Creatine and Brain Power. Iron and Zinc. Is Full Range of Motion The King Of Gains?
Weekly Memo #3
Creatine And Brain Power
Creatine is probably the most popular supplement among athletes and bodybuilders.
This is due to the fact that it is one of the most researched supplements:
it is safe
has no major side effects
it works
These are three characteristics that every supplement should have, but often does not.
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A quick recap of biochemistry:
At a cellular level, your muscles use a molecule called ATP to generate energy. When ATP is used, it is converted to ADP and must be regenerated back into ATP to be useful again.
This is where creatine comes in.
Stored in the muscles as creatine phosphate, it can donate its phosphate group to ADP, effectively converting it back into ATP. This process takes place mainly during short, high-intensity exercise. Having more creatine in your muscles improves this process, allowing you to perform better during such activities.
As a result, you will be able to train better and improve your gains.
Your brain also relies on ATP, and hence creatine, to function.
And it's energy hungry. The brain uses about 20% of the body's energy. If you don't get enough creatine in your diet, it's produced by the liver. Both the brain and the muscles have the ability to increase their creatine stores.
This systematic review looked at the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function. The most popular form of creatine is monohydrate, with daily doses ranging between 5 and 20 grams.
It seems that in most cases creatine supplementation leads to better short-term memory and reasoning, although the results were mixed between the studies.
Measuring cognitive performance is not as easy as measuring strength or muscle gain, so it is difficult to say what improvement to expect. The most beneficial effect was seen in people who were stressed, sleep-deprived or otherwise cognitively impaired. Supplementation may also be useful when dietary intake is low.
Creatine can be easily obtained from food.
The absolute king of creatine sources is herring, but other animal-based foods such as beef, pork or salmon are also very good sources.
Iron and Zinc Intake Linked To Reduced Obesity
This study found that higher iron and zinc intakes in children statistically reduced the risk of obesity.
The study compared obesity markers (BMI) with estimated mineral intakes based on cyclical questionnaires administered to children. This is an epidemiological study, so the results have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But let's assume that the findings are valid.
The results showed that Zn and Fe intakes were strong predictors of obesity risk.
Perhaps a better way of looking at this result is that eating foods rich in iron and zinc may result in a lower calorie intake or a better macronutrient composition, thereby reducing the risk of obesity. Importantly, this was not due to the overall higher intake, as the estimated intakes were normalised for calories consumed. It underlines the importance of eating nutrient-dense foods with highly bioavailable vitamins and minerals.
Yet, in the conclusions, the researchers recommend that children should eat:
A balanced diet with fiber-rich foods including whole grains, lentils, nuts, fruits and vegetables benefits to improve and prevent obesity. Combining our findings, children aged 2–5 years old are recommended to get plenty of iron-containing fruits and vegetables…
Obviously, their paper follows the dietary guidelines set by the US government.
However, if the aim is to give children more Zn and Fe, then plant foods may not be the best source.
Let's look at iron. Spinach is generally considered to be a good source of iron. Technically, it can provide about 1.5 - 3.0 mg of iron per 100 g. However, plants contain non-heme iron, the bioavailability of which is really poor, usually no more than 5%, meaning that you absorb very little.
Animal foods are rich in heme iron, which is 10 times more bioavailable.
The famous spinach is a rather poor source of iron. The absolute killer sources are liver and oysters. The former contains in the range of 5 - 15 mg per 100 g (depending on the animal), while the latter is around 4 - 9 mg per 100 g.
Accounting for the bioavailability, these animal-based sources can provide 50 - 100 times more iron than spinach.
But if you still want to get your daily dose of iron from plants - cook them.
Cooking has been shown to significantly increase the bioavailability of iron in vegetables (not sure about other micronutrients - need to do some digging). In addition to the differences in bioavailability of heme and non-heme iron, plants also contain many compounds that reduce absorption of nutrients in the gut. In the case of spinach, it is the oxalic acid that binds to the iron and blocks its absorption.
Again, cooking helps to mitigate this effect to some extent.
Long-Length Partials > Full ROM For Hypertrophy?
According to Partial Vs Full Range of Motion Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, doing partial reps in the range of muscle extension may be better for muscle growth than the full range of motion.
As Jeff Nippard does an excellent job of explaining all the details, I will just leave you with his video:
This is my Weekly Memo with few points on physical and mental performance. Subscribe for free to receive weekly posts and support my work.