Hamilton Roschel, Bruno Gualano, Sergej M. Ostojic, and Eric S. Rawson

Nutrients 2021, 13(2), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020586

Received: 18 January 2021 / Revised: 3 February 2021 / Accepted: 4 February 2021 / Published: 10 February 2021

HIGHLIGHTS

Creatine monohydrate supplementation can go beyond its benefits for muscle strength and endurance. It has been shown to provide both ergogenic and therapeutic benefits.

Literature suggests creatine may also be beneficial to brain health such as improved cognitive processing, brain function, and recovery from trauma:

Improved cognitive processing, especially in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, which could be induced by acute stressors (i.e., exercise and sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (i.e., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mild traumatic brain injury, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression).

Regardless, the optimal creatine protocol able to increase brain creatine levels has yet to be determined. Likewise, supplementation studies concurrently assessing brain creatine and cognitive function are needed. Collectively, data available are promising and future research in the area is warranted.