Annika AngeloHappy Friday, folks 🙂 So happy you’re here! A bunch of y’all are new, so here’s a big welcome to you 💕 Before we get into it, though . . .
Exciting News for My ADHD Community!
I’m creating a low-cost monthly ADHD food support group where you can ask all your burning questions about ADHD and nutrition, and get access to exclusive resources you won’t find anywhere else. Whether you’re looking for practical meal ideas, ways to boost focus, or just want a supportive space to talk about managing ADHD through food, this group is designed to make your life easier and healthier.
By joining, you’ll get:
- Direct access to me for ADHD nutrition advice, questions, etc.
- Exclusive resources like ADHD-friendly meal planners, guides, and tips/information that I don’t share publicly.
- A community of like-minded individuals supporting each other through the challenges and positives of ADHD.
Stay tuned for more details on how to join – I can’t wait to help you on your ADHD nutrition journey, for the cost of a coffee a month!
ADHD and Creatine – Study Breakdown
It’s pretty well known that creatine improves ATP regeneration – which is why a lot of people who work out regularly and want to build muscle take it regularly. But did you know it’s associated with a lot of other things too? For instance:
Improves reasoning skills,
and helps with mental fatigue/brain fog due to reduced oxygen transport.
But what about ADHD? Obviously, a lot of people with ADHD experience memory deficits and brain fog, so that could help in that way. But what about executive functioning? Well, unfortunately there are no studies to date that look specifically at ADHD and creatine supplementation (sorry, go find a student who needs a research study idea and give this to them).
However, we do have evidence that people with cerebral creatine deficiency disorders often experience symptoms of ADHD and autism, and we have evidence that people with ADHD tend to have dysregulated creatine ratios in their brain. So, obviously there is a connection, right? Anyway, even though we don’t have any studies that specifically look at supplementation, I’d still like to go over a study I think you’d appreciate!
This study was a pre-test post-test study without a placebo. Usually we really want placebo, but since they were testing metabolic changes, it wasn’t specifically necessary in this case.
| Methods | Measures | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 21 children in Indonesia with ADHD who haven’t had medication prior | N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratio in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) | N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine ratio increased by 18.8% in the right prefrontal cortex (r-PFC) and 10% in the left prefrontal cortex (l-PFC) |
| 12 weeks of 20mg methylphenidate long-acting (ex. Ritalin LA; Concerta ER) | Glutamate/creatine ratio in the PFC | The glutamate/creatine ratio decreased 15% in the r-PFC and 14.1% in the l-PFC |
| Choline/creatine ratio in the PFC | The choline/creatine ratio decreased 12.4% in the r-PFC and 16% in the l-PFC | |
| Myoinositol/creatine ratio in the PFC | The myoinositol/creatine ratio decreased 7.7% in the r-PFC and 14.7% in the l-PFC |
All of these changes are improvements in the creatine ratios to more favorable conditions regarding neuroplasticity, neuron growth, and regeneration. . . which is super important in ADHD! Unfortunately, they didn’t report on ADHD symptom changes, but it’s likely that the medication improved symptoms based on other studies (and the fact that they’re medications meant to improve ADHD symptoms).
Medication continues to be one of the most effective ways to improve ADHD symptoms. It gets to the root of the problem and decreases the need for additional supplementation – case in point, medication can improve the ratios of creatine in the brains of people with ADHD. That being said, if you aren’t at a point of being able to take medication for ADHD for any reason (including shortages!), supplementing with 3-5g of creatine a day has a logical (but not evidence-supported yet) potential to improve symptoms.
Please be sure to discuss with the appropriate professionals regarding supplementation as it may interact with different conditions and medications. The best way to know if it works for you is to simply try it, record your symptoms, go off it for a while, and see if there was any true difference (bonus if you can get someone to help you make placebo trials).
Reference
Effect of 12-Week Administration of 20-mg Long-Acting Methylphenidate on Glu/Cr, NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, and mI/Cr Ratios in the Prefrontal Cortices of School-Age Children in Indonesia: A Study Using 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Clinical Neuropharmacology 35(2):p 81-85, March/April 2012. | DOI: 10.1097/WNF.0b013e3182452572
Authors: Wiguna, Tjhin MD, MIntMH, PhD; Guerrero, Anthony, MD; Wibisono, Sasanto MD; Sastroasmoro, Sudigdo MD.
Study #2: Depression and Creatine
If you have depression and have been medicated for it, the odds are that you’ve had to try more than one medication before you found one that helped some. But, what if I told you that a lack of creatine was possibly one reason it wasn’t as effective as it should have been?
This is one of my favorite meta-analyses, and if you have the time to read through it, I would highly recommend. Let me break down just a few of the studies in the meta-analysis that I think you’d enjoy.
| Study 1 | Study 2 | Study 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Female children who failed symptom improvement with fluoxetine | Adult women who were given escitalopram with or without 5g creatine | People who couldn’t be on anti-depressants were given 5g creatine x8 weeks |
| 4g creatine/day decreased their symptoms by over 50%. | Those who also had creatine experienced nearly 20% less symptom severity after 8 weeks | By week 2, both their depressive and anxiety scores had decreased statistically significantly |
So yeah, there’s a LOT of promise with respect to depression and creatine supplementation. If you want to improve your odds of remission, consider asking your psychiatrist and physician if creatine supplementation is a go for you! And if you’re wary about going on a depression medication, research suggests that supplementation with 5g/day could improve your symptoms.
Depression symptoms have also been noted to be exaggerated in people who eat mainly vegan or vegetarian diets, and a theory is that they have lower creatine levels due to simply not eating the foods that are good sources of creatine (i.e. fish and meat). If you’re susceptible to depression, I personally would not recommend going vegan or vegetarian if possible, simply for that reason alone. However, if you do, discussing creatine supplementation with your physician could be an important protective factor.
Food reminder:
Eating our nutrients consistently is shown time and time again to be superior to supplementation in the majority of cases. After all, they contain additional nutrients that work synergistically together in our body to help us in the best way. It’s not as exciting as taking a supplement, but it CAN help. That all being said, here is a really good resource for food sources of creatine! Be sure to eat your meat, fish, and dairy 🙂
Reference
Kious, B., Kondo, D., and Renshaw, P. (2019). Creatine for the treatment of depression. Biomolecules, 9(9), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom9090406
Thanks for reading!
If you have any thoughts, questions, or comments, be sure to shoot me a DM on Instagram @Nutrimindcoach or simply comment on this page. I LOVE hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tune into this week’s episode of my podcast with dietitian Abbey Roberts from @fork.diet.culture! It’s all about the interactions of body image, mental health, and food politics. Speaking of – for my U.S. based friends, please be sure to vote! If you need any resources on your state’s election and how or where to vote, here’s a great resource: https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/
Register here – next group begins December 2nd, 2024!