When something has been a normal part of your everyday life for a long time, one can easily forget that it isn’t necessarily a normal part of everyone else’s life.
I’ve been supplementing with creatine in one form or another for almost the last 30 years, so that accurately described my general mindset until recently.
My interest in taking creatine began, perhaps unsurprisingly, because I had read in some fitness magazine that it would help with a typical goal for many late-teen boys: “getting swole”. (In an effort to avoid making another normal/not normal assumption, that’s fitness slang for “building a muscular physique”.)
While my appearance preferences have shifted slightly since I was 17, I’ve stayed active with baseball, rock climbing, jiu jitsu, and kettlebell training. And I’ve continued to take it (and occasionally recommend it to others) for its muscular performance benefits.
But lately I’ve been asked about it more often than normal, probably due to its resurgence in the news for a different reason: brain health.
If you’ve also seen the headlines (or been asked about it by a teenage child) but aren’t sure what to make of it, here are some of the basics.
What is creatine and what does it do?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound made from amino acids (the building blocks of protein). It’s produced in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, and is stored mostly in our muscles and a little in our brains. Due to its primary storage location in muscle, we also consume it in our diets whenever we eat meat (e.g. red meat, fish).
To understand what it does, we need to understand a little about how the body produces energy.
The ultimate source of energy in the body is a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This molecule is continually broken down to release energy and then rebuilt so that it can be broken down again.
There are three main pathways, or energy systems, which the body uses to rebuild ATP (from it’s broken down form of adenosine diphosphate, or ADP, and phosphate, if you’re curious).
You can read slightly more detail about the systems in this tip. For our purposes today, here’s what you need to know:
- Oxidative (aerobic system): This system utilizes fat to rebuild ATP. It produces energy the slowest of the three systems but has a virtually unlimited fuel source (i.e. fat).
- Glycolytic (anaerobic system): This system utilizes carbohydrates to rebuild ATP. It produces energy faster than the Oxidative system but has a smaller fuel source (the body stores fewer carbohydrates than fat) and produces somewhat undesirable byproducts like hydrogen ions (which are responsible for the burning sensation in muscles during very hard activity of moderate duration).
- Phosphagen (alactic system): This system utilizes creatine to rebuild ATP. It produces energy the fastest of the three systems but has a very limited fuel source (i.e. creatine).
While all three energy systems are active at all times, the system that is most utilized at any given time depends on the duration and intensity of the activity.
- Activities of longer duration and lower intensity (e.g. walking, jogging, everyday movement) mostly utilize the Oxidative system.
- Activities of moderate duration and intensity (e.g. moderate-weight and/or slow strength training, 400 or 800m run) mostly utilize the Glycolytic system.
- Short duration, high intensity activities (e.g. a deadlift max, powerful kettlebell swings, 100m dash, vertical jump) mostly utilize the Phosphagen system.
Benefits and safety
As you might have guessed based on the activities listed above, the most well-documented benefits from increasing your body’s typical creatine levels via supplementation are in the areas of strength and power.
Basically, it can help you complete an extra rep or two at a slightly heavier weight or at a faster speed, which has its own benefits. Besides improved strength and power, this extra time under tension can also contribute to increased muscle size via other small recovery and hormonal effects.
Of course, that’s what tends to entice the teenage boys—although it’s useful for the average adult for healthy aging too!
But as I mentioned earlier, more recent research suggests that the benefits go beyond the gym as well.
Some of this research has indicated that creatine might positively impact cognitive function, particularly as we get older and in situations where the brain’s energy demands are high, such as when we’re sleep deprived, mentally fatigued, or under high stress. There’s also growing evidence that suggests creatine might support short-term memory, attention, and even mood, especially in people who are under high cognitive load.
More research still needs to be done in the realm of cognition, but preliminary results seem promising.
Speaking of research, creatine is among the most researched nutritional substances. It’s been tested in a wide variety of populations and has few and uncommon side effects other than mild water retention. In other words, you might gain a slight amount of weight when you first add it to your regimen.
Of course, you should always check with your doctor beforehand if you have a specific diagnosed medical condition.
Putting it into practice
Creatine supplementation used to fall into the realm of athletes and strength- or physique-focused lifters. If that fits your M.O. and you don’t currently use it, consider giving it a try.
Alternatively, you might also consider experimenting with it if you’re typically under high physical or mental stress, are vegan or vegetarian (due to lower dietary intake), or are interested in maintaining more strength, muscle mass, and cognitive function as you age.
It’s a safe, simple, research-backed, and inexpensive option that could improve not only the results you see from your gym time but also from life in general.