Once the preserve of bodybuilders and sprinters, creatine is now being touted as everything from a brain booster to a healthy-ageing essential. But should we all be taking it? Not quite.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really substantial evidence of creatine being effective,\u201d says Bethan Crouse, a sports nutritionist at\u00a0Loughborough University. \u201cFrom a sport perspective, it\u2019s probably one of the more well-researched supplements in terms of actually having a performance impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Creatine helps your body produce energy more efficiently during short, sharp bursts of activity. It does this by supporting generation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body\u2019s \u201cenergy currency\u201d. The result? Improvements in peak power and a greater ability to sustain repeated high-intensity efforts, such as sprint intervals.<\/p>\n
double quotation markBeyond the gym, there are more established \u2013 and cheaper \u2013 ways to support both physical and cognitive health<\/p>\n
More recently, attention has shifted beyond the gym. Early research suggests creatine could have a role in cognitive function, with some studies pointing to protection from cognitive decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few bigger studies have brought it into focus,\u201d says Crouse. \u201cWith an ageing population, there\u2019s interest in anything that might support brain health.\u201d<\/p>\n
But while promising, the research into creatine\u2019s cognitive benefits is still developing, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think saying \u2018everybody should take creatine\u2019 is a jump too far at this stage,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re serious about your sport, or you\u2019ve already got \u00a0the basics of your nutrition nailed and you\u2019re looking to improve performance, then it\u2019s definitely worth considering. But for the general population, it\u2019s not a necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s partly because there are more established (and cheaper) ways to support both physical and cognitive health. Oily fish such as salmon and mackerel are consistently linked to better brain health, as are plant sources such as flaxseed and chia seeds. For most people, creatine is an\u00a0optional extra, not an essential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once the preserve of bodybuilders and sprinters, creatine is now being touted as everything from a brain booster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,85,46,543],"class_list":["post-472256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}