The Importance Of Creatine And Your Brain

Creatine is found in small amounts in meats and fish and has been used for decades by athletes as a highly studied and effective natural performance enhancement supplement. Creatine has been show to increase muscle, strength and enhance fatigue resistance by enabling the muscles to produce more energy(1). Recently, research has been conducted looking into the effects creatine can have on the brain and cognition especially in people over the age of 40.

Supplementing with creatine has been shown to increase the concentration of creatine in the brain by up to 15%. This improved brain function is due to the increase in oxygen delivery and energy supply to the brain meaning you can focus longer and feel less fatigued (2,3).

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials reviewed 6 studies with a total of 281 healthy participants studying the effect creatine has on brain function. The review found taking creatine daily for 6 weeks improved short term memory, intelligence and reasoning (4).

It can be difficult for us to get adequate amounts for creatine in our diet. We’re consuming less meat and to get the right amount of creatine you would have to consume a lot! Elements For Life has sourced the highest quality creatine and added it to Clear and Focused Mind to make it easy for you to get all its the brain boosting benefits.

If find you’re not thinking as clearly or struggling with mental fatigue creatine is definitely worth a try. I suggest trying it for 4-6 weeks to see optimal results as creatine can take time to build up to optimal levels.

Have any further questions about creatine? Feel free to ask them via our contacts page.

References

1. Rawson, E. and Venezia, A., 2011. Use of creatine in the elderly and evidence for effects on cognitive function in young and old. Amino Acids, 40(5), pp.1349-1362.
2. Dechent, P., Pouwels, P., Wilken, B., Hanefeld, F. and Frahm, J., 1999. Increase of total creatine in human brain after oral supplementation of creatine-monohydrate. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 277(3), pp.R698-R704.
3. Dechent, P., Pouwels, P., Wilken, B., Hanefeld, F. and Frahm, J., 1999. Increase of total creatine in human brain after oral supplementation of creatine-monohydrate. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 277(3), pp.R698-R704.
4. Avgerinos, K., Spyrou, N., Bougioukas, K. and Kapogiannis, D., 2018. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Experimental Gerontology, 108, pp.166-173.