Creatine Brain Supplement Science

Brain fuel for high work loads: increased 'brain power'

The brain consumes a great deal of energy relative to the rest of the body. When the brain processes information, it is supplied with extra glucose and oxygen to maintain brain energy levels. When cognition requires fluid intelligence, the workload is heavy and the brain may be temporarily fuel-limited. Creatine plays a central role in the biochemistry of supplying the brain with energy under high work loads. It improves brain metabolism. Like glucose and oxygen, creatine can help provide an increased fuel supply - with more efficiency - under heavy work loads. Natural creatine levels in the brain increase as a result of brain training.

Creatine has long been used by athletes as a dietary supplement to improve physical performance. Creatine brain supplements have now been shown in controlled trials to reduce mental fatigue and increase cognitive efficiency - reducing the need for oxygen in areas of the brain involved in doing mental calculations. There is also evidence that creatine is involved in brain plasticity – the forming of new brain cell connections during learning.

The creatine - IQ link

A  team of biochemists and a cognitive psychologist led by Dr. Caroline Rae at the University of Sydney have demonstrated that a creatine brain supplement can increase IQ substantially. Taking 5 grams of creatine daily for 6 weeks improves fluid  intelligence by 40% on a validated IQ test. These results were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences in 2003.

The figure below shows the IQ increasing effect of the brain power supplement creatine. In the experiment one group took what is called a 'placebo' - a fake pill that looked like the creatine supplement but which has no physiological effect. Compared to this group, the group taking real creatine supplements performed 40% better on a validated IQ test.

Creatine brain supplements increase IQ

The original study by Dr. Caroline Rae and her colleagues can be found here:

Creatine brain supplement article

How does creatine work to improve brain function?

As a brain supplement, 5 g of creatine per day for 6 weeks increases the brain’s natural store of creatine by 9%.  This brain power food's effect is due to the fact it improves the cognitive efficiency of the brain, through the key role it plays in brain energy metabolism. Essentially it helps brain cells (neurons) 'reset' quicker after they have sent messages to other neurons in neural circuits, thus improving speed and efficiency.

Dr. Rae and her colleagues state in their research paper

"Increasing the energy levels available for computation [in the brain]
increases the speed and power of computational resources, reflected
directly in improved general ability.

...This trial of creatine supplementation showed beneficial effects of
creatine on mental performance. These effects may add to the physical enhancement gained by athletes supplementing creatine levels and
may be of use to those requiring boosted mental performance in the
short term."

 Creatine and cognitive aging

It is known that older people require more energy in order to carry out cognitive tasks than younger individuals. It is also known that creatine levels increase with age in healthy individuals, although not enough to prevent cognitive aging.

Creatine brain supplements are highly beneficial to older individuals in countering the effects of cognitive aging. Recent research by Dr McMorris and colleagues in 2007 supports this conclusion. In a paper published in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition they show that creatine supplement boosts cognitive performance on both short term and long term memory tasks in a population with an average age of 76.

  Is creatine supplementation safe?

Yes. Creatine is naturally produced in the body. Creatine monohydrate is a natural brain food supplement. The use of creatine in healthy individuals is considered by medical professionals to be safe. Athletes have used creatine supplements for decades without incident. In a statement published by the European Food Safety Authorities (EFSA), it is suggested that

"the safety of creatine monohydrate in foods for particular nutritional
uses is not a matter of concern provided that there is adequate control
of the purity of this source of creatine."

In a study examining the effects of long-term creatine supplementation on a 69-item panel of serum, whole blood, and urinary markers of clinical health status in athletes, the results showed no harmful side effects. This report can be found by clicking on the link below.

   
  creatine safety article

*** For the scientific references for this page, click here . ***

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