Creatine and Brain Development
Don't let the fuel run out too soon!
Neuro Athletes,
Before we get into today’s newsletter I have some exciting news.
I am thrilled to announce you all that I have partnered by Momentous supplements. I will be joining their scientific advisory board and providing input on brain health supplements especially as they relate to my favourite areas- sleep and neurodegenerative diseases.
The compelling and robust body of evidence of ergogenic — enhancing physical performance — effects of creatine supplementation (5 g/day) are well-documented. Besides the evidence supporting its efficacy in increasing exercise performance/muscle function, muscle strength, and lean mass, there is literature suggesting that creatine may also be beneficial for brain health.
I've spent the majority of my life working towards optimizing my mind & body and helping my clients to do the same, and Momentous is leading the way with the world’s best and most innovative sports nutrition products and supplements.
I’ve chosen to partner with Momentous because of the quality of their supplements and their science based ingredients.
Momentous offers high-quality, lab-tested, next-generation sports nutrition and human performance products and it’s the only supplement brand I trust and recommend.
The best part?
You can now get 20% off my recommended products using code NEURO at checkout.
Understanding Creatine
To better understand creatine we need to look a little closer at the muscle.
In order for a muscle to contract, the cellular fuel molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) must break off a phosphate group, leaving behind adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Your body can’t use ADP. Luckily, the ADP borrows a phosphate molecule from your body’s store of creatine phosphate (PCr) to form more ATP.
Your body stores creatine as phosphocreatine primarily in your muscles, where it's used for energy. As a result, people take creatine orally to improve athletic performance and increase muscle mass. When your body can replenish energy more easily like this, you can train at higher intensities and with higher volume without fatiguing as quickly.
In fact, just a 6-day creatine load followed by a 2 gram/day maintenance dose can drastically elevate your muscle stores, as shown in the graph below.
Creatine Increases BDNF
BDNF or brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a stimulatory protein that increases new brain cell production while improving the performance of existing brain cells. Research has linked individuals with higher levels of BDNF with having less depression than people with lower BDNF. The problem is that ageing and stress decrease BDNF activity particularly in individuals who don’t actively try to learn new skills or pursue new hobbies. Creatine has been shown to increase BDNF production.
Creatine And Neurodegenerative Diseases
The potential therapeutic value of creatine supplementation has recently been investigated with respect to various neurodegenerative disorders that have been associated with bioenergetic deficits as playing a role in disease etiology and/or progression which include; Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington’s disease.
The molecular features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) include: significant loss of neurons, deposition of extracellular plaques, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. One of the earliest detectable defects in AD patients has been shown to be impaired energy metabolism and mitochondrial electron transport chain dysfunction. In addition, another biochemical signature of AD is a higher level of oxidatively damaged mitochondrial DNA, lipids, and proteins when compared to control individuals.
Taken together, these studies strongly suggest that defects in overall cellular bioenergetics, mitochondrial dysfunction, and mitochondrially mediated oxidative stress contribute to the progression of AD. In addition, elevated oxidative stress in AD is thought to contribute to the significant reduction in creatine kinase activity levels in AD brain homogenates.
Creatine Supplementation and Brain Injury, Concussion, and Hypoxia
The alteration of ATP demand due to hypoxia and reduced blood flow is one of the characteristics of traumatic brain injury. The authors reported:
Importantly, brain creatine is reduced following a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), making creatine supplementation, and subsequent increase in brain creatine, a potentially valuable strategy to reduce the severity of, or enhance recovery from, mTBI or concussion by offsetting negative changes in energy status. The duration of the dysregulation in brain energy metabolism is not clearly defined, but could remain for weeks if not years.
In a cohort study, retired National Football League (aged 40 to 69) who had experienced repetitive head impacts during their career reported complaints of cognitive and/or behavioral/mood symptoms many years later. Researchers found a relationship between decreased brain creatine in the parietal white matter and greater exposure to repetitive head impacts.
Additionally to its role in alleviating the cellular energy crisis induced by injury, creatine could potentially lessen other features of mTBI, such as inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, nerve damage, oxidative stress, and membrane disruption leading to calcium influx.
One study mimicked the effects of mTBI and found that creatine supplementation increased brain creatine and cognitive processing during oxygen deprivation. Furthermore, animal models are used to study the effects of creatine supplementation on TBI. A significant reduction in brain damage following TBI in both mice (36%) and rats (50%) was observed. Although these results are compelling, however, it is difficult to generalize those data to the general population because creatine supplementation increases brain creatine levels by roughly 10%.
To sum up
Exogenous creatine supplementation appears to primarily exert its beneficial effects by increasing the PCr pool to improve overall cellular bioenergetics. Additionally, some evidence suggests that creatine may also enhance mitochondrial function and reduce the susceptibility to mitochondrially mediated apoptosis. These beneficial effects of creatine supplementation were initially recognized in muscle tissue where they were shown to prolong contractility and enhance overall athletic performance.
Until next time,
Louisa x
Here is the creatine I take
When and how much creatine do you recommend taking?