Researcher makes case for creatine as nootropic

The majority of creatine supplementation research has focused largely on skeletal muscle, but Scott Forbes, PhD, pointed out that a major white space remains. 

“It's mostly known as a bodybuilding sport nutrition supplement, but as I presented and as you'll see in the literature, there's a lot of therapeutic or clinical benefits of creatine. And one area that has improved brain health. I think that's really important for people to consider, is some of the cognitive benefits of creatine supplementation,”​ explained Forbes, an Associate Professor at Brandon University and ISSN presenter. 

Forbes said that promoting creatine​ as a nootropic is atypical, he could see the ingredient marketed to those on the frontlines. “I think police officers and firefighters that are stressed who might be sleep deprived from staying up all night, creatine could be a benefit in those populations.”​

With so many different types of creatine out there, which one should consumers consider?

“Creatine monohydrate is the most studied form of creatine. And so, we know that it's very effective, we know that it works, we also know that it's extremely safe as well and it's actually the cheapest form of creatine. So I think for those three particular reasons, we typically recommend creatine monohydrate. There was a recent systematic review looking at alternative forms of creatine and no other alternative form of creatine was shown to be superior to creatine monohydrate,”​ said Forbes.