What is TUDCA?
Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, or TUDCA for short, is a bile acid derivative that occurs naturally in the human body, but is also found in small quantities in various foods, such as milk and eggs. TUDCA has an influence on various functions in the body and has been used therapeutically in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat liver and bile disorders.
TUDCA is also used in the treatment of "heat illnesses" such as fever, cramps and visual disorders as well as to improve many other complaints. In fact, the bile salt influences many other bodily functions, from the brain to the kidneys to eye health. Despite this, it has only recently come into the scientific spotlight and is the subject of recent clinical trials in which scientists have been able to investigate and repeatedly substantiate its many potential health benefits.
For this reason, TUDCA is increasingly being used in clinical settings as a bile acid derivative for the treatment and prevention of gallstones. Due to a number of molecular properties - in particular its anti-apoptotic effect - the use of tauroursodeoxycholic acid is also being investigated in inflammatory metabolic diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.
Various manufacturing processes
For a very long time, TUDCA was extracted from animal bile using cholic acid and then chemically converted into UDCA. This is then conjugated with taurine to obtain TUDCA. Hence the name tauroursodeoxycholic acid. However, TUDCA is now also produced synthetically. This was first achieved in Japan in 1956 and has enjoyed many supporters since then. It is often mentioned that the purity and quality of synthetically produced TUDCA is subject to significantly fewer fluctuations due to the fact that the raw materials are always the same, which means that an optimum product can always be guaranteed. We also rely on a synthetically obtained raw material for our TUDCA supplement.
How does TUDCA work?
TUDCA or tauroursodeoxycholic acid is a naturally occurring bile acid that has been shown to have a protective effect on the liver. Preclinical studies have shown that TUDCA can improve liver function and thus potentially protect against liver damage (1). It counteracts liver overload and elevated liver values via various mechanisms. These mechanisms include the removal of toxic bile acid from the liver, which can dangerously damage liver cells (1). As a result, it promotes the formation of healthy bile acids, which play a key role in liver function. TUDCA can also prevent cell death and inflammation in the liver and thus improve the overall health of the liver. In a study on patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, tauroursodeoxycholic acid proved to be safe and well tolerated. The results of the study showed that TUDCA was able to improve liver function and reduce fat accumulation in the liver. Numerous studies have shown that TUDCA can reduce elevated liver enzymes by up to 50%, indicating that it can potentially significantly reduce the burden on the liver by taking tauroursodeoxycholic acid (2). In addition, TUDCA appears to be able to reduce the load on the endoplasmic reticulum in a cell. (3) This is significantly involved in the formation of new proteins and thus represents an important step in the build-up of new body mass. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid also has an influence on cases of atrophy or muscle breakdown, and studies have also shown that supplementation can have a potentially inhibitory effect on muscle breakdown. (4)
Why is a healthy and optimally functioning liver important?
The liver is one of the most versatile organs in the human body. It fulfills a variety of different tasks and is under constant strain. Its most important task is to detoxify the body. Every minute, it cleanses 1.5 liters of blood of toxic substances that are ingested from the outside or can be produced by the body's own processes. These toxic and potentially dangerous factors include environmental influences, alcohol, medication, performance-enhancing substances, free radicals and a high-fat, unhealthy diet. All of these factors have a damaging and extremely stressful effect on the liver. The tricky thing about overloading or damaging the liver is that it has no pain receptors and liver damage is therefore often only noticed when it is already well advanced and irreversible. The first signs of liver overload are elevated liver values, which can be easily detected in a blood test. The liver should then be supported at the latest. However, it is much better to take preventative measures and provide the liver with everything it needs.
A healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce most of these factors and thus take a lot of strain off the liver. However, the liver is also significantly involved in protein, carbohydrate and fat metabolism and the regulation of vitamin, mineral and hormone balance(5), which is why everyone can benefit from optimized liver function, including athletes with a healthy lifestyle. Many nutrients can only be absorbed by the body once the liver has processed them. In turn, the absorption of nutrients is crucial for physical and athletic performance and a key factor in muscle building.
In other words, your liver determines how well your metabolism works and therefore how successful you can be in sports. If your liver is too busy with detoxification processes and its regeneration due to high levels of stress, your metabolism cannot function optimally. Optimal liver function also optimizes your performance as an athlete, which is why the liver should be supported as much as possible.
Other effects of TUDCA on the metabolism
TUDCA can increase the insulin sensitivity of muscle tissue and thus potentially have a positive effect on body composition. Tauroursodeoxycholic acid was investigated in a human study that revealed the potential influence of the bile acid derivative on insulin metabolism. According to the results of this study, TUDCA can increase the insulin sensitivity of muscle cells by up to 30 %. In contrast, the insulin sensitivity of adipose tissue remained unchanged when TUDCA was used (6). This is particularly important for sportspeople and athletes. Increased insulin sensitivity of the muscles also leads to a better supply of nutrients to the muscle cells. This in turn is crucial for regeneration and muscle building. As the insulin sensitivity of the adipose tissue remains unchanged, fewer nutrients reach the adipose tissue. As a result, fewer nutrients or calories can be converted into body fat. In other words, the body uses more nutrients to build muscle while potentially putting on significantly less fat(5). This so-called body recomposition is an ideal stage to get in shape and is considered the goal of many athletes worldwide.
Other health effects
More and more studies are being conducted worldwide on the effects of tauroursodeoxycholic acid on health. A large number of these studies point to a whole cornucopia of health benefits. One notable aspect that can be positively influenced by taking TUDCA is digestion. TUDCA supports digestion by stimulating the production of bile. This is needed to break down the food in the body into its components. In addition, bile also has the function of breaking down cholesterol and killing a whole range of harmful bacteria. Studies also suggest that TUDCA could protect the brain and nervous system from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. TUDCA acts as a mitochondrial stabilizer and anti-apoptotic agent (inhibits apoptosis), so it has potential neuroprotective properties(7). It also appears to have a positive effect on the regeneration of the heart and brain after heart attacks and strokes
Studies have also identified a potentially supportive effect on the eye. TUDCA may be able to protect the retina of the eye from damage that could otherwise have led to a reduction in vision or even blindness. Although this has not yet been confirmed by human studies, it is a nice bonus on top of the proven effects of TUDCA.
Dosage and intake
Studies suggest that, depending on the desired effect, as little as 10 - 13 milligrams of TUDCA is sufficient to have potentially positive effects on the liver(8). A dosage of between 200 and 1000 mg is now considered common practice, with 500 mg proving to be a good dose, as the potency of the effect appears to gradually decrease with a higher dose(9). 500 mg is therefore a good dose, which is why we also work with this amount in our TUDCA product. Under certain circumstances, however, the blood values may also suggest a higher dosage. In one study, a dosage of over 1000 mg also proved to be unproblematic in certain phases and was tolerated by the test subjects without any problems(6).
TUDCA and its special role in professional sport
Bodybuilding, powerlifting and just about every other professional sport have athletes who use performance-enhancing substances. The aim is to get the maximum out of the body and thus achieve ever better performance. However, the use of anabolic steroids and other doping substances is sometimes anything but beneficial to health and many of the components that top athletes add to their bodies place an exorbitant additional burden on the liver. As already mentioned, one of the liver's main tasks is to detoxify our body and blood. When we take performance-enhancing substances, liver-toxic substances sometimes enter our metabolism. Typical consequences of anabolic steroid abuse can be bile congestion, liver carcinomas and adenomas, a fatty liver or complete liver failure. As already described in the section on the effect of the bile acid derivative, TUDCA can help to counteract liver-toxic components and thus relieve the liver. This also applies even if the liver has already suffered severe damage (9,10,11).
Summary:
TUDCA is a supplement that has a variety of potential benefits for the human body. It can support the liver in its natural function, ensuring that detoxification processes, metabolism and digestion are not damaged by harmful substances. TUDCA can potentially have a beneficial effect on the recomposition of your body and help maintain optimal insulin function. Many other potentially health-promoting effects have been demonstrated in studies and, especially in combination with liver-stressing medications, the use of TUDCA has long been recognized worldwide.
