4 Things You Didnt Know About How the Amino Acid Taurine Can Support Your Workout Routine

The most common food sources of taurine are animal products such as meat and dairy. But if you prefer your taurine with an extra dose of energy, another source you can turn to is Monster Energy Ultra, which has just 10 calories and 2,000 milligrams of taurine, plus naturally energizing ingredients like B vitamins.

2. Energy and Focus

Feeling in the zone mentally and ready physically is the goal when walking into your workouts — and taurine can help in that department, too.

"When combined with caffeine, like in many energy drinks, taurine can improve mental performance and mood," she adds. That's why Monster combines taurine with 150 milligrams of caffeine, so you can get your boost of energy ​and​ easily zero in on your workout goals for the day.

3. Endurance

"The jury may still be out on whether taurine supplementation improves aerobic performance or not," she says, citing a May 2021 review in the ​Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition​. "Nonetheless, there does seem to be a small potential for an improvement in both trained and untrained individuals."

4. Reduction in Oxidative Stress

The last benefit to adding taurine to your pre-workout routine? Supporting your body's stress levels via taurine's antioxidant properties.

"Exercise increases oxidative stress, which is when there is an excessive amount of free radicals in the body, or the inability to buffer these free radicals," Allman says. "Taurine increases antioxidant enzyme production in skeletal muscle and decreases oxidative stress by reducing the production of free radicals."