goodfella said:
Just do a search and google it. It's honestly in every search/threads on forums i've found on it and I believe rock even mentioned it too somewhere he found the same. Thats why I really wanted you to see this cause I'd like to keep using it but it's jsut not there price wise brother :/ I think gearheaderik may have mentioned it needed to be a gram when it's ran solo. I mentioned it to him that I just take 2 day with the other sups and basically said its the best route to get your bang for our buck ect. Only other cheaper thing I found for tudca that's a bit cheaper is it in raw powder and would have to cap it :/ Hopefully one of our vendors can jump on this for us if they can find a supplier. Bottle I have says 1 cap ED 60 caps 250 mg think it was around 35-40 bucks on amazon, by mind and body.
Some note I cut and pasted:
When you take orals it leads to increased bile production, and in particular bile salts in the liver AND increased bile retention in liver cells. This retention and blockage of bile from the liver cells leads to them becoming swollen and is one of the reasons orals are so tuff on the liver. When bile (which is used by the liver to transport toxins into the excretory system) is restricted your liver can't clear toxins as effective so since your body can't clear them they are causing continued damage to the liver cells around them, which leads to your increased liver enzyme values on labs (AST & ALT)
TUDCA is effective at decreasing liver damage because when you take it it causes your body to more effectively create and clear bile in liver tissue, which moves toxins out of the liver.
TUDCA also increases the expression (creation) of certain proteins in the liver which are associated with pumping bile out of the liver, so it also helps in clearing other biles from the liver, allowing it to more effectively process all toxins coming through it.
Amaral JD ; Viana RJ ; Ramalho RM ; Steer CJ ; Rodrigues CM, Bile acids: regulation of apoptosis by ursodeoxycholic (Wren's note: this is UDCA, essentially TUDCA with a slightly changed chemical structure, just bound to a taurine atom) acid. Journal of lipid research 2009 Sep; 50(9): 1721-34
Lopez-Sanchez LM ; Corrales FJ ; Barcos M ; Espejo I ; Munoz-Castaneda JR ; Rodriguez-Ariza A Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis during induced cholestasis ameliorates hepatocellular injury by facilitating S-nitrosothiol homeostasis. Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology 2010 Jan; 90(1): 116-27
In regards to TUDCA's beneficial effects on reducing insulin resistance (and therefore helping in weight loss, and, in a personal theory, higher percentage of LBM vs. adipose gain while bulking) a recent study (2010) found that a basic TUDCA protocol increases insulin sensitivity in both muscle and hepatic tissue by 30%, as compared to placebo. As we know glycogen overload in the liver is a prime candidate for storage as fat, so if we can increase insulin sensitivity in hepatic tissue it stands to reason that we will see less conversion from glycogen to fat due to more efficient processing from insulin. Again, some of this is personal theory, but the increased insulin sensitivity is documented, I'm just hypothesizing this conversion effect from current known data.
So, by increasing our insulin sensitivity (which generally increases naturally as we get more lean) with TUDCA, we're going to make our bodies receive more anabolic effects from the carbs that we eat (i.e. less fat storage from any excess glucose). I also hypothesize that this could lead those using insulin already to require smaller, less frequent dosing, and would likely develop insulin resistance issues at a much slower rate than a similar user not employing a TUDCA protocol.
See Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid May Improve Liver and Muscle but Not Adipose Tissue Insulin Sensitivity in Obese Men and Women. Diabetes. 2010 August; 59
🙂 1899?1905.
Anyways, in regards to dosing schedules, most of the data is anecdotal. From all my research I would recommend a dosage of 250mg TUDCA 1x per day for maintenance during oral cycles, of course you can keep the TUDCA at 250mg/day as long as you like, it wont hurt and if my insulin sensitivity theory is correct could actually be highly beneficial. This is my personal dosing protocol. If your labs come back with elevated AST and/or ALT levels then increase the dose to 500mg per day and continue using until liver enzyme levels are in an acceptable range. (Note that in the study indicating increase insulin sensitivity doses were around ~1800mg per day, but this was in individuals who were already significantly insulin resistant. This does highlight TUDCA's high safety profile, on the upside.)
Crosignani A, et al. found that doses ranging from 500mg-1500mg per day showed significant reduction in problematic liver enzyme levels at all doses. I feel safe encouraging a protocol of 250 as these cases were all conducted on patient's already suffering from cirrhosis. (Tauroursodeoxycholic acid for treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. A dose-response study. Dig Dis Sci. 1996 Apr;41(4):809-15.)