The benefits of creatine: everything you need to know!
Creatine supplementation has been around for decades and it seems to be making a comeback. I’m not a big supplement pusher, but I’ve personally been really curious about creatine since it seems to be such a hot topic in the health/wellness world. When a member asked a question about creatine in the most recent Q&A […]
Creatine supplementation has been around for decades and it seems to be making a comeback.
I’m not a big supplement pusher, but I’ve personally been really curious about creatine since it seems to be such a hot topic in the health/wellness world. When a member asked a question about creatine in the most recent Q&A , it inspired me to delve deeper so we can all get educated about it.
Creatine started as a supplement for male athletes to get bigger faster, but now there is a ton of research showing that it’s very beneficial for women when it comes to exercise performance, but also brain health and bone health.
I hope this gives you all of the info you need to understand how creatine works and decide if creatine supplementation could benefit you.
What is creatine?
Creatine is a compound naturally produced in our body that helps produce energy in the form of ATP. You can also get it through the diet in animal proteins, primarily beef and fatty fish.
It’s taken as a supplement primarily to enhance performance and boost muscle strength and recovery, but new research is showing that could have many other benefits for health and longevity.
Since it’s been around for so long, it has decades of research behind it and is extremely safe to take as a supplement.
How does creatine boost athletic performance?
Since creatine increases our ability to produce and maintain ATP during exercise, it gives your muscles a constant flow of energy so that they can continue to turn over faster and work harder. As a result, you’ll be able to do more reps and get stronger more efficiently. It shows the most benefit when paired with strength training/heavy lifting and high intensity interval training.
It’s also beneficial for endurance athletes because it helps a lot with muscle recovery through its anti-inflammatory and anti-catabolic effects. When you run long distances, it puts your body in a catabolic (breakdown) state, which increases inflammation and cytokines. Creatine supplements have shown to attenuate that rise, allowing you to recover faster.
On top of all of that, it recruits type 2 muscle fibers, which are the ones we lose most as we age. So it can help with countering the natural loss of explosive power you get with aging.
It’s important to note that these benefits are only seen when supplemented consistently in combination with exercise. The body has to be under stress for creatine to have an effect.
It’s also worth noting that creatine works best for the muscle benefits when paired with a high-protein diet. Creatine + protein + exercise is the magic recipe!
Creatine and bone health
Strength training and plyometrics (jumping)is the most beneficial thing you can do for bones because when muscle pulls on bone, it stimulates growth. The more muscle you have, the better!
There are two ways creatine can boost bone health. It increases the cells that build bone and reduces that activity of the cells that break down bone.
Without resistance training (regular stress on the bone), creatine won’t have any effect on bone health.
It’s important to note that it does not increase bone mineral density, but it seems to slow down the loss of bone mineral density, specifically around the hip.
Again, taking creatine without doing strength training won’t do anything.The mechanical loading you get from lifting weights causes the bone to turnover and that’s when creatine gets to work.
Creatine and the brain
The effect of creatine on the brain is a more emerging area of research.
It seems that the more stressed out your brain is, the more creatine can help. So if you have sleep deprivation, mental fatigue, or an age-related cognitive decline, then that’s where studies are showing a benefit.
Creatine works in the brain by regenerating ATP, which is the primary source of energy in the brain. It basically feeds the brain neurons with the energy that seems to be lacking in a stressed brain, acting like an anti-inflammatory and reducing the brain’s metabolic stress. This can improve or maintain cognitive performance, memory, and may even be neuro-protective.
Our brains produce creatine, but are very resistant to creatine entering the brain because of the blood brain barrier. So to see an effect in the brain, you need to take creatine consistently for a long period of time.
Again, this area of research is still emerging!
Why do we supplement with creatine?
Our liver and brain naturally produce 1-2g of creatine. If you eat a diet high in animal protein, you MIGHT be getting 1-2g through your diet. This creatine gets mostly used by our muscles.
The theory is that if we take in more creatine consistently over time, there will be enough circulating in our body to supply our muscles with more energy and also make it to the bones and brain.
Who should supplement with creatine?
If you are doing a lot of strength training, heavy lifting, HIIT, or long distance endurance training, then supplementing with creatine can boost your performance, training adaptations, and recovery.
Women specifically (but also men) can benefit from creatine supplementation in combination with strength training to slow down the loss of bone mineral density that comes with aging.
If you are regularly sleep deprived, mentally stressed, or are noticing age-related cognitive decline, then consistent creatine supplementation may help, though this area of research is still emerging.
Creatine supplements and dosage
When supplementing with creatine, look for pure creatine monohydrate – this is the most effective and research backed form. Specific brands that I recommend are Thorne creatine and Momentous creatine (use code NatalieBickford at checkout).
Taking 3-5g/day is the most common recommendation. It takes 3-4 weeks for that creatine to saturate your muscles. If you continue to take it consistently, then that extra creatine may be able to be used by your bones and/or brain.
Taking a higher dose of 8-10g/day may help to slow the loss of bone mineral density, especially in combination with resistance training.
Creatine myths, busted!
1. Creatine is bad for your kidneys.
When creatine enters your muscle, it gets metabolized into creatinine, which is filtered by the kidneys and excreted in urine. Elevated creatinine levels on a blood test is a marker for poor kidney function. However, if you’re supplementing with creatine, it can look like kidney dysfunction when the real reason your creatinine is high is simply because you are taking creatine. So this is why it’s important to let your doctor know so that you don’t get a false positive.
If you have a pre-existing kidney disease, talk to a doctor before taking creatine — not because creatine causes damage, but because it could alter test results or stress already impaired systems.
In healthy individuals, creatine is one of the most well-researched and safe supplements.
2. Creatine causes water retention and bloating.
The confusion with this myth is fueled by the misunderstanding of intracellular and extracellular water retention.
Creatine draws water into muscle cells (intracellular), which improves muscle function. Bloating, on the other hand, happens from water retention under the skin or in the belly (extracellular).
Also, the recommendation for men/body builders was to load creatine in high doses (20+g/day), which often led to rapid weight gain. However, the weight gain came from water in the muscles, not bloating. But people saw this fast weight gain and assumed it was “water retention” or bloating. Also, by taking a lower dose of creatine, this rapid water increase is avoided.
3. Creatine is only for men and body builders.
I hope this myth has been busted by now! Creatine is beneficial for all genders in supporting strength, endurance, and even cognitive function and bone health, especially in women and older adults.
4. Creatine causes male pattern baldness.
This came from a single 2009 study that suggested creatine increased DHT (a hormone linked to hair loss). It was a poorly conducted study and no other studies have shown similar results.
Most important takeaways
- Creatine works by producing more energy primarily for your muscles, but also your bones and brain.
- Exercise is the main driver of muscle and bone benefits, but adding creatine can boost the effect.
- Creatine only works if your body or tissues are under stress (exercise and/or a stressed out brain).
- Creatine is most effective when taken in small doses consistently over time.
- A dose of 3-5g per day is the most common recommendation. Taking up to 10g/day may be more effective in seeing the bone and brain health benefits.
- Creatine has been around for a long time and is extremely safe. The benefits of creatine on tissues other than muscles are an exciting and emerging field of research
References:
I got all of this information from these two podcasts with Darren Candow, Ph.D., linked below:
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