Creatine And Cognitive Function
Creatine is the most well researched supplement out there, most commonly it’s used to increase strength, power and muscle mass, but there’s a decent amount of evidence to suggest that it may have some benefits for brain health too!
Here we’ll be diving into those potential benefits and take a deeper look into the evidence behind them and see why it may be a good idea to include creatine in your nutrition plan even if you’re not looking to improve strength and power.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in certain foods, it’s a derivative of a few amino acids and so is found primarily in meat and fish. In our bodies we store it as phosphocreatine, mostly in the muscle but it's also found in other areas in the body including the brain.
It plays a critical role in producing ATP (our bodies energy currency), specifically in short and intense periods of physical or mental exertion. It’s role of providing cellular energy is thought to be one of the potential mechanisms of action for the benefits it may have on cognitive function!
What Are The Cognitive Benefits Of Creatine?
There have been a few potential benefits proposed from both a cognitive functio, and neuro-protective standpoint, they include:
Memory: Creatine has been shown in a few studies to improve short term memory and recall, these have been seen in elderly populations as well as normal healthy individuals. It’s also believed the effects are more prominent in vegetarians, likely due to the reduced creatine intake in their diet.
Reaction time: Creatine has been shown to improve reaction time in healthy and active individuals
Depression: There’s some evidence to suggest that creatine can actually improve the effectiveness of certain treatments of depression i.e. SSRIs.
Neuro-protective effects: Research has shown that when the brain is subject to repeated mild head trauma, i.e. in a season of american football. Creatine levels in the brain are significantly reduced. Others have also shown creatine supplementation may improve the symptoms of traumatic brain injuries
How Does Creatine Do This?
The main proposed mechanism of action is around creatine’s effects on energy metabolism. it’s thought that by increasing the total body amount of phosphocreatine then it can help accelerate the process of producing and recycling ATP. This is the mechanism of action proposed for it’s improvements in strength and power but is likely also plays a role in the brain.
An additional theory to this is that creatine impacts cognitive function by helping to regulate glucose levels (our brains preferred fuel source).
Creatine may also have a positive impact on oxidative stress, reducing the impact on the brain.
How Much Creatine Should I Take
The common dosages for creatine when focussing on strength and power are around 0.03g/kg per day or moderate servings of 3-6g/day. Sometimes a loading phase is suggested but this is not needed provided supplementation is consistent.
Most of the studies that have looked into cognitive function have used very similar dosages to the above recommendations although some used doses as high as 20g.
The benefits that come from supplementing with creatine often come from chronic supplementation, that being said there is a potential cognitive benefit from even a single dose of creatine in stressful situations such as sleep deprivation.
Who Should Take Creatine?
At this point I recommend that nearly everyone should be supplementing with creatine, regardless of if they want to improve strength and power because of the cognitive benefits. That being said it will be more beneficial for some, these include:
Vegetarians: due to the lower intake of creatine in the diet, we’ve seen that the cognitive benefits are more prominent when this group supplement
Contact Sports Athletes: Due to the potential for repeated mild head injuries and the neuroprotective benefits of creatine this is a no brainer! (In only one sense of the word)
Anyone looking to increase strength and power: So they can reap both the cognitive and physical benefits that come from creatine supplementation.
But as I say it’s still something that I believe most people should be taking it. Those that shouldn’t include anyone with a pre-existing kidney or liver disease/condition.
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