By: Jose Antonio PhD
Date Published: October 2011
Do your kids play football? Compete in MMA (mixed martial arts) or boxing? Then you definitely need to protect those vulnerable little brains of theirs. Did you know that besides helping you gain muscle mass and improve exercise performance, regular creatine supplementation can also protect your head from TBI or traumatic brain injury? Is Siberia cold? Is the Pope Catholic?
Here’s the proof. Scientists conducted a study looking at the neuroprotective effects of creatine in 39 children and adolescents, aged
between 1 and 18 years of age, with TBI. Did you notice the age range? One year to 18 years of age! The creatine (Cr) was administered for 6 months, at a dose of 0.4 g/kg in an oral suspension form every day. Just to compare, that dose is equal to 36.4 grams daily for a 200 pound individual. That’s a whopping dose mi amigo.
What did they find? Glad you asked. The administration of Cr to children and adolescents with TBI improved results in several parameters, including duration of post traumatic amnesia (PTA), duration of intubation, and intensive care unit stay. Significant improvement was recorded in the categories of headache, dizziness and fatigue, aspects in all patients. And the punch line? They found no side effects from the Cr administration.1
So let’s get this straight. You can give a boatload of creatine to kids with TBI and it helps with a whole host of issues and it’s safe. Amen brotha.
Jose Antonio, PhD is an author, speaker, radio show host, sports nutrition scientist, and avid outrigger paddler. www.theissn.org
Reference:
1. Sakellaris G, Nasis G, Kotsiou M, Tamiolaki M, Charissis G, Evangeliou A. Prevention of traumatic headache, dizziness and fatigue with creatine administration. A pilot study. Acta Paediatr. Jan 2008;97(1):31-34.
