amino acid · for muscle cramps
Taurine
Helps muscle cells hold their balance of water and salts, and steadies how they handle calcium.
Say that in clinical terms
Taurine acts as an osmolyte maintaining cell volume and electrolyte balance in skeletal muscle. It also modulates calcium handling in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, reducing excessive calcium-induced contractions that cause cramps.
How strong is the research?
3 papers read, 1 supporting.
Who was studied: People with cirrhosis, whose taurine is severely depleted and who cramp very often.
How much to take
daily
1000–3000 mg
Taurine is an osmolyte that supports electrolyte balance in muscle cells. Take 1-3g daily.
Before you take it
- No NIH ODS Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been established for taurine; the NIH ODS does not publish a taurine fact sheet.
- EFSA (2012, EFSA Journal 10:2736) assessed supplemental taurine and concluded that doses up to 6,000 mg/day appear tolerable in healthy adults; this is a scientific opinion, not a regulatory UL.
- A commonly cited informal proposed safe upper level is 3,000 mg/day referenced in various safety assessments; this is not an IOM/NAS regulatory threshold.
- Lithium interaction: taurine may inhibit renal tubular clearance of lithium, potentially elevating serum lithium to toxic levels; patients on lithium therapy should consult a prescriber before supplementing taurine.
- Pregnancy and lactation: safety of supplemental taurine at doses above normal dietary intake has not been adequately studied; conservative guidance advises caution despite taurine being naturally present in human breast milk.
- Taurine is generally well-tolerated at clinical doses of 1,000–6,000 mg/day; no serious adverse events were reported in published RCTs or major safety assessments.
What we make of it
The citation is the wrong chapter — a laboratory study of a different compound.
The detail
The identifier points to a chapter about thiotaurine and white blood cells in the laboratory, not taurine and cramp. Wrong source entirely.