Creatine isn’t just for bodybuilders anymore, it has multiple benefits for your brain health, cognitive function and is used to treat Parkinson's ,Alzheimer's and more cognitive disease. Doctors now use creatine monohydrate supplement to enhance cognitive function, slow down mental fatigue and fight serious diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cognitive function decline at multiple levels.

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is produced from the amino acids arginine and methionine and is naturally occurring in the body. The only external source of creatine is in animal meat. It rose to prominence once studies came out showing that working muscle tissue seems to deplete creatine stores which is why it is used in the bodybuilding world since it helps with explosive power and strength. Damaged cells, which occurs with stress, oxidative damage, weight training and more, rely on creatine for repair.

All of our cells, including brain cells, use ATP for energy. Regardless if we run on glucose from a high carb diet or ketones from a ketogenic diet, everything eventually turns into ATP. Creatine is a readily available source of ATP.

So if our body naturally makes creatine, then why would we need to supplement with it? We only can produce a tiny amount of creatine whereas our body operates optimally on a dose between 3-5 grams of creatine monohydrate.

Creatine Benefits On Your Brain Health

How does creatine help your brain? For starters, creatine improves mitochondrial health and function. The loss of mitochondrial health, the power houses of all our cells, is at the root of all of our deterioration related health problems. If each and every cell isn’t working optimally, that’s when problems happen. The more we age the more dysfunctional and damaged mitochondria we have. The more damaged mitochondria we have the more lipofuscin builds up.

An important marker of brain deterioration is lipofuscion,left over unsaturated fats, accumulation. Creatine fed mice lived on average 9% longer than mice without creatine. Translated to humans, that’s roughly around seven years! Creatine is also a fantastic nutrient for increasing BDNF. 

Creatine For Alzheimers And Parkinson's Disease

Why is creatine being used to treat Alzheimer's and parkinstons disease?  The answer may lie in creatines unique ability to maintain and restore ATP which are our cells energy source, think of it as a battery. This energy source is even important for spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and strokes. Lipofuscin accumulation is present in all of these conditions and creatine has a unique ability to lower lipofuscion!

How can creatine specifically help serious cognitive decline?

Alzheimer’s disease begins with mitochondrial damage that leads to a loss of cellular brain energy in addition to  building up excitotoxcity creating proteins. Creatine has been shown to protect against excitotoxicity

As is the case in all cognitive decline, mitochondrial dysfcuntion and the build up of lipofuscion can be combatted with creatine supplementation. Parkinson’s disease is categorized as a movement disorder that begins in the brain which is linked to a loss of the brain neurotransmitter dopamine. Not only does creatine preserve and protect the neurons that are responsible for the production of dopamine but research shows that creatine helps parkinson’s patients take smaller doses of medication. Many popular parksinon’s medications cause serious side effects so this is a positive.

Mice with Huntington’s disease, a genetic disorder that damages motor control, showed slower loss of brain tissue and delayed build up of of specific proteins.

Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS,  is a mitochondrial disease that leads to a loss of skeletal muscle. One study used 20 grams of creatine per day for seven days followed by 3 grams per day for six months to increase muscle strength in ALS patients. Creatine may also be beneficial on ALS conditions because it can increase the brain neurotransmitter glutamate.

Creatine also seems to help all neurodenegerative diseases because it increases blood flow to the brain which decreases with age and stress. Yet another benefit. Creatine may exert even more potential benefits when combined with a low carb, high fat diet.

Suggested Dosage: Hop on 1 scoop of The Physique Formula Creatine mixed in BCAAS or your favorite drink once per day.