Very Interesting…
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Muscle power aid also boosts brain power
00:01 13 August 03
NewScientist.com news service
A dietary supplement used by many athletes to boost muscle power can also increase brain power, at least in vegetarians. New research shows that non-meat eaters taking the supplement, called creatine, perform better in various memory tests than those taking a placebo.
However, it is not yet clear if the benefits would apply to meat-eaters, as they already gain creatine from their diet. It is also uncertain whether the effects persist for as long as people continue taking the supplement, or whether it diminishes after a few months.
Creatine helps cells replenish their stocks of a chemical called ATP, which is the immediate source of energy for cellular processes such as the contraction of muscle fibres. Athletes often take creatine for sports such as sprinting that require intense bursts of energy.
Thinking is also energy intensive. “You’re fuel-limited every time you’re thinking,” says Catherine Rae, a biochemist at the University of Sydney, Australia, and leader of the research team.
Two kilograms of meat
The human body can make creatine, but much of it comes from eating meat and fish. Rae thus suspected any effects would be greater in non-meat eaters, and began her research with this group. Both vegetarians and older people have been shown to have lower creatine levels in their muscles.
Rae and her colleagues asked 45 vegetarians in their twenties to take either five grams of creatine, equivalent to about two kilograms of meat, or a placebo daily for six weeks.
The volunteers’ reasoning ability and short-term memory was tested before and after the six-week period. In one test, for example, Rae’s team found that those who took creatine could remember an average of 8.5 numbers compared with 7.0 for those on the placebo.
Glass of water
“The size of the effect is substantial,” says Andrew Scholey of the University of Northumbria, UK. But he is not surprised that the supplement had some effect. “Lots of interventions shown to improve exercise also seem to improve mental function, even something as simple as a glass of water when someone is thirsty,” he told New Scientist.
Rae says the team intends examine the effect of creatine on meat-eaters in future. Older people might also be a fruitful study group, because both creatine levels and memory decline with age.
Taking creatine is not known to be dangerous for healthy people, but it can cause water retention, as well as socially undesirable effects such as bad breath and flatulence. Rae adds that people with diabetes may wish to avoid the supplement, as it could affect the metabolism of glucose.
Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B (vol 270, p 1529)
Emily Singer
