break down products.

A niacin deficiency can cause lone atrial fibrillations, and their treatment with 500 mg of flush free niacin (inositol hexanicotinate) twice a day will totally stop them.

If any of the prescription antifungals, non prescription antifungals and natural antifungals such as coconut oil, garlic, and kefir are beneficial in temporarily terminating cardiac arrhythmias, then one must find a more permanent solution to the candida problem. Antifungals loose their efficacy after about 5 to 6 days due to resistance buildup and mutation of the candida strain. Iodine is more effective against candida because the various mutations are all susceptible to iodine, but iodine (3 mg per meal) will cause hypothyroidism or hyperthyorism in effective anti-candida doses and it should not be used for more than a few days to a week. Spanish Black Radish and cruciform vegetables contain indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphene. These two substances stimulate two of the body's most powerful detoxification mechanisms - the cytochrome P450 and the Phase II enzyme systems - the body's biochemical pathways for converting toxins into harmless or easily excretable substances. Thus Indole-3-Carbinol and foods known to contain it, like cabbage, kale and broccoli, may render acetaldehyde harmless and stop cardiac arrhythmias. Whether or not taurine will also be needed can then be evaluated. I have found that 200 mg of Indole-3-Carbinol with each meal and at bedtime is sufficient to prevent my cardiac arrhythmias when taken with lower doses of taurine. Consequently,a better intestinal immune system (from Indole-3-Carbinol) and a cardioprotective dose of taurine leads to no arrhythmias and a healthier life.

A very important cause of both benign and potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmias is low blood nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide production is supposed to be high in the nose. Nasal nitric oxide production by strong humming (the nasal vocalization) can be increased 15 to 20-fold, thus increasing blood nitric oxide. I can stop my arrhthymias simply by humming very strongly for a while. I discovered this conicidentally to learning how to cure fungal (candida albicans)- induced chronic rhinosinusitis (chronic sinusitis). The full report is here. No benefit may occur unless humming is done for at least an hour a day for several days.

Since humming to reduce arrhythmias works most likely by increasing blood nitric oxide, what would happen if the precursor to nitric oxide, the amino acid L-arginine, were used instead? A friend of mine that was having 20,000 atopic beats from pre ventricular contractions (PVCs) found that 1 gram of arginine (in gelatine capsules) with taurine at each meal and at bedtime would eliminate 100% of his arrhythmias. Did L-arginine work for my pre atrial contractions (PACs)? Yes! The same dose of L-arginine when taken with taurine totally stopped my pre atrial contractions (PACs). For many people L-arginine and taurine will stop arrhytmias better than anything else. How does it work? It has something to do with "nitric oxide" production. Try one gram of the amino acid L-arginine with each meal for a few weeks, but only when L-arginine is packaged in gelatine capsules for extremely important reason shown below.

In several people trying this offbeat technique, three grams of L-arginine (in compressed tablet form) per meal caused severe to extremely severe constipation while using magnesium supplementation that previously caused diarrhea. Serious constipation did not seem to occur with one gram of L-arginine per meal, although is could cause mild constipation. On the other hand, the literature says that too much L-arginine will cause diarrhea, not constipation. Who knows!

[Chaoticdopey]

CONTINUED!!!


On the other hand, L-arginine (in large doses) appears dangerous to people who are recovering from heart attacks. Six out of 76 people recovering from heart attacks treated with 9 grams L-arginine/day (in 500 mg gelatine capsules) died compared with zero for placebo according to this NIH supported study. I would not be surprised to learn that L-arginine in these large doses made them so constipated that it killed them. The mechanism of action shown by Tomita et al. is due to increased nitric oxide production in the intestines, which mediates nonadrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory nerves and plays an important role in the dysmotility observed in the colons of patients with slow-transit constipation. This effect is vastly stronger using compressed tablets of L-arginine than when using gelatin capsules of L-arginine, suggesting that hard compressed tablets reach and dissolve in the colon enhancing local nitric oxide production (and do not dissolve in the stomach). This is the Letter to the Editor of JAMA that I submitted today, January 14, 2006: Sir: Concerning the question of why L-arginine seems to have killed patients in the study of Schuleman et al. (JAMA. 2006;295:58-64), it should be noted that L-arginine in the 9 grams per day (3 grams with each meal) doses used by Schuleman et al. causes extreme, highly dangerous constipation in people with slow-transit constipation, perhaps due to the effect of excessive arginine-induced nitric oxide on nonadrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory nerves of the colon (Tomita R, Fujisaki S, Ikeda T, Fukuzawa M. Role of nitric oxide in the colon of patients with slow-transit constipation. Dis Colon Rectum. 2002 May;45(5):593-600.). In fact, these 9 grams/day doses may be highly constipating in other people too. For that reason alone, L-arginine should not be used in those excessive doses (particularly in the form of hard compressed tablets likely to reach the colon), while one to two grams per day as dietary supplement (prepared in gelatin capsules) seem harmless. -- George Eby, Austin, Texas . In other words, if you have had a heart attack or have a weakened heart, you do not want to become constipated from excessive L-arginine or from excessive calcium or any other way. Remember how Elvis died! Don't strain trying to poop! Stay loose!

I use Cardiovascular Research Magnesium Taurate (a compound of magnesium and taurine) . Arginine is available here. Warning: Use only L-arginine in gelatine capsules to prevent tablets from getting into the colon and inducing severe constipation.

Obviously, salt (sodium chloride) sensitivity is a serious problem which can lead to heart damage (hypertrophy) and hypertension, and a lower sodium chloride and higher potassium chloride diet is both possible and desirable. The saltly taste from sodium chloride that the West has come to love, is nearly identical from potassium chloride (Morton's Salt Substitute). Unfortunately, it does not have supplemental iodine as is mandated for sodium chloride by United States law, which must be added to the diet by other means, such as supplementation. Failure to obtain sufficient iodine (or too much) can can cause hyptothyroidism which can cause lethal heart attacks, particularly in elderly women. Morton's Salt Company should add iodine to its product for maximum cardiac health and our longevity. Lack of iodine in this product is a principal reason Morton's Salt Substitute comes with a warning to consult a physician before use.

Before we revisit Chazov, what are some of the roles for taurine? From the Holistic Health Encyclopedia page we find:

Taurine is a non-essential amino acid which can be derived from your diet or synthesized from the amino acid cysteine, if there is enough cysteine & pyridoxal-5-phosphate (co-enzyme B-6.) Taurine is highly concentrated in animal & fish protein. Taurine is essential to fetal & new born central nervous system development. The infant cannot initially manufacture taurine & must obtain taurine from its mother's milk. Taurine plays a variety of roles in the normal functioning of the brain, heart, gallbladder, eyes, & vascular system. It is the most important & abundant free amino acid in your heart & contributes to your heart muscles' contractility & regulation of its rhythm. Taurine acts as a neurotransmitter in your brain where it is the second most abundant amino acid. It also protects & stabilizes the brain cells' fragile membranes. It is an inhibitory calming neurotransmitter. Taurine acts by regulating the sodium & potassium concentration in the cells & the magnesium level between the cells. This has everything to do with the electrical activity of the cells & subsequent communication between cells. By this mechanism, it has anti-anxiety & anti-convulsant activity Taurine is found in high concentrations in your eyes & is the most abundant amino acid in your retina. Taurine is known to re-invigorate the natural killer cells of your immune system & to stimulate the release of the immune substance, Interleukin-1.

Additional benefits & uses are:

Plays a role in decreasing the development of cataracts.
Useful in the management of chemical sensitivities as a powerful sulfur donor which removes foreign material & oxidized chlorine.
Useful with absorption of fats.
Important for proper bile production & fat metabolism, thus the ability to reduce body cholesterol.
For anxiety, agitation, hyperactivity.
For insomnia.
Depression.
Vegetarianism.
High blood pressure.
Certain heart irregularities.
congestive heart failure.
Diabetes, potentiates & improves the action of insulin.
Alcoholism.
Gallbladder disease.
Macular degeneration/retinitis pigmentosa.
Immune problems.
More specifically to cardiac issues, the Life Extension foundation reports three-fourth of the way down their page that: "Taurine has hypotensive and diuretic activity, tempers the sympathetic nervous system, is beneficial in chf and arrhythmias, and has digitalis-like mentality. Taurine is the most important and abundant of the amino acids in the heart, surpassing the combined quantity of all the others. Under high stress conditions -hypertension and many forms of heart disease - the need for taurine increases to compensate for either an accompanying impairment of taurine metabolism or increased requirements. Dr. H. Kohaski and colleagues (Japan) suggest that entry-level taurine may have been low and, as the stress of hypertension progresses, taurine levels drop even lower (Kahashi 1983; Braverman et al.1987). Taurine has a diuretic action that benefits hypertensive individuals, as well as patients with congestive heart failure. Taurine elicits much of its diuretic action by preserving potassium and magnesium and by promoting sodium excretion (Atkins 1996b). Taurine also reduces blood pressure by acting as an antagonist to the blood pressure-increasing effect of angiotensin, a circulating protein that is activated by renin, a hormone secreted by the juxtaglomerular cells in the kidneys in response to a drop in blood pressure (Braverman et al. 1987). When both blood and urine taurine levels decrease, renin is activated and angiotensin is formed. As a result blood vessels vasoconstrict, water and salt are retained, and blood pressure increases. Taurine suppresses renin and breaks the renin-angiotensin feedback loop. Dr. Robert Atkins, a complementary physician with a creditable cardiology background, amplifies the positive results of scientific literature, stating that taurine would be his choice were he selecting a single nutrient to treat hypertension. Dr. Y. Yamori (a Japanese researcher who established an amino acid-stroke association) studied a strain of rats, genetically susceptible to strokes. Yamori found the rats had a much lower incidence of stroke, dropping from 90% to 20%, if their diet was supplemented with methionine, taurine, and lysine (Yamori et al. 1983; Braverman et al. 1987). Japanese researchers found that 3 grams of taurine, administered daily to patients with congestive heart failure, was more effective than 30 mg of CoQ10 (Azuma et al. 1992). The Japanese, who use taurine widely in the treatment of various forms of heart disease, found that 4 grams of taurine, given for 4 weeks, brought relief to 19 of 24 patients with congestive heart failure. Taurine appears to act much like the drug digitalis, increasing the contractility of cardiac muscle and the force of the pumping action. Taurine appears to impact cardiac arrhythmias through various pathways. For example, some forms of cardiac irregularities are helped by taurine because it regulates membrane excitability and scavenges free radicals. In addition, taurine protects potassium levels inside heart cells, which, when imbalanced, can cause electrical instability and cardiac arrhythmias (Braverman 1987; Chahine et al. 1998). Some types of premature ventricular contractions and arrhythmias respond to taurine because the amino acid tends to dampen activity in the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the outpouring of epinephrine. As the SNS is quieted, the heart tends to beat less aggressively and the blood pressure is lowered. Lastly, Lebanese researchers showed that the incidence of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia were significantly reduced when taurine therapy was utilized (Braverman 1987; Chahine et al. 1998). A suggested dosage range is 1500-4000 mg daily."

[Jeff]

Here's my concern - George Eby sells health stuff. Like Zinc Lozenges. And he doesn't appear to be a doctor. So like me, he should be VERY cautious when giving out cardiac advice.

Knowing that cardiac arrhythmias can be caused by a number of things, it seems unlikely that simply adding taurine to one's diet would be a cure-all. How many have you read about who added magnesium, touted as a cure-all, and it didn't work?

That being said, I'd go to the Wikipedia page for taurine (found here: Taurine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) and read up on the relevant studies (you know, real research, not a hypothesis paper, which is what this Eby paper is), and decide if adding taurine might help you.

[Chaoticdopey]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Here's my concern - George Eby sells health stuff. Like Zinc Lozenges. And he doesn't appear to be a doctor. So like me, he should be VERY cautious when giving out cardiac advice.

Knowing that cardiac arrhythmias can be caused by a number of things, it seems unlikely that simply adding taurine to one's diet would be a cure-all. How many have you read about who added magnesium, touted as a cure-all, and it didn't work?

That being said, I'd go to the Wikipedia page for taurine (found here: Taurine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) and read up on the relevant studies (you know, real research, not a hypothesis paper, which is what this Eby paper is), and decide if adding taurine might help you.

hmm didnt know he sold health stuff, and alot ofstuff ive read up on magnesium is that it helps alitte but havnt heard any one yet say it cured them, i just thought this was a good little hypothosis to take into mind. maybe it will help people and maybe it wont, im guna try it at a really low dose and see how it works, ive been good without any PACs or PVCs for the last 2 days now, only thing ive been stuck with is my anxiety with ativan is kinda helping with.

[dr461]

Yes, George Eby has a huge company that sells heath food and supplements. If you read Mayo Clinic health, and some other sites, you will find out that there seem to be mixed reviews regarding the efficacy of Taurine. It certainly doesn't seem dangerous in MODERATE amounts, can be toxic in large amounts, and occurs naturally in normal diet of meats, fish, and eggs. Unless one has a deficiency in it, I doubt that it is a miracle cure, as Eby claims for everything he sells. As Jeff said, he's not a doctor, so he has not conducted scientific research, and none that I could find exists in the scientific community through simple searches that is definitively conclusive that it works for the heart. THAT DOESN'T MEAN TAURINE IS BAD--there isn't enough scientific evidence one way or another.

[Katie]

Interesting read because the supplement that my MD gave me has 788mg of taurine in it to be taken 2 capsules 1-2x daily. It's taurine from magnesium taurinate so it also has 90mg of magnesium. I've heard that magnesium taurinate is the magnesium that most people have had results with. She told me it never gives her the runs either, I haven't tried the supplement yet since my palpitations have calmed down except for in certain parts of my cycle. My doctor is a medical doctor who runs her own natural healthcare practice but is still affiliated with a good hospital here. The supplement is by complimentary prescriptions and is called cardioehythm the dosage mg are based on 2 capsules.

[dr461]

Well, I think it is a great idea to try Taurine in moderation, as that dosage you stated is definitely not harmful. It might help, but it isn't a miracle cure, in the same way that anything else is a miracle cure. Magnesium helps me, but maybe it is because I expect it to help me, and that is the placebo effect.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Katie

She told me it never gives her the runs either...

Uh, no diarrhea would definitely be a requisite for any supplements I'd take.

Or did I read that wrong? Please say yes.

Anyway. The cursory reading I did on Taurine shortly before I wrote my reply seemed like it was commonly found in meat protein sources, and it's definitely found naturally in the human body. And that it's found in energy drinks I found particularly interesting.

But yeah, if your doctor is telling you to give it a try, then I don't see why you wouldn't, other than not wanting to take an Rx for something, which I completely understand.

My concern or fear is that someone here reads a hypothetical paper and it's taken as fact and acted on, and in the usually incorrect M.O. of "If some is good, more is better," someone would take far more than is recommended and they have some sort of adverse reaction, all in the hopes of fixing something where the problem so often lies between the ears, not between the lungs. That's where my problem was, anyway. And still flares up now and again.

[Katie]

Jeff I completely agree. Mine isn't even a prescription it's a supplement but I err on the side of caution with all herbs/ medicine etc. I think herbals can be very dangerous because people say hey it's natural I can't overdose on it. Iron kills kids every year in large numbers, potassium natural but too much can cause deadly arythmias . anyways I would consult a doctor or naturopath before trying anything.

The diaherrah thing! Well magnesium gives me the runs so I was afraid to take the supplement because it contains mag. I guess I should've mentioned that first!

[Jeff]

It's so funny how our personal experiences color how we see the world. A few years ago there was some magician/comedian show we went to with the kids, and the main act was doing some kind of joke where he ended up eating about 6 bananas. And this was his 2nd or 3rd show of the day, so he must've eaten 15-20 bananas in total, and all I could think is "Jeez, I hope the guy isn't getting too much potassium!"