Creatine 'boosts brain power'

BBC News ^ | 8/13/03

[truthandlife]

The dietary supplement creatine - known to improve athletic performance - can also boost memory and intelligence, researchers claim.

The supplement is favoured by some athletes Creatine is a natural compound found in muscle tissue, and has been popular with athletes looking for ways to increase fitness.

However, experts say that it has a role in maintaining energy levels to the brain, and have the theory that taking more creatine might actually improve mental performance.

Researchers from the University of Sydney and Macquarie University, both in Australia, tested this by giving creatine supplements to 45 young adult volunteers.

Vegetarians were used for the tests, mainly because meat in the diet is in itself a source of creatine, and it would be difficult to gauge exactly how much an individual had consumed.

The volunteers were split up and given either creatine or a "dummy" pill for periods of six weeks.

Their ability to repeat back from memory long sequences of numbers was tested, and a general IQ test also given to the volunteers.

The researchers, led by Dr Caroline Rae, found that the creatine supplements - at least in the short term - seemed to have a positive effect.

She said: "Both of these tests require fast brain power and the IQ test was conducted under time pressure.

"The results were clear with both our experimental groups and in both test scenarios.

"Creatine supplementation gave a significant measurable boost to brain power."

The researchers found that subjects' ability to remember long numbers improved from a number length of approximately seven digits, to an average of 8.5.

Dr Rae believes that the creatine increases the amount of energy available to the brain for computational tasks, improving general mental ability.

Health risks?

Little is known about the long-term effects of taking creatine - there are reports of effects on blood sugar balance.

The supplement is also notorious for creating an unpleasant odour in the vicinity of the taker.

There is no evidence that the mental boost would continue over time, even if the patient carried on taking creatine for months rather than weeks.

Dr Rae said: "Creatine supplementation may be of use to those requiring boosted mental performance in the short term - for example university students."

The study was published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B.

[fourdeuce82d]

creating an unpleasant odour in the vicinity of the taker

??? Anybody else notice this? 'Course then again, my "training" diet is dark beer, jalapeno pizza, and roasted garlic on toast. Perhaps the "unpleasant odor" smelled the competition, and quit trying...

[conservativemusician]

Creatine gave me such wicked gas I stopped taking it.

My wife was about to throw me out.

[Johnny Gage]

The supplement is also notorious for creating an unpleasant odour in the vicinity of the taker.

I wonder if this would be "overall body" odor, bad breath, or increased flatulence.

[BrooklynGOP]

I tried creatine in college for about 2 month... Ugh. No matter how you mix it - it always ends up on the bottm. Its like eating sand.

[jetson]

Must be a favorite food of polititians.

[jetson]

Must be a favorite food of polititians.

[yeetch!]

Probably the effects are limited to vegetarians since meat eaters are getting it normally in their diet?

[Paradox]

Creatine is good stuff IMHO. i have used it several times with pretty good success (muscle wise). It is found in meat, so vegetarians dont get much of it at all, thats why the effects seem more pronounced in them.

I never got ANY side effects, except increased strength, muscle size, and stamina. Sure, its not the tastiest stuff (quite gritty), but I always thought that people who complained about the taste or texture of bodybuilding products were WIMPS :)

[Wolfie]

I've never heard of creatine use by itself causing a bad odor, and that's after years of bodybuilding forum surfing.

It has been know to cause digestive problems, since it usually passes into the gut without being broken down by the stomach. There it draws a lot of water in an effort to break it down. Lots of water into the intestines can make for some interesting trips to the bathroom. New versions (creatine titrate) are water soluble and don't have this problem. On the other hand, I've never experienced any results from a muscle building standpoint from using the stuff either.

[Paradox]

.Probably the effects are limited to vegetarians since meat eaters are getting it normally in their diet?

The effects are more obvious for veggies, however, a typical dose of Creatine is 5grams. In order to get that much from meat, you'd have to eat like 20 lbs of it. (If I recall correctly)

[BrooklynGOP]

Ever try norandro? :)

[ckilmer]

this article was posted at slashdot.org.

one of the posters there said that niacin was better for promoting cognitive abilities. dosages under 500 mg were ok.

[ko_kyi]

Interesting.

I lifted weights in high school and gained very little muscle mass - I am naturally wimpy, I guess. I also was into the lowfat low protein diet. I just started weights 2 months ago and I am having noticible improvement already. I wonder if it is Atkins diet with lots of meats, or the fact that I am 34.

[Walkin Man]

I tried this once back when I had enough disposable income and time to be a member of a gym. I had to quit using it because I got really bad cramps.

[Wolfie]

Heck no! If I was going to risk my hair and complexion, I'd at least go for the real gear and get the muscle that should go with it.

[BushCountry]

Started lifting a month ago, use a variation of the Atkins, I just like meat more than the carbs stuff. Lost about 25 lbs and bench pressing over 300lbs now (my personal trainer newphew is mad at me). For an old man that is pretty good.

Now, I am happy to know that the extra creatine from the meat is giving me brainpower. Yippee... };O)

[truthandlife]

Niacin definitely gives you a 'flush.' I take it once in a while and I after about 30 minutes it looks like I got a wicked sunburn. Don't mind the side effects. It actually is a rush.

[George W. Bush]

There are newer forms of creatine that are liquid. A lot of advances in nutrition supplements is about getting active ingredients into the blood more quicly and effectively. Creatine has benefitted from this in the last few years. Liquid creatines are more expensive but far more readily absorbed by the digestive tract. It can really eliminate cramping and other GI problems and there's no more problem trying to dissolve it in liquid or the gritty stuff left at the end.