Tudca

With TUDCA, the honest answer starts with what isn't known, and our naturopaths are happy to walk you through it. These are the questions they ask in store, in the order they'd ask them.

A good fit if

• You're an adult who has already talked it through with your doctor
• You want the real evidence before you decide, not the marketing version
• You're comfortable buying an ingredient that isn't permitted in Australian listed medicines
• You're not pregnant or breastfeeding, and you don't take prescription medicine

Check with us first if

• You take any prescription medicine. Bile acids affect how you absorb fat-soluble compounds, and there's no interaction data for TUDCA. No reported interactions isn't the same as no interactions.
• You plan to take it for longer than a year. The longest trial we found ran 54 weeks, so there's no safety data beyond that.
• You're already prescribed ursodeoxycholic acid or another bile acid medicine. TUDCA is its taurine-joined form, so talk to your prescriber.

• TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid). Best known for: The form marketed online: UDCA with a taurine molecule attached, which makes it mix more easily with water. Absorption: 64.6% of a dose taken by mouth was absorbed in one eight-person study. Typical use: Trialled at 750 mg to 2 g a day as a drug in diagnosed disease. Not an allowed listed-medicine ingredient in Australia.
• UDCA (ursodeoxycholic acid). Best known for: The parent compound, and a registered prescription medicine in Australia. Absorption: 55.1% of a dose taken by mouth was absorbed in the same study, not significantly different from TUDCA. Typical use: Prescribed by a doctor. Not a supplement, and not on Schedule 1.
• GUDCA (glycoursodeoxycholic acid). Best known for: The version with glycine attached instead of taurine, studied only in the lab so far. Absorption: We have no human absorption data. Typical use: Not on Schedule 1, so not available as a listed medicine ingredient.
• Taurine. Best known for: The amino acid part of TUDCA, sold on its own. It's a separate ingredient with its own research. Absorption: Not assessed here; none of the TUDCA evidence applies to it. Typical use: Allowed in Australian listed medicines with no conditions, Schedule 1 item 4868.

Reference values. There's no Australian NRV, RDI or EAR for TUDCA. It's a bile acid your body makes from cholesterol, not a nutrient you need to eat.

Typical supplemental range. There's no Australian listed medicine range, because TUDCA isn't a permitted ingredient. The doses in the research were drug doses for diagnosed disease: 750 mg a day, as 250 mg three times a day, in the liver trials, and 2 g a day in the neurological trials. Those figures describe what was studied. They aren't a guide for dosing yourself.

Upper level. No upper level has been set. The longest trial we found ran 54 weeks, so there's no safety data beyond about a year.

Worth knowing. Everything known about TUDCA dosing comes from trials in people who were already unwell and being treated. No one has worked out a dose for a healthy adult, because no one has studied one. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You have diagnosed liver disease. UDCA, TUDCA's parent compound, is a prescription medicine for cholestatic liver disease, so talk to your treating doctor.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. We found no data. UDCA's use for intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is a prescribed use of a different compound and tells us nothing about TUDCA.
• Children and teenagers. There's no data in children; every trial enrolled adults with diagnosed disease.
• You take prescription medicines. There's no interaction data for TUDCA, but bile acids affect absorption of fat-soluble compounds and are bound by bile acid sequestrant medicines.
• You already take UDCA or another bile acid on prescription. Check with your prescriber.
• You'd take it for more than 54 weeks. There's no safety data beyond the longest trial.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.