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Taurine confusion!

Messages
11
I have just had a nutreval test done and it shows very very high Taurine.
I am confused as to if this is means it is high in my body or if it means that it is being wasted through the urine?!
I notice the results can be high if you eat liver and fish etc which I do regularly but that wasting can affect cholesterol - and my LDL is very high
I don't know if to try and reduce taurine or increase it?!
Please can someone advise? I have read other posts that have confused me about this issue!
Not sure which route to go!
Thanks
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Please confirm that your taurine result is urine, not serum. Those two would mean different things, and I believe that NutrEval measured serum when I had it done.

High serum taurine can mean vitamin B6 deficiency, but may also be treated with other supplements. For me, this was initially confusing because I was taking 100 mg B6. I had to switch to the active form, P5P, to get my taurine down.

Search on MetaMetrics Amino Acid Interpretation Guide. There is a PDF that is a first step in understanding your results. Not a good substitute for an experienced, knowledgeable professional, particularly if you had results with conflicting recommendations, but a good place to start
 

caledonia

Senior Member
I was on taurine when I took the Nutreval. I showed very high taurine. Similar to you though, I wasn't sure if it was due to the supplementation or that I was wasting it. Now that I think about it, I suppose you could infer that the fact I needed and tolerated high taurine supplementation was due to wasting.

After some time on methylation treatment, I didn't need the taurine any more (as verified by muscle testing). This suggests that taurine had naturally come back into balance. Taurine is in the CBS pathway, and I did have CBS issues and needed CBS treatment.
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
I may have to eat my words about taurine being indicative of B6 deficiency. I read in the MetaMetrix interpretation guide to the amino acids that LOW taurine is treated with B6. But I was sure I read somewhere that low B6 in the CBS pathway leads to overformation of taurine and underformation of glutathione. Where was that? Does that sound familiar to anyone?
 
Messages
11
It was urine Taurine. Amy Yasko says that you need to decrease sulphur foods etc if you have high Taurine but she does not talk about wasting and so now I am really confused! It is showing over 3x's higher than the highest it should be according to the results! I do have CBS problems. My B6 is a bit low but my B2 seems non existent! and B1 low. Do I go along the "wasting" path or treat as if over producing and suppress it - if you see what I mean!
Do I just try supplementing caledonia and see what happens - what did you do? trying so many other things at the moment!
thanks for any advice.
Nicky
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Same on my B2 - I figured that it was because I was taking carnitine fumarate that I used it all up, but that is based on intuition, not an understanding of the biochemical pathways.
Yes, urine taurine MAY be wasting. Did you have normal or low blood taurine, done at the same time? Genova has a new interpretive guide, I'm attaching.
 

Attachments

  • Amino-Acids-Interp-Guide.pdf
    97 KB · Views: 62
Messages
11
That's a useful guide thanks - is there another for other parts of the test? Can't see blood taurine. On that test info it seems to put taurine and tryptophan highs as neurological - so if I have high in both (which I have - very high) then do I supplement with them or avoid them! that is what I am debating! how do I know if it is wasting or not?!
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Genova is really good about publishing their interpretation guides. I think they realize that both providers and patients need this kind of information. There are usually recommendations that come with the test, also. I'm surprised that you don't mention what the test recommends.

Do you supplement them or avoid them? First we need to figure out whether you're wasting them and have an increased need, or whether you have too much and need to avoid them. With the limited info, I can't really tell. The Guide says with both high to suspect neurological/behavior problems (but how was your phenylalanine and tyrosine?) and to supplement with the appropriate amino acids and B6. Only you know if you have any neurological/behavioral problems. But...since you know that you're low on B6 (and B2 and B1), maybe you want to start with those.

If you want me to look at your test results, you can PM me and post them, or I'll send you my personal email. Just remember I'm another (mostly formerly) sick person, not an expert in figuring these things out. Fortunately, I don't have the brain fog that many do, which helps a lot.
 
Messages
11
Thanks!
I am not sure about what is classed as neurological but my head buzzes all the time and sleep is a major problem at the moment. I was supplementing with tryptophan and GABA to try and get more sleep but am afraid of the tryptophan now incase it is too active in my body. I may get 2 to 4 hours a night max. I can tell my brain is not thinking correctly and I have become very forgetful - my body and brain are not at all happy but the doctors have all given up on me and research is taking up the little extra time I have outside of work.
tyrosine in the green, phenylalanine high.
Happy for anyone to take a look at my results and give any feed back!!!
 

Attachments

  • Nicola Rich Nutreval Results inc Report Oct 14.pdf
    514.7 KB · Views: 28

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
Thanks, Nicky!

Look at page 2. It has all your recommended supplements on that page. At the bottom, there are the amino acids. You are not being advised to take the things that you are high in, so I would say that means you are not wasting them. They do recommend arginine, glycine, lysine and valine.

They also prioritize the other supplements by your need, using a stoplight color code. I'm not sure about supplementing the green ones, but the red would be top priority and the yellow second. Sometimes one supplement will waste another (like taking vitamin D may deplete magnesium), so maybe that's why they do that.

Overall, not too bad, though.
 

SwanRonson

Senior Member
Messages
300
Location
Alabama
I needed and tolerated high taurine supplementation

How much were you taking if you don't mind me asking? I started 500 mg yesterday. I'm trying to get my body out of it's current catabolic state. High urinary taurine seems to be a side effect of catabolism.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
How much were you taking if you don't mind me asking? I started 500 mg yesterday. I'm trying to get my body out of it's current catabolic state. High urinary taurine seems to be a side effect of catabolism.

I was taking six pills per day - I think it was Thorne brand. Each pill is 500mg, so that's 3000mg total per day.

I was taking two at breakfast, two at lunch and two at supper.
 

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
But I was sure I read somewhere that low B6 in the CBS pathway leads to overformation of taurine and underformation of glutathione. Where was that? Does that sound familiar to anyone?

I'd be interested to know more about this. I recently had amino acids tested and had very high taurine and I was extremely B6 deficient at the time.