Benefits of creatine monohydrate

Dosage: 3-5gm daily or loading cycle

Post-workout
• Dietary creatine monohydrate supplementation augments neural creatine, increases corticomotor excitability, and prevents the decline in attention that occurs during severe oxygen deficit.
• Creatine supplementation had a significant positive effect on working memory
Benefits of creatine monohydrate:
• Helps muscles cells produce energy
• Helps with muscle strength and size
• Improves high-intensity exercise performance
• Cognitive benefits- neurological benefits
• Reduce fatigue and tiredness
• Currently potential of creatine is explored in improving brain function, and reducing blood sugar + improving insulin sensitivity

In a 2020 review, creatine supplements improved brain function in vegetarians.
Oral creatine administration may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning of healthy individuals but its effect on other cognitive domains remains unclear. Findings suggest potential benefit for aging and stressed individuals.
Avgerinos KI, Spyrou N, Bougioukas KI, Kapogiannis D. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Exp Gerontol. 2018 Jul 15;108:166-173. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2018.04.013. Epub 2018 Apr 25. PMID: 29704637; PMCID: PMC6093191.

There is a potential for creatine supplementation to improve cognitive processing, especially in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, which could be induced by acute stressors (e.g., exercise, sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (e.g., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mild traumatic brain injury, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, depression).

Roschel H, Gualano B, Ostojic SM, Rawson ES. Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health. Nutrients. 2021 Feb 10;13(2):586. doi: 10.3390/nu13020586. PMID: 33578876; PMCID: PMC7916590.