Contents
Taurine
Summary: Most plant foods don’t contain taurine, with some seaweeds being a notable exception. The current consensus among health professionals is that, beyond infancy, the human body produces enough taurine to satisfy its needs, as long as protein needs are met.
Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid. Some mammals produce their own taurine, while others, such as cats, don’t. While there isn’t research measuring the exact amount of endogenous taurine production in humans, the human body contains enzymes that convert cysteine, an amino acid found in protein, into taurine (Wikipedia).
| Table 1. Taurine measurements among vegans and omnivores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement | Study | Men | Women | ||
| Omnivore | Vegan | Omnivore | Vegan | ||
| Intake (mg/day) | Rana and Sanders (1986) | 76 | ND | 43 | ND |
| Plasma (µmol/L) | Rana and Sanders (1986) | 103 | 88 | 76 | 66 |
| Laidlaw et al. (1988) | 58 | 45 | |||
| Urine (mg/day) | Rana and Sanders (1986) | 95 | 29 | 67 | 33 |
| Laidlaw et al. (1988) | 113 | 33 | |||
| Breastmilk (mg/L) | Rana and Sanders (1986) | 54 | 35 | ||
| Agostoni et al. (2000) | 38 | ||||
| ND – none detected | |||||
Table 1 indicates that vegans have lower plasma taurine concentrations than omnivores. This pattern isn’t alarming: people who consume a given molecule typically show higher circulating levels than those who don’t. Although plasma taurine hasn’t been extensively studied, there’s no evidence of taurine deficiency among vegans, and most apparently healthy vegans—including adults raised vegan—do not supplement with taurine.
Table 1 shows the amount of taurine typically consumed by omnivores along with urinary losses (which appears to be the main way humans lose taurine). Using the data from Rana and Sanders in Table 1, subtracting taurine intakes from losses suggests that omnivores produce about 19–24 mg of taurine per day.
Rana and Sanders (1986) directly measured the taurine content of vegan meals and found no taurine. Laidlaw et al. (1990) found no taurine in the 48 plant foods they tested. Pasantes et al. (1989) found no taurine in 42 plant foods but a small amount in 11; the highest taurine content per gram was in cashews (38.3 nmol/g; 0.00479 mg/g; 0.14 mg per 1/4 cup). It’s possible that Pasantes et al. used methods that yielded inaccurate results.
Kawasaki et al. (2017) found taurine in a wide range of seaweeds, many of which contain “nori” in their common name. The main types of nori used for sushi in the United States are the red algae types, Pyropia yezoensis and Pyropia tenera (Wikipedia). Kawasaki et al. measured the taurine content of Pyropia yezoensis, which they also referred to as susabinori, and found it to contain 1,940 mg per 100 g of dry weight (49 mg per 2.5 g sushi roll sheet). They didn’t provide an amount of taurine for Pyropia tenera.
While it’s not clear what taurine needs are for infants, with an average taurine content in breastmilk of 38–54 mg/L (Table 1), and an average one month old’s breastmilk intake of 624 ml/day (Rios-Leyvraz and Yao, 2023), the average one month old infant will have a daily taurine intake of about 24-34 mg/day.
For more information, including about taurine supplementation, see Vegan Taurine Sources: How Vegans Can Get Enough of This Nutrient, by Stephanie Wells, MS, RD, LD, ACSM-CPT (October 2, 2023).
Carnitine
Carnitine is a non-essential amino acid found primarily in animal products. Carnitine isn’t part of proteins, but if you’re eating enough protein, your body should make what you need. While there is no reason for most vegetarians or vegans to be concerned with carnitine, there have been cases of vegans who do not thrive unless they are taking carnitine supplements.
A carnitine metabolic problem has been linked to migraines. If you are a vegan who started getting migraines after becoming vegan, you might consider talking to your health professional about carnitine supplementation. The average person consumes 100–300 mg of carnitine per day (Siebrecht, 2000).
A study from the Netherlands compared the serum and breast milk carnitine levels of 25 vegans to 25 meat-eaters (Juncker, 2023). Carnitine levels in breast milk didn’t differ between the two groups. The vegans had lower serum levels of free carnitine and acetylcarnitine and both diet groups had lower serum levels than what is normal for non-lactating women. Although there isn’t evidence that the lower serum carnitine levels among vegans are harmful, the authors suggested that lactating vegans increase their carnitine intakes.
Click here for more information regarding carnitine and sports nutrition.
Bibliography
Laidlaw SA, Grosvenor M, Kopple JD. The taurine content of common foodstuffs. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1990 Mar-Apr;14(2):183-8. Erratum in: JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 1990 Jul-Aug;14(4):380. PMID: 2352336.
Siebrecht S. L-Carnitine: physiological and pharmacological effects! Ann Nutr Metab 2000;44:79.
22 thoughts on “Taurine and Carnitine”
This statement is NOT true: “Taurine isn’t found in plant foods.” See the study from DECADES ago: Taurine content in foods January 1989 Nutrition Reports International 40(4):793-801 (Pasantes-Morales et al. 1989) It clearly states: “Pumpkin seeds contain 13.5 nmoles/g, black beans 9.2 nmoles/g, horse beans 12.9, and chick peas 18.7 nmoles/g. … Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and pine nuts contained taurine in concentrations ranging 15-46 nmoles/g. Pistachios contained very low concentrations of taurine (4.9 nmoles/g).”
Al,
I wrote an extensive update for the article. I’m not sure if I addressed your concerns. I guess it might depend on what one’s definition of “physiologically insignificant” is. I meant it to describe the (apparent) fact that the body makes much more taurine than what a vegan might ingest from those plant foods. Let me know if I didn’t understand your point or if I got anything wrong. Thank you.
In my research, I’ve found that researchers repeatedly and explicitly state that there is no evidence to support the idea that we actually synthesize enough of these non-essential amino acids for optimal health. Glycine, taurine, and carnitine do become conditionally essential during pregnancy as well, meaning our bodies won’t produce enough to meet demands and it needs to be obtained through diet. The entire concept of essential and non-essential AAs is but a theory that is looking less and less believable as more discoveries are made. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the research shows that we CAN synthesize certain amino acids by getting enough of certain other AAs, but it doesn’t support the idea that we actually make ENOUGH.
Hannah,
> I’ve found that researchers repeatedly and explicitly state that there is no evidence to support the idea that we actually synthesize enough of these non-essential amino acids for optimal health.
The researchers who have published the papers I’m citing in this article don’t seem to believe that humans can’t sythesize enough taurine and carnitine to be heatlhy. And there are plenty of apparently healthy vegans who aren’t suffering from carnitine or taurine deficiency, suggesting there’s no evidence that humans don’t synthesize enough.
> Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the research shows that we CAN synthesize certain amino acids by getting enough of certain other AAs, but it doesn’t support the idea that we actually make ENOUGH.
Since people obtain the non-essential amino acids in their diet, they don’t need to synthesize all that they need, they just need to meet general protein requirements to synthesize enough. A study measuring the plasma level of amino acids among vegans didn’t find any to be lower than the reference range. Since taurine and carnitine aren’t components of protein, they aren’t included in this study.
Taurine is a very hot topic right now. I’m wondering why you didn’t include Nori or dark chocolate or green tea as potential sources to consider. And why didn’t you mention whole plant foods that are high in cysteine that help the body synthesize taurine? Thanks for all you do!
Jeff,
> I’m wondering why you didn’t include Nori or dark chocolate or green tea as potential sources to consider.
I’m not seeing any evidence to back these claims up. If you have some, let us know.
> And why didn’t you mention whole plant foods that are high in cysteine that help the body synthesize taurine?
I’m not aware of evidence that vegans increasing cysteine intakes beyond their typical levels will result in higher taurine synthesis. I didn’t find any studies on vegans but it’s possible there are some on people with cysteine intakes similar to vegans. If you know of any, let me know.
Lifestyle, athletics, biochemical individuality and genetic predisposition should be very important concerns and focus when it comes to supplementation in veganism, especially when it comes to Taurine and Carnitine which are primarily found in higher levels in meat or animal based diets. Both of these amino acids are necessary for a stable heart rhythm, energy production and many other necessary enzyme and metabolic processes in the human organism. I think it would be prudent to consider if you were to experience any unusual health related events when going on a vegan diet, such as, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, arrhythmias (PAC’s/PVC’s), muscular weakness, etc., or anything that is out of the ordinary from your normal health, to consider being tested for these nutrients, regardless of how long you have been vegan. We all need to remember that as we age, so does does our biochemical and nutritional needs, so do not deprive yourself of what your body needs in order to be nutritionally sound.
Glad to see this information about carnitine. I’ve been vegan for over 25 years and was diagnosed with a carnitine deficiency about 10 years ago after experiencing daily afternoon fatigue. I supplement carnitine and this problem has resolved. I encourage vegans who have unexplained health issues of any sort to get their carnitine tested. I went to a rheumatologist for this, but hopefully most care providers can order the blood test.
We’re glad you’re feeling better and agree that folks should speak with their medical providers and get appropriate testing done before supplementing.
Lori, Thanks so much for relaying your experience. Would you be willing to say what form of carnitine you take and the dosage. I wonder how your rheumatologist knew your lower blood levels of carnitine meant you had a true deficiency and needed more. A lot of blood levels of nutrients in vegans may be different than carnivores, but it’s not usually considered a problem. In most cases, it seems safe enough to give a supplement a try for awhile and see how we do. Did you try going on and off the carnitine a couple times to verify its effect? I think a lot of medical professionals aren’t very knowledgeable about how diet may be affecting their patients.
Hi Marian,
The rheum I see has experience with carnitine deficiencies (maybe it happens more frequently in patients with autoimmune diseases…?), and suggested a dosage for me based on my blood level. We were just hoping that it would be the answer to my fatigue, and it seems to work (when I get lazy and forget to take it, I definitely notice my fatigue coming back). I get my levels re-checked once a year. I take NOW brand L-Carnitine (1000mg) 3x/week. Hope this helps!
Thank you, Lori. That’s really interesting (and great!) that it has helped you. It seems plausible that individuals have somewhat different needs for nutrients. I’m so glad you have a smart rheumatologist. thanks again for taking the time to reply.
I’m curious if this will help me, what amount l carnitine do you take daily?
Hi, thanks for the interesting article. I am interested about the effects of low taurine intake for vegans and I’m concerned about various risk factors which are elevated even though you feel perfectly fine. Such as:
Elevated risk of platelet aggregation (ie DVT/blood clots) – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15288361
Elevated risk of heart enlargement/heart problems – https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2013/6/The-Forgotten-Longevity-Benefits-of-Taurine/Page-01
Possible eyesight problems/cataracts/retinal degradation – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124017177000514
So I suppose the question is how much taurine do we really need? And do vegans produce enough in their bodies? Also production decreases with age, so these risks could be more elevated later in life. I’m interested to know your thoughts! Thx and good health
OK, I was maybe a bit hasty with those links as there are of course contradicting articles which say vegan diets are much healthier! Like here for example, lower cataract risk:
https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/cataracts/news/20110420/vegetarians-may-have-lower-risk-of-cataracts
But they don’t say why in the article the risk is lower? Maybe due to less saturated fat, homocysteine, inflammatory markers etc from meat? But the fact remains that taurine is still required for the eyes. So it’s rather confusing.
Hi Brian – there aren’t any clinical studies on vegans showing health issues related to taurine intake or status. As mentioned in the article, if you’re eating enough protein as a vegan, you should make all the taurine your body needs.
hi my name is erdenetugs i am from mongolia . acctually i am trying go vegan. but i don’t khow how to get l cernitine.
erdenetugs,
Most vegans don’t need and don’t take carnitine. In some extremely rare cases, someone’s body doesn’t make enough carnitine. Unless you have reason to believe you’re one of these people, you don’t need to worry about carnitine.
You can get taurine and carnitine on a vegan diet.
Carnitine is found in tempeh which still has significant amounts (20 mg/100 g) compared to non-vegan foods like pork (28 mg/100 g). It’s also a myth that taurine is not found in any plants.
There has been investigation into this. A paper was published Taurine content in foods January 1989Nutrition Reports International 40(4):793-801. The paper found that
“Pumpkin seeds contain 13.5 nmoles/g, black beans 9.2 nmoles/g, horse beans 12.9, and chick peas 18.7 nmoles/g. No taurine was detected in peanuts. Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and pine nuts contained taurine in concentrations ranging 15-46 nmoles/g.”
Also energy drinks like red bull have a high amount of taurine and they are vegan drinks because they use no animal products. I am not saying energy drinks are healthy but they are a good source of taurine.
Forest,
In the study you cite, the amounts of taurine in plant foods were measured in nmoles/g which is 1,000 times less than how it was measured in animal products (µmoles/g). The amounts of taurine they found in plant foods are physiologically insignificant.
What about seaweeds like nori and dulse? If you look it up, you’ll see that 100 grams of nori has 1300 mg of taurine. That means if you eat 20-30 grams of nori a day, you could get 260-390 mg of taurine a day. It would not be difficult to eat that much nori every day or a few days a week. I also read that dulse has 300 mg of taurine in one serving, but it didn’t say how many grams of dulse was a serving.
Can you cite a study proving that those amounts are “physiologically insignificant”? What evidence do you have to support that claim? The study states: “It is clear that taurine concentration in food of plant origin is much lower than that found in meat and other food of animal origin. However, even the small amount present in seeds like beans may be of nutritional interest as source of taurine, due to the large amounts consumed on a daily basis by some communities where beans are the main constituent of the diet.”
Regardless, by stating that “Taurine isn’t found in plant foods”, you are making a false statement. So you can either focus on being accurate, or you can focus on self-vindication.