Vegetarians
who take the dietary supplement creatine may enjoy improved brain function,
according to a new study. The research will be presented today at the American
Physiological Society's (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2019 in
Orlando, Fla.
Creatine
is a chemical stored in the muscles and brain that helps build lean muscle. In
addition to being produced by the human body, creatine is also naturally
occurring in red meats and seafood--and in smaller amounts, dairy products.
People who do not eat animal products generally have lower creatine levels in
the brain than those who consume meat.
Researchers
from Stetson University in Florida studied vegetarian volunteers as well as
those who ate either up to 10 or 10 or more servings of beef, chicken, pork or
fish each week. The volunteers were split into two groups selected randomly.
One group took a daily creatine supplement for four weeks, and the other group
did not. Before and after the trial, all participants took the ImPACT test, a
widely used standardized measure of neurocognitive function. The vegetarian
supplement group scored higher on the ImPACT test than the group that ate 10 or
more servings of meat, poultry or seafood per week. "Meat eaters did not
show any significant improvement of cognition following supplementation because
[their] creatine levels were already elevated [from their diet]," explained
Kaitlyn Smith, first author of the study.
"This
is a pilot study for future research in the field of cognition, and
specifically in vegetarians, as [there is] a shift to meat- and dairy-free
alternatives in society," Smith added.
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