Clean Energy

Why These Combine

Four compounds, four different kinds of evidence, and no stimulant. Creatine is the one with trials in healthy people: a 2018 systematic review of six randomised trials (281 participants) found short-term memory and reasoning may improve, with vegetarians responding more than meat-eaters and young adults' task performance largely unchanged (Avgerinos 2018); a 2023 meta-analysis of eight trials put the memory effect at a standardised mean difference of 0.29 overall but 0.88 in adults aged 66–76 and 0.03 in those aged 11–31 (Prokopidis 2023 — its statistics were later disputed in a published letter, so treat the size as uncertain). The 5 g here is the standard daily dose, and the International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand records no safety signal at up to 30 g a day for five years in healthy people (Kreider 2017). CoQ10 rests on one small trial: 17 healthy volunteers who took 300 mg a day for eight days reported less subjective fatigue and kept more sprint speed after two hours of cycling than on placebo, while 100 mg did not (Mizuno 2008) — the 200 mg here sits below the dose that worked. Rhodiola's SHR-5 extract reduced burnout scores and improved attention indices at 576 mg a day over 28 days in 60 adults with stress-related fatigue (Olsson 2009); the 300 mg here is roughly half that. Vitamin D3 is conditional. In 120 adults (mean age 29) who had both fatigue and a 25(OH)D level below 20 µg/L, a single 100,000 IU dose reduced fatigue scores more than placebo at four weeks, with 72% versus 50% reporting improvement (Nowak 2016); in people who are not deficient there is no comparable evidence, and 5,000 IU a day is above the 4,000 IU adult upper intake level, so test first and let the result set the dose. Compared with the Pre-Workout Cognitive stack (same creatine and rhodiola, plus alpha-GPC timed before training) this is an all-day protocol; compared with the Longevity Protocol it keeps CoQ10 but drops NMN and PQQ. Verdict: creatine earns its place for most people, especially vegetarians and older adults; CoQ10 and rhodiola are worth a measured trial of a few weeks each; vitamin D belongs here only after a blood test.

• Training days: the Pre-Workout Cognitive stack keeps the creatine and rhodiola and adds alpha-GPC→
• Cellular energy for the long run: the Longevity Protocol keeps CoQ10 and adds NMN and PQQ→
• Why creatine's brain effect depends on who you are — Creatine for Brain Cognition→

References

1. 1.Avgerinos 2018, Exp Gerontol — Systematic review of 6 randomised controlled trials (281 healthy individuals): oral creatine may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning; results for other domains conflicting; performance unchanged in young individuals; vegetarians responded better than meat-eaters on memory tasks. (systematic review)
2. 2.Prokopidis 2023, Nutr Rev — Meta-analysis of 8 RCTs in healthy individuals: creatine improved memory measures (SMD 0.29, 95% CI 0.04–0.53); the effect was significant in adults aged 66–76 (SMD 0.88) and absent in those aged 11–31 (SMD 0.03); dose (≈2.2–20 g/day) and duration (5 days to 24 weeks) did not change the result. (a 2023 letter to the editor disputed the statistics (double counting); read the effect size as uncertain)
3. 3.Kreider 2017, J Int Soc Sports Nutr — International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: short- and long-term creatine supplementation (up to 30 g/day for 5 years) is safe and well tolerated in healthy individuals and in a range of patient populations from infants to the elderly. (position stand / evidence review)
4. 4.Mizuno 2008, Nutrition — 17 healthy volunteers, double-blind placebo-controlled three-way crossover: coenzyme Q10 300 mg/day for 8 days improved maximum sprint velocity late in a 2-hour cycling task and reduced subjective fatigue versus placebo; 100 mg/day did not. (very small trial; 300 mg, above the 200 mg used here)
5. 5.Olsson 2009, Planta Med — 60 adults aged 20–55 with stress-related fatigue syndrome, randomised double-blind: SHR-5 Rhodiola extract 576 mg/day for 28 days improved Pines' burnout scale and CCPT II attention indices versus placebo; no serious side effects attributed to the extract.
6. 6.Nowak 2016, Medicine (Baltimore) — 120 otherwise healthy adults (mean age 29, 53% women) with fatigue and serum 25(OH)D below 20 µg/L, double-blind: a single oral 100,000 IU dose of vitamin D3 reduced Fatigue Assessment Scale scores more than placebo at 4 weeks (−3.3 vs −0.8, p=0.01); 72% vs 50% reported improvement. (deficient participants only; no evidence for fatigue benefit in people with normal levels)