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In October 2026, researchers at Yale School of Medicine found that taurine put the brake on an inflammation switch in mice. Immune cells that sensed danger released a large share of their taurine which reduced inflammation. Reducing the taurine again quietened that anti-inflammatory response. That switch sits inside a pathway in those cells called the NLRP3 inflammasome. Much of the work was done in cells and mice, so it is early days yet, but hopefully the study will be replicated in humans sometime in the near future.
It is still an exciting piece of the puzzle, especially if you care about inflammation as you move through perimenopause and menopause. And many human trials already show that taurine has a good track record in improving health in humans.
What human studies already show
This is where the story gets practical for women. Around menopause, many of us start to see a cluster of warning signs: higher blood pressure, rising blood sugar, more fat around the middle and higher blood fats. Together these are called metabolic syndrome, and they raise the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Heart and metabolic health
Pooled analyses of randomised trials in adults have found that taurine supplementation can improve several markers of heart and metabolic health: modest drops in blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, triglycerides and measures of insulin resistance (insulin is the key that lets blood sugar into your cells; when cells tune it out, the body turns the volume up). One large review concluded that supplementation may help improve those same markers in adults, which may lower the chance of heart disease and type 2 diabetes over time.
Reduce inflammation (CRP)
Another systematic review found beneficial effects on inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers, including CRP (a common inflammation marker) and MDA (malondialdehyde, a marker of oxidative stress from fat damage).
Better heart pumping after heart failure
There is also a smaller body of human work in heart failure, where adding taurine to usual care has been linked with better exercise capacity and, in some analyses, a small improvement in how well the heart pumps. That is promising. It is not the same as proven "repair" of the heart after a cardiac event, and anyone with heart disease needs to talk with their cardiologist before changing anything.
Safety
Safety data are reassuring. The evidence for the absence of adverse effects is strong at supplemental intakes up to 3 g a day. Trials have also used higher doses, including around 6 g a day, without a clear safety signal. That still does not mean more is better, and it is not a reason to self-prescribe.
What taurine does
Taurine is a tiny building block that floats free inside your cells (heart, muscle, eyes, brain, immune cells). It helps with:
- Making bile so you can break down and absorb fat
- Keeping cells the right size (water balance)
- Helping heart and muscle squeeze properly (by keeping calcium in the right place)
- Powering the little energy engines in every cell (mitochondria — they turn food into fuel)
- Calming low-level inflammation that can build up with age
Can we make it ourselves?
Taurine is not one of the nine essential amino acids. Reviews usually call it conditionally essential. Yes, we can make it from methionine and cysteine, and that step needs vitamin B6. A healthy adult makes roughly 50 to 125 mg a day. Food typically adds another 40 to 400 mg, depending on what you eat.
The richest source of the building blocks are meat, poultry, fish, eggs and organ meats for both methionine and cysteine, plus liver, meat, fish and poultry for vitamin B6.
What happens when taurine is low?
There are various things that can happen that have been studied in both humans and animals, and they include:
- Less taurine in blood and urine (seen in long-term vegans vs meat-eaters)
- Weak heart muscle (rare cases where blood taurine was almost zero)
- Eye / retina damage in those same rare cases; cloudy lenses hold less taurine
- Thinner bones (animals; human studies mixed)
- More belly fat, type 2 diabetes and inflammation showing up alongside lower blood levels (linked, not proven cause)
Food first: where taurine actually comes from
Taurine is found in animal foods. Plant foods contain none.
Among the richest sources are shellfish such as scallops, mussels, clams, squid and oysters, followed by dark poultry meat like chicken thighs.
Beef, pork, lamb and fish sit in a solid middle range. Heart is further down the list (around ninth in typical food tables) and does not make the top of the table.
Eggs and dairy have hardly any taurine, even though they are useful for methionine and cysteine as precursors to the body's own taurine generation. Cooking and freezing can trim the amount a little, so we always keep the broth from slow cooked roasts.
My approach
I always prefer to get amino acids from food. Seafood, dark poultry, eggs and other meats cover taurine itself and the methionine, cysteine and B6 your body uses to make a little of its own.
If you eat a plant-based diet, food will not supply taurine, and it is worth having a discussion with your GP or a nutritionist about whether your overall pattern needs extra attention. This post is general information, not personal advice, and it is not a recommendation to take supplements.
I'm still navigating perimenopause myself, and I pay attention to research like this without turning every headline into a must-do. The basics still matter most: eating in a way that supports your body, moving regularly, sleeping enough and managing stress.
Contact me to book a free discovery call if you would like support that fits where you are right now.
Key References
1. Guan C, et al. Taurine lowers inflammaging by regulating the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages. Cell. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.09.061
2. Tzang CC, et al. Nutr Diabetes. 2024;14:29. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41387-024-00289-z
3. Nie Z, et al. Nutr Rev. 2026;84(10):2028-2051. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf220
4. Laidlaw SA, et al. JPEN. 1990;14:183-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0148607190014002183