16.2% of people will suffer from depression at some point in their life. Unfortunately, current medications have little effect with slow recoveries times and side-effects. Our brains use 20% of our bodies energy, despite only accounting for 2% of our body mass.

We know that brain energy metabolism is impaired in depression due to post-mortem investigations. Energy or ATP is made in the mitochondria of our cells. Recent research has found that creatine, which helps to protect mitochondria from damage and supports the production of ATP, may be a potential new treatment for depression. Studies have investigated it’s use alongside current conventional treatment with impressive results, offering a quicker recovery from depressive symptoms. Interestingly, creatine supplementation had little effect on bipolar depression but showed a significant improvement in unipolar depression. Creatine is an organic acid made from amino acids and if often a key component of sports supplements due to its role in muscle recovery.