INTRO

All across the world, modern men are dealing with "chemically castrated" levels of low testosterone.

Even young men at 20 years of age are facing an average testosterone level of just 481.5 ng/dl ¹... Which is less than the average testosterone levels of 45 - 71 year-old men back in the 1980's (501 ng/dl ²).

And it's not just younger guys. Many of our clients and subscribers are middle-aged and are noticing significant differences in their masculinity. I see this referenced both in the bedroom and in the weightroom.

And according to a recent poll by a popular YouTuber, most men are reluctant to resort to the unnatural route of testosterone replacement therapy. So, it makes sense to seek out natural methods to boost testosterone.

As someone who struggled with low testosterone in my mid-20s just a few years ago, I've explored every natural method out there – either by trying it myself or researching extensively. 

And being a health obsessed engineer (with OCD) and backdoor access to the most cutting-edge scientific literature in the world, I've delved deeper into these topics than most people ever could.

However, at the beginning of my journey, I came across taurine based on many 'experts' recommending it as a way to increase testosterone. 

What I discovered has lowered my faith in these 'experts' forever.

Not only is there absolutely no literature on Taurine increasing testosterone in men, there is even rodent and in vitro data showing it may decrease testosterone in unspecified doses.

This made me question how these experts were coming up with dosage recommendations.

On top of that, when I dug deeper, I discovered a meta analysis of Taurine supplementation in humans that concluded with the remark that it was effective at improving endurance. But when looking at all of the studies that made up the meta analysis I discovered it only improved endurance in elderly populations with heart failure. Ever since this day, I realized a greater importance to investigate each and every study claim I'll ever read to great depths.

What's worse, many men are spending money on Taurine supplements with the expectation of having increased testosterone and not knowing that it may be having the opposite effect.

That's why I'm sharing this scientifically backed article breaking down the DANGERS of supplementing with taurine. I hope it helps you bypass one of the many landmines out there laid out by mainstream sources.

Now, more than ever, men need masculine vigor. It's my duty to share my knowledge and experiences to steer you away from pitfalls and help you evolve every day to conquer your limits.

Problem

People seem to recommend taurine supplements for boosting testosterone, but it has never actually been shown to increase testosterone in humans. The suggestion is based on poorly conducted rodent studies.

The Rodent Taurine-Testosterone Studies

Looking at all the rodent data, we can see that taurine supplemented into rats drinking water at 1% concentrations doubles testosterone ³. We can see that the effect is dose dependent, with 0.5% increasing testosterone less than 1% but 1.5% increasing test less than 1% but still over baseline. This is a typical bell response curve.

The effect can be confirmed by an in vitro test within the same study, in which cultured leydig cells exposed to taurine in low concentrations increased testosterone production and a high dose inhibits testosterone production. 

The problems with this study

In the materials and methods section, we can see this was a very poorly conducted study if we want any sort of accuracy and ability to translate these rodent doses over to human equivalents. The reasons are as follows.

1. We don’t know if the rats diet contained 0% taurine or if it contained taurine. Normally humans get some taurine from their diet.

2. We don’t know how much taurine water each rat consumed per day. 

3. We do not know if the Rats were of young or old age. One other study reported that taurine given to old rats (20 months) at 1% concentration in their drinking water increased testosterone levels and libido ⁴ ⁵.

4. We do not know the weight of the rats, though if we at least knew the age, we could get an approximation.

5. We can’t extrapolate in vitro dosing to humans.

6. These missing factors are considered gold standards to be reported on to make systematic reviews more feasible ⁶.
   

“Some evidence strongly suggests that animal studies are mostly not translated to humans (Pound et al., 2004 ⁷; Akhtar, 2015 ⁸), with more than 80% of the reported safe and effective treatments in animal studies failing to translate to humans (Perrin, 2014 ⁹)”- source ¹⁰.

So where are the dose recommendations for testosterone coming from?

I was able to trace it back to the following website- Taurine doubles testosterone level: animal study (ergo-log.com)

In which they state:

One can only wonder how they were able to make these dose conversions with all of the missing variables we discussed above. Therefore, I would not take this dosage claim seriously. 

Taurine does not improve muscle endurance in young healthy humans.

Some people like to point to a meta-analysis concluding that taurine increases muscle endurance in humans at a dose of 1-6g.

Here the problem.

When you actually look at the studies that make up the meta-analysis, you will see that results are minimal for anyone other than an elderly man in heart failure with morbidities ¹¹.

GABA A activation and potential for withdrawal, reduced testosterone, and lower quality erections.

Taurine is a weak GABAA agonist, and chronic use can lead to desensitization of the GABAA receptor ¹². This not only opens up the possibility that some people "may" experience some minor withdrawals upon discontinuation of taurine, if used for long periods of time, but GABAA activation, by allowing chloride ions into neurons, inhibits excitement, decreasing the release of luteinizing hormone ¹³ and inhibits nitric oxide signaling in the PVN-spinal cord-erectile tissue. This suggests it may not be great for erectile strength, even though it did benefit the older rats in that department at an unknown dosage- this was likely through restoring NO through an antioxidant mechanism and does not mean it will do the same in younger rats ¹⁴.

Conclusion:

While taurine supplementation might be beneficial for health in older humans and old rodents for certain conditions, there is certainly no convincing evidence that taurine can increase testosterone levels in humans.

Unleash Your Vigor and Conquer Your Limits,

-Brenden henry