- Superpower Signals
- Posts
- Creatine & Mood, Cereal Sugar Creep, Face Ice Baths
Creatine & Mood, Cereal Sugar Creep, Face Ice Baths
Creatine might lift your mood, kids’ cereal is sneaking up in sugar, and TikTok wants you dunking your face in ice water. Plus: the yoghurt hack that makes chia pudding a gut-health superfood.
Tash Jamieson
August 15, 2025
🧠 Superpower Signals — 15 August, 2025
Happy Friday 👋 This week: Creatine’s surprising mood boost (and the nasal spray trial some of us can’t join 🥲), the quiet sugar creep in kids’ cereal, and the yoghurt hack that makes chia pudding even better.
One number:
🧠 Creatine might lift more than weights.
In a recent trial, people adding 5 g/day of creatine to therapy improved more than those on therapy alone. A big U.S. study found higher creatine intake linked to lower depression risk. Scientists think it works by boosting brain energy metabolism, an area often sluggish in depression [the science].
Our take: There’s promising research on a nasal spray that delivers creatine directly to neurons in the brain, aiming to treat Creatine Transporter Deficiency (a rare disorder with no cure) via the nose-to-brain pathway. They’re even running a clinical trial on it [the trial], but unfortunately it’s men-only. So I'm disqualified… such a bummer given how much I love creatine 😂🥲. We need more women in clinical trials!!
🥣 Kids’ cereal is getting worse.
A new JAMA Network Open study found that from 2010–2023, children’s cereals crept up in sugar, salt, and fat, and slid down in protein and fiber [the study]. One bowl can now hit 45% of a child’s daily added sugar limit. Brands hide it behind “whole grain” claims and vitamin sprinkles.
Our take: Big Cereal spends 27¢ of every $1 you spend on marketing… and just 4¢ on ingredients. After having my baby I decided to take Stanford’s free child nutrition course so I’d never get fooled by the box [the course]. Best lesson? Ignore the front. Read the label.
❄️ Ice baths for your face.
The “face dunk” trend - submerging your face in ice water for 10–30 seconds - is all over social media. Fans swear it de-puffs, tightens pores, and gives instant glow. One brand even released a Face Dunk Kit (which can cost up to $365!!) with a perfectly shaped bowl to make at-home cryo facials more Instagrammable [a “face dunk” video].
Our take: Whether it's your face or full body, science does show that dunking in cold water drops skin temperature fast, triggers blood vessel constriction, calms inflammation, and can contribute to that "snatched" look [literature review]. But you don’t need a kit - or Saratoga water - to experience the benefits. Just a bowl, ice, regular old tap, and 10–30 seconds of bravery.
“Our take” is a quick, off-the-cuff perspective on the health trends catching our eye this week. It might be a personal anecdote, a gut-check, or a philosophical lens. It’s not medical advice, just our two cents. Read with nuance.
Superpowered by you: Chia seed pudding with yoghurt
We all love a chia seed pudding. But according to Dr Karan Rajan (Superpower’s Medical Director) we should be using yoghurt, not water.
Why?
When you mix chia into yoghurt, the protein, fat, and probiotics slow how the seeds hydrate and release fibre.
That means fermentation happens deeper in the colon, producing a gentler, more balanced short-chain fatty acid profile (more butyrate, more propionate), boosting omega-3 absorption, and adding the perks of dairy’s live cultures and bioactive peptides.
Bottom line: both water or yoghurt-based chia pudding is good, but if you want to squeeze out every benefit, yoghurt wins.
Check out his reel:
See you next week.
Give Superpower Signals a read and hit reply to let me know what you think. Your feedback shapes where we go next.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or wellness routine.