Creatine Shows Promise for Long COVID Symptom Relief
Creatine, an amino acid crucial for brain and muscle health, is often taken as a supplement to enhance workout performance and boost muscle growth.
A new clinical trial published in the journal Food Science & Nutrition suggests that dietary creatine might also help those dealing with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome, commonly referred to as long COVID.
In the trial, 12 people with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome were randomized to take a placebo or 4 grams of creatine monohydrate per day for 6 months. Creatine intake caused a significant increase in creatine levels in leg muscles and across the brain at both 3-month and 6-month follow-ups.
Creatine supplementation also led to a significant reduction in general fatigue after 3 months of intake, and it significantly improved scores for several post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome–related symptoms—including loss of taste, breathing difficulties, body aches, headaches, and difficulties concentrating—at the 6-month follow up.
“Endorsing creatine might be of great importance in tackling this prevalent condition, but additional studies are warranted to confirm our findings in various post-COVID-19 cohorts,” said corresponding author Sergej M. Ostojic, MD, PhD, of the University of Novi Sad, in Serbia.
Reference: “Effects of six-month creatine supplementation on patient- and clinician-reported outcomes, and tissue creatine levels in patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome” by Jelena Slankamenac, Marijana Ranisavljev, Nikola Todorovic, Jelena Ostojic, Valdemar Stajer and Sergej M. Ostojic, 20 September 2023, Food Science & Nutrition.
DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.3597
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3 Comments
Creatine is naturally produced in the body. It is good for muscle growth. It is also found in red meat, seafood and some vegetables. Excessive quantity as supplement may cause side effects, eg kidney problems and excessive red meat may not be suitable for most individuals. Your health safe diet and light exercise is the best practice for your health.
its not used in muscle growth at all like previous commenter suggests. It is used for anerobic respiration of all cells and helps retain moisture in intracellular fluid…
What does this mean? Well everything in your body including your lungs is driven by muscle, so when those muscles are stressed and have less oxygen then they go into anaerobic respiration, thats where this shines enabling athletes to get a few more reps, lungs and heart tissue to be slightly more efficient, etc.
Very interested in this trial. I had covid in May 2021, the first time. Not a severe case, but from coughing so much and so hard, that I fractured 2 vertebrae. I lost my sense of taste/smell and still don’t have it back yet! I struggle on a daily basis to eat. I’ve lost a total of 75#. I would love to be in a trial of some kind to get my taste/smell back. It’s so hard to stay healthy when nothing tastes good. Meat is the hardest for me to eat-it tastes/smells like it is rotten. Please consider me for your trial.