EFSA health panel dismisses claims linking creatine and improved cognitive function

Health claims linking creatine and cognitive function improvement are not scientifically supported, according to the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens.

The panel notes that continuous and lower doses of creatine do not exhibit an acute effect on working memory. The compound comes from three amino acids and is naturally present in muscles and the brain.

The paper says creatine is a “non-essential nitrogen-containing organic compound naturally found in foods, particularly meat and fish, which can also be synthesized in the human body from the amino acids glycine, L-arginine and L-methionine.” Approximately 95% of the creatine pool in the body is located in skeletal muscle.

According to EFSA’s scientific opinion, creatine is a sufficiently characterized food or constituent that has the potential to improve cognitive function in healthy adults over the age of 18, but there is no proof that eating creatine causes an improvement in cognitive function.

Health claims

EFSA’s decision was published in reaction to a health claim filed by Alzchem Trostberg, which stated: “Creatine supplementation was demonstrated to positively impact specific cognitive domains such as memory, attention, inhibitory control and certain executive functions.”

“Creatine is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and, therefore, it is speculated that systemic creatine supplementation can increase brain creatine concentration, and creatine might exert the claimed effect by increasing the energy supply of neurons by means of different molecular mechanisms.”

The chemical company attests that taking 3 g of creatine daily can aid cognitive function.

Weak scientific backing

The panel analyzed ten human intervention studies on healthy individuals under normal conditions or stress-induced conditions that do not show a consistent effect of creatine supplementation on cognitive function. 

Approximately 95% of the creatine pool in the body is located in skeletal muscle.One study found that creatine (20 g/day for seven days) affected one measure of response inhibition. This finding stands out from the rest of the evidence. 

Various aspects of memory, verbal fluency, attention, alertness, processing speed, psychomotor speed, executive function, general cognitive ability/flexibility and fluid intelligence were among the cognitive domains where creatine supplementation had no effect. 

“The applicant also suggested that creatine may induce changes in haemoglobin oxygenation in the brain, but the evidence available at present is weak and indirect,” concludes EFSA.

Last year, FoodChain ID experts told Nutrition Insight that having enough scientific data to substantiate a European health claim is one of the main challenges to obtaining such a claim in the region. 

In industry developments, Balchem told us that its Creatine MagnaPower helps boost sports performance by combining the benefits of creatine and magnesium.