# Taurine

Category: Amino acids

Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid structurally similar to glycine and GABA, and Ray Peat considered it an antiestrogenic substance within the context of generalized cellular excitation. Peat argued that estrogen’s excitatory actions—ranging from increased sensory nerve…

10 passages · 3 authors · 2009–2025 · Most-cited: [Ray Peat](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/voices/ray-peat/index.md)

Canonical page: https://bioenergeticoracle.com/concepts/taurine

## Synthesis

**Taurine** is a sulfur-containing amino acid structurally similar to glycine and GABA, and Ray Peat considered it an *antiestrogenic* substance within the context of generalized cellular excitation. [Source 3] Peat argued that estrogen’s excitatory actions—ranging from increased sensory nerve sensitivity to lipolysis and insulin resistance—are opposed by inhibitory amino acids, and taurine fits this pattern alongside glycine and beta-alanine. [Source 3] He noted that the foods he recommends, such as **milk**, **cheese**, **eggs**, and **seafood**, naturally contain taurine, and he has been misquoted as advocating high-dose supplementation when his emphasis was on dietary sources. [Source 6]

Peat was cautious about synthesized taurine supplements, warning that any synthesized nutrient frequently causes problems due to impurities from chemical synthesis, though he acknowledged that occasional use for a drug-like effect could outweigh the harm of contaminants. [Source 5] He did not think taurine would replicate glycine’s specific effect of balancing the anti-thyroid properties of muscle meat, but suggested it might provide its own unique benefit. [Source 4] When asked whether the body could produce enough taurine on a diet excluding muscle meats, Peat affirmed endogenous synthesis was sufficient. [Source 2] He found the idea of topical taurine for hair loss interesting but did not elaborate further. [Source 1]

Georgi Dinkov has highlighted taurine’s role in **bile acid synthesis** and release, noting that doses of one to two grams can dramatically lower cholesterol in a matter of weeks by consuming cholesterol for steroid synthesis. [Source 8] Danny Roddy and others in the bioenergetic community have reported that taurine supplementation can provoke *bile acid diarrhea*, especially in individuals with compromised gallbladder function or bile flow issues. [Source 7, 9] Jay Feldman has clarified that this diarrheal response is not inherently negative; for those with cholestasis or sluggish bile flow, starting with a very low dose of taurine can stimulate bile flow, and the effect typically subsides while improving digestion, endotoxin clearance, and estrogen detoxification. [Source 9]

In topical applications, taurine has been used experimentally for hair regrowth. One user reported adding taurine to a SolBan solution (a topical aspirin, caffeine, and niacinamide mix) and applying it to the hairline, observing the return of tiny hairs. [Source 10] Dinkov noted taurine’s limited water solubility at room temperature—approximately 50 mg/ml—but considered this concentration sufficient for an effect when combined with other topical agents. [Source 10] The broader Peat-influenced perspective treats taurine as a component of a pro-thyroid, anti-estrogenic metabolic environment, with its primary benefits derived from whole foods rather than isolated supplementation. [Source 6, 8]

## People also ask

### How does taurine oppose estrogen’s effects in the body?

Peat argued that taurine acts as an antiestrogenic, inhibitory amino acid that counteracts estrogen’s excitatory actions, such as increased nerve sensitivity and insulin resistance, working similarly to glycine and GABA.

### Why might taurine supplementation cause diarrhea?

The corpus notes that taurine can provoke bile acid diarrhea, especially in those with sluggish gallbladder function, but this effect often subsides while improving digestion and estrogen detoxification as bile flow normalizes.

### Can the body make enough taurine without eating muscle meat?

Peat affirmed that endogenous taurine synthesis is sufficient on a diet excluding muscle meats, and he emphasized that foods like milk, cheese, eggs, and seafood naturally provide it.

## Related concepts

- [Glycine-to-Methionine Balance](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/glycine-to-methionine-balance/index.md)
- [Acne](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/acne/index.md)
- [Aspirin](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/aspirin/index.md)
- [Beef](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/beef/index.md)
- [Cholesterol (HDL, LDL)](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/cholesterol-hdl-ldl/index.md)
- [Famotidine](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/famotidine/index.md)

## Cited passages

Passage numbers match the `[Source N]` markers in the synthesis above.

### Source 1 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 330

Ray Peat · Email · Jan 2, 2017

> **Question:** I asked Peat about his opinion on topical taurine for hair and in the email I put a study haidut posted on the forum (taurine is better than finasteride for hair).
>
> **Ray Peat:** It’s interesting to think about.

### Source 2 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 437

Ray Peat · Email · Dec 21, 2017

> **Question:** [Carnosine, carnitine, creatine, and taurine] Ray, Do you think the body can still produce enough of the so called "amino acids" carnosine, carnitine, creatine and taurine, none of which are made by any plant food, when a person does well eating a potato and mushroom based diet that leaves out any muscle meats and other foods that have those 4 preformed amino acids?
>
> **Ray Peat:** I think so.

### Source 3 — Gelatin, stress, longevity

Ray Peat · Article · 2009 · https://raypeat.com/articles/articles/gelatin.shtml

> But I think they make the organism easier to understand, since these constellations of facts illustrate simple and general physical principles. They suggest the idea that estrogen and progesterone and glycine, GABA, etc., will be active in any functioning cell, at a suitable concentration. It was this kind of thinking in terms of general physical principles that led Szent-Gyorgyi to investigate the effects of estrogen and progesterone on heart physiology. The old characterization of estrogen and progesterone as “sex” and “pregnancy” hormones acting on a few tissues through specific receptors never had a good basis in evidence, but the accumulated evidence has now made those ideas impossible for an informed person to accept. (Progesterone increases the heart's pumping efficiency, and estrogen is antagonistic, and can produce cardiac arrhythmia.)
>
> In the context of the excitatory actions of estrogen, and the inhibitory action of glycine, it would be reasonable to think of glycine as one of the antiestrogenic substances. Another type of amino acid, taurine, is structurally similar to glycine (and to beta amino propanoic acid, and to GABA), and it can be thought of as antiestrogenic in this context. The specific kinds of excitation produced by estrogen that relate to reproduction occur against a background of very generalized cellular excitation, that includes increased sensitivity of sensory nerves, increased activity of motor nerves, changes in the EEG, and, if the estrogen effect is very high, epilepsy, tetany, or psychosis. Glycine's inhibitory effects appear to oppose estrogen's actions generally, in sensory and motor nerves, in regulating angiogenesis, and in modulating the cytokines and "chemokines" that are involved in so many inflammatory and degenerative diseases, especially tumor necrosis factor (TNF), nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandins.
>
> Exposure to estrogen early in life can affect the health in adulthood, and so can an early deficiency of glycine. The degenerative diseases can begin in the earliest years of life, but because aging, like growth, is a developmental process, it's never too late to start the corrective process.

### Source 4 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 369

Ray Peat · Email · May 4, 2017

> **Question:** If I react badly to glycine and gelatin, but I can tolerate taurine just fine, can the taurine be taken with muscle meat to reduce the muscle meat anti-thyroid effects instead of glycine/gelatin?
>
> **Ray Peat:** I don’t think it will have a similar effect, but it might provide its own unique benefit.

### Source 5 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 678

Ray Peat · Email · Jun 18, 2021

> ## Thread 2
>
> **Question:** isn't supplementing with niacinamide and taurine not safe? These amino acids and vitamins are often synthesized using dangerous chemicals and solvents, moreover isn't it simply straight up unphysiological to just supplement hundreds of milligrams niacinamide or taurine when there is no food source not even liver which would provide an isolated amino acid like taurine or isolated high doses of b vitamins like niacinamide?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Any synthesized nutrient frequently causes problems, that’s why I don’t recommend them as nutrients. Sometimes, for occasional use, the drug effect can outweigh the harm of the impurities.

### Source 6 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 677

Ray Peat · Email · Jun 18, 2021

> ## Thread 6
>
> **Question:** i think you wrote an article comparing taurine to glycine and people take that and use it to argue that supplementing hundreds of milligrams taurine daily is helpful and recommended.
>
> **Ray Peat:** They misquote me. The foods I recommend, such as milk, cheese, eggs and sea foods contain taurine.
>
> **Question:** Mr Peat do you recommend any foods for chromium and vitamin b6? that seems to be present in no foods at all besides raw broccoli. whereas molybdenum, manganese, selenium, copper, zinc, and the numerous other vitamins and minerals are found in foods like coconut water, orange juice, milk, eggs, liver. don't milk and eggs have very little taurine, like a few milligrams per serving? and if you cook or pasteurize them the amount is even less? sir what are your thoughts on creatine and beta alanine supplementation some people promote creatine usage claiming it boosts mitochondrial function or increases their number

### Source 7 — Bioenergetic Helpline #5: High-Dose T3, DHT Experience, Ray Peat, Thyroid Resistance, H. Pylori

Danny Roddy · Interview · Dec 27, 2025 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb1OT_MbAYo

> **Danny Roddy:** You took my experience like right out of my brain. So a long time ago, I used to hang out on bodybuilding forums all the time. And one was called Mesomorphosis and the other one was called Testonation. And there was one more called All Things Male. But there was a... a poster on one of those forums i can't remember which but her name was trouble and she was a like a biochemist and all these dudes that would abuse steroids for a long time would try to get her to reply to their threads she was kind of like the Georgi of like the bodybuilding world And she would recommend taurine for everything. And she was convinced that like bile conjugation was like one of the most important elements of like getting well. And so anyways, long story short, I had tried every single like taurine supplement that existed and I could not get around that problem that you just mentioned. I'd always have bad diarrhea whenever I take it. And so I eventually stopped and moved on to other things just a long time. It was like 2008. And so anyways, when Torian became popular in the rapey world, I was like, no, thank you. I'm not even interested in taking it. Yeah.

### Source 8 — #03: Vitamin E, Cancer, Thyroid, Sugar, and Aspirin with Georgi Dinkov

Georgi Dinkov (with Georgi Dinkov) · Interview · May 31, 2019 · https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Wg95vNQK5aJT717Av49Yn

> **Danny Roddy:** Yeah, besides – I would say besides thyroid, I found an interesting article. Like two quarts of milk, like low-fat milk, had a hypo – I don't know how to say it – hypokalestemic effect. So like a lowering cholesterol effect. Like that's apparently well-known. And then I think –
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** Just like the increase in the synthesis of dowsing steroids, you consume the cholesterol. And a well-known remedy in the bodybuilding world for lowering cholesterol and keeping liver healthy while jacking yourself up on steroids that are known to elevate cholesterol is consuming taurine, the amino acid taurine. It stimulates bile acid synthesis and release. And basically one to two grams of taurine, even in human studies, is being shown to drop cholesterol dramatically in a matter of weeks.
>
> **Danny Roddy:** And I think milk and cheese are some of the best sources of taurine.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** And seafood. Seafood actually is a great source of both glycine and taurine.
>
> **Danny Roddy:** Yeah, shout out to Valtzu, Vladimir Heiskanen. He wrote a good article on taurine, I think, not too long ago. Mark, so this is the last Patreon question, then we'll get to the super chats. Mark says, is blue light effective after acne-causing bacteria? Do you have an opinion about these $30 blue light pens? And then he has a link. I would not lose blue light.

### Source 9 — BV7: Peter Attia Drops Fasting, Anthony Chaffee’s Fructose Claims, & Hidden Seed Oils in Restaurants

Danny Roddy · Interview · Feb 20, 2025 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D6kLP5L3Hc

> **Danny Roddy:** that bile acid thing happened to me with taurine that's like why i was i've never been a huge fan of taking it
>
> **Mike Fave:** yeah taurine and glycine so when i first like found out about them i read all the papers there's all those benefits and so i don't have my gallbladder right they took it out with the surgery and so i started plugging both taurine and glycine And then I just proceeded to have bile acid diarrhea for days until I started to be like, can taurine cause diarrhea? Can glycine cause diarrhea? And then I stumbled upon some articles talking about them being important for bile acid conjugation. I was like, oh, this is probably why.
>
> **Jay Feldman:** Which isn't a bad thing. And Mike, in your case, you have to be really careful about this since you don't have a gallbladder. But if somebody else... Has issues with bile production or bile flow when they're dealing with cholestasis, issues with the gallbladder. things like that, it can be really helpful to use Taurine and get that flow going again. You just want to be a little bit careful about it and start with the super low dose. And normally, if you are getting that response, again, assuming you have a gallbladder, if you are getting that response, I would normally suggest continuing at that low dose. The effect will go away. And that's normally a really good sign for getting bile flow going, which for people who are dealing with liver issues, liver related issues, which is extraordinarily common because it's just a very central organ. Whether you're dealing with endotoxin problems, insulin resistance, PUFA, whatever it is, it'll affect the liver. And so getting the bioflow going again is really important for digestion, for keeping SIBO away, for detoxification, clearing out estrogen, all those things. So I actually think that it can be really helpful because of that, but it's also just a reason to be careful with it.

### Source 10 — IdeaLabs Forum Q&A — SolBan

Georgi Dinkov · Forum Q&A · Feb 6, 2015

> **equusvult:** (2016-03-17) Been using Solban on my face and scalp to treat a bad case of Seborrheic Dermatitis and so far after 5 weeks it has not returned, which is the longest I have been s.d. free in over 20 years.. Nothing has even come close to working this well, and I have tried everything. I know its the solban because I still have the flare up in the middle of my back where I can not reach with the spray bottle. I have also added taurine to a bottle and applying it to my hairline daily, with some tiny hairs returning. I will keep you updated..
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** (2016-03-18) This is fantastic! Thanks for reporting! Did you make your own taurine solution or add it to the SolBan?
>
> **Mori68:** (2016-03-18) How much taurine did you add to the Solban bottle? @haidut, what dose of taurine would you suggest adding, assuming you agree it's a good idea?
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** (2016-03-18) I think taurine is not very soluble in water, and at room temp you can do like 50mg/ml solution of taurine. It's probably enough to have an effect though, especially when combined with SolBan.
>
> **Jayfish:** (2016-04-25) Solban definitely is helping with dry skin on face and hairline. Also my hair looks fuller on the temple hairline and skin looks younger on my face. No change in moles so far. Overall this is one of my favorite products because of the overall energy boost it also gives without jittery effects of caffeine.

_Generated 2026-07-20 from the Bioenergetic Oracle corpus._