The company launched MuscleBlaze Creatine Chews, a chewable creatine tablet, in the Indian market late last month. <\/p>\n
Each tablet, which comes in an individual pack, contains one gram of creatine. In line with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India\u2019s (FSSAI) guidelines, the company recommends a daily dosage of three chews, which amounts to three grams of creatine monohydrate per day. <\/p>\n
Speaking to NutraIngredients, Kaustuv Paliwal, senior vice president, said the company was hoping to capture a wider group of users beyond gym-goers through a more user-friendly format and by highlighting creatine\u2019s cognitive health evidence – an area which the Indian consumers are starting to learn about. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are recognizing the importance of or are feeling the importance and effects of creatine on lifestyle and cognitive health. The chatter has started in India,\u201d said Kaustuv. \u201cThese consumers may not be very comfortable with taking creatine in the powder format as compared to gym-goers, where powder creatine is the norm.\u201d <\/p>\n
Creatine has surpassed whey protein as the largest SKU in sales volume for MuscleBlaze<\/a> in the past two years. <\/p>\n \u201cAt that time, sales of creatine were three times more than the year before. In the last two to three months, demand for creatine has become more stable, versus how it was one year ago,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Many consumers were exposed to creatine through social media and content creators such as neuroscientist-podcaster Andrew Huberman. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was largely in the last 1.5 years, especially after Andrew Huberman\u2019s podcast on creatine, when he talked at length about creatine benefits for both muscular health and cognitive health, that\u2019s when the chatter about creatine\u2019s cognitive benefits first started,\u201c said Kaustuv. \u201cOne thing Huberman should be given credit for is simplifying technical knowledge for the general public, while sticking to facts and not bringing in personal bias…This was how sales of creatine went through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n Creatine\u2019s cognitive evidence<\/p>\n Creatine is commonly consumed to support strength training<\/a>, but there is increasing evidence pointing to its cognitive health benefits, including instances such as sleep deprivation at a dosage of 0.2g\/kg <\/a>to 0.35 g\/kg<\/a>. <\/p>\n While research is still in its early stages, emerging evidence suggests that doses of 10 to 20 g per day may be needed to increase brain creatine content.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh doses of creatine (20 g per day or more) might be needed to cross the blood\u2013brain barrier and elicit brain-related benefits in individuals facing metabolic stress, increased demands or inadequate cerebral synthesis of creatine\u2014but not in all people,\u201d Sergej Ostojic, a creatine researcher and professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University, told NI previously. <\/a><\/p>\n Scientific consensus and industry standards widely consider a daily maintenance dose of 3 to 5 g to be safe and effective. <\/p>\n Making front-of-labelling claims <\/p>\n At the moment, MuscleBlaze has made front-of-the-pack claims such as increasing strength and powder, enhancing performance and supporting lean muscle mass for its latest creatine chew product. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, work is in progress to make appropriate and clinically backed cognitive health claims for this product. <\/p>\n In India, health supplements are not required to undergo pre-market approval; however, post-market surveillance is conducted to ensure that products fit regulatory requirements. <\/p>\n