June 2nd, 2009 
My Health 
I ran across a most intriguing site. The site from which I found this material is poorly laid out. The author needs to use a different authoring system – pages would help!! It’s incredibly long, complex…but what an interesting read……
Its intent is to discuss the benefit of taurine in the healing of depression. But there’s much more than depression in this article…
What caught my eye was the mention of glutamates – put this in the “More Information To Think About” file…
First, check out the definition of taurine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine
Interesting enough, taurine is an acidic chemical substance found in bile, necessary for food digestion. Bile is secreted from our livers. Here’s the tie-in to NT…
COCONUT OIL: “….detoxifies the liver, helps to build lipoproteins, fats and hormones and bile, which is necessary for digestion.” (Excerpted from Coconut Cuisine, Featuring Stevia by Jan London.)
Therefore, we eat coconut oil. Coconut oil helps promote and builds bile in liver, bile contains taurine.
MSG (free glutamic acid) DEPLETES the liver’s supply of taurine.
But again, coconut oil defends the taurine!
For me, this article adds to the overall sense I have that fermented foods and ingestion of D-glutamate (the wrong kind of glutamate that is created through a food process like fermentation) need to be done carefully and cautiously…
This article also gives me pause to consider zinc and taurine necessary to the body’s handling of free glutamic acid, which would be in addition to the necessity of B-Complex Choline…
You know, of course, what I’ll probably arrive at it, “oh, well, Fallon & Enig did have their reasons for saying ‘eat this’, ‘eat that’”, but really, I’d rather know WHY rather than blindly following.
I’m sure that’s just me, though. LOL.
Here’s the Excerpt:
(there is a lot of material which I removed…if you want to see the whole read, do a search on the page using “glutamic” as your key word – you’ll be taken to the correct position on this shockingly long document:
http://www.coldcure.com/html/dep.html)
“Like all nutrients, taurine enhances or decreases the action of other nutrients.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid. If glutamic acid supplementation is given, as is sometimes done with alcoholics, it tends to reduce taurine. MSG itself can also reduce taurine levels. The amino acids beta-alanine and beta-hypotaurine, as well as the B-vitamin pantothenic acid, may also interfere with taurine’s functions. Zinc, on the other hand, enhances taurine’s effects.
Zinc deficiency and combined vitamin A and zinc deficiency are associated with an increased excretion of taurine in the urine and with depleted taurine levels in the tissues where it is normally found.
Cysteine (found in meat) and vitamin B6 are the most critical nutrients to support the manufacture of taurine in the body of human beings or those species that are able to synthesize enough. The beneficial effect of zinc on taurine is probably why my zinc lozenges when used at bed-time allow me to sleep without night-time cardiac arrhythmias.
Also, ionic zinc has antifungal activity, consequently, there may be several means by which it is helpful…
The MSGTruth.org site commented that taurine was the antidote for glutamate poisoning.
I questioned Carol Hoernlein, the founder of the MSGTruth.org site about her point of view and she wrote me back writing:
George,
The MSG toxicity – taurine deficiency link theory is my own. I developed the theory over ten years ago. At first in my research of glutamate toxicity and its effect on cardiovascular health, most of the neuro scientific data at the time linked glutamate toxicity to its effect on the amino acid cysteine. (Glutamate and cysteine compete for uptake in the body.) I then was given an article about the amino acid taurine by a colleague. That was the link. Taurine deficiency symptoms are the exact same symptoms of MSG reaction.
Particularly a racing heart. (Taurine is the amino acid that regulates heart beat.) When I realized that the body manufactures taurine from cysteine, the pieces fell into place. I then tested my theory. The next MSG reaction I had, I took taurine in pill form. The headache went away, the racing heart calmed down, the blood pressure went down, and I was able to sleep. Since that time, I have used it quite often and always keep some handy as an “antidote”. It is interesting to note, that now taurine is being used in Japan to treat high blood pressure. It is also being studied to treat diabetes and epilepsy now. These are also two diseases impacted by glutamate. Glutamate triggers the pancreas to produce insulin, but too much insulin can result in insulin resistance, Type II diabetes, and obesity. Also, MSG is well known as an epilepsy trigger.
All these facts point to the conclusion that ingested MSG somehow interferes with taurine formation in the body, perhaps by interfering with the uptake of the cysteine needed to make taurine.
It is by no means an “official” theory, but we have had many reports of MSG sensitive persons who report relief of some MSG reaction symptoms by ingesting taurine. It is also interesting to note that the body uses Vitamin B6 to make taurine, and that Vitamin B6 deficiency makes MSG reactions worse. I will be adding a page to the web site soon about taurine, as it is a fascinating amino acid. Hope this explains things a bit better. If you more questions, I’d be happy to answer them.
Carol A. Hoernlein, P.E.
Founder MSGTruth.org
Carol’s and my personal beliefs have major, scientific support. Taurine prevents glutamate excitotoxicity through regulation of calcium and mitochondrial energy metabolism according to scientists writing in the
November 1999 issue of Journal of Neuroscience.
They clearly and unambiguously point out that the control of intracellular calcium concentrations is a fundamental process in neuronal survival and function. This, prevention of glutamate excitotoxicity, is exactly what we need, and is a powerful reason I switched from magnesium glycinate to magnesium taurate.
This importance of this point cannot be over emphasized.
Aspartate, glutamate, and glutamine, among other amino acids, are excitatory. They are antagonistic to the functions of taurine, alanine, GABA and glycine according to a contemporary review of taurine by Richard Smayda, D.O..
Consequently, Carol is correct, taurine does detoxify glutamates.
Acording to Dr. Smayda, taurine is a necessary and integral element for optimal health. Oral supplementation poses no major threat of toxicity, and its presence in foods makes it widely available to people seeking nutrition-oriented ways to improve their health.
The importance of taurine cannot be overstated and its greater therapeutic application awaits only further research. It truly is part of the team of nutrients that we require for maintaining optimal health and sustaining life.
However, in those individuals who develop stomach ulcers with aspirin, for instance, large doses of supplemental taurine may be contraindicated.
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