One of the best supplements, if not the best, might be even better than we originally believed.
If you’re interested in learning that a fitness supplement you might already be taking can
actually improve not only your muscle gains but also your BRAIN gains, then stick around.
Cause in this video, we’re going to look into a new study diving into CREATINE supplementation
and how it can improve your memory. Hi, I’m PictureFit, I make health
and fitness content just like this one to help you with your goals and gains.
Creatine is undoubtedly one of the most popular fitness supplements and for good reason. It’s
relatively inexpensive and accessible, it’s one of the most extensively researched supplements ever,
and it can totally speed up your hair loss! Ehh… maybe the last one isn’t that good,
aaand it’s a bit more complicated than that. Got a video in the description
about creatine and hair loss if you wanna check that out a bit more.
Creatine is also linked to a whole array of health benefits,
including improving cholesterol, depression, bone health, rehabilitation, and cognitive function.
Of course, there’s the performance benefits we all know and love.
But, as extensive as it may be, this new study is the first of its kind to directly
examine the current literature specifically covering creatine’s influence on memory
performance in healthy individuals. After screening nearly 10,000 studies,
the researchers narrowed their analysis down to 10 eligible randomized control trials.
These trials covered a wide age range, between 11 to 85 years old, a wide dose range, between
2.2 to 20 grams of creatine per day, and a wide study duration, between one to 24 weeks in length.
The studies assessed memory scores through composite, recall-based,
short and long-term screening surveys. Overall, a lot of good bases covered here, so
let’s see what we get out of this in the results. First, a few small things.
The results of the research did not differ between different dose sizes,
trial duration, and the sex of the subjects. And if there were positive outcomes,
it was typically in subjects given creatine monohydrate in powder form but not in capsules.
Now, for the primary analysis, the researchers concluded that, when compared to a placebo,
creatine supplementation did indeed improve overall memory performance.
However, the researchers theorize that efficacy is dependent on brain creatine saturation.
Much like when creatine levels are low in muscle, creatine supplementation might
have a greater effect when creatine levels are already low in the brain.
And, creatine levels in the brain tends to be lower as you get older.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at this graph in the study to get a clearer understanding.
Each horizontal line represents a memory assessment outcome,
here specifically outcomes in older adults. The horizontal lines along with the bottom
diamond representing the overall average, plots primarily to the right side of the
center vertical line, indicating the outcomes generally favor creatine supplementation.
In this second group, however, the horizontal lines as well as the average
now essentially run right down the middle. As you might have guessed, these are outcomes
on young adults and children and the graph is quite clear in showing that creatine supplements
do not seem to influence their memory performance. Thus, the time we see a significant memory benefit
is indeed with older adults, specifically between ages 66 to 76. It’s so significant in fact,
that it skewed the overall outcome to make it appear to be effective for all ages.
Unfortunately, younger folks didn’t get much here. *CONCLUSION*
I’m sure you young adults are probably a bit bummed out about the findings, and truthfully,
the results do seem pretty clear. However, in the off chance it does help,
especially if the theory of lower brain creatine levels playing a role is true, then that’s just
one extra bonus to the already long list of scientifically supported benefits we know about
the, in my opinion, best supplement out there. For you older folks, first, thanks for getting
your health information from a guy that doodles and talks funny, and second,
it seems like yet another check off the list of reasons to take creatine. Of course, first check
with your doc to make sure nothing’s amiss. For everyone, we’ll sit back and see what
future research holds for us. With any luck, studies will look more extensively
into the brain creatine levels theory to see if low creatine levels in younger populations
might produce more memorable results. I hope this video enlightens you either way.
And again, if you’re worried that your head might end up looking like my head, check out the hair
loss creatine video in the description. Other than that, if you enjoyed video,
please give it a memorable thumbs up and share it with your creatine loving friends.
Subscribe for more. As always, thank you for
watching and don’t’ forget to get your PROTEIN, which can also make creatine.