Why I started taking Creatine...

And then 6 months later I increased my dose...

I always thought of Creatine Monohydrate as a supplement used by body builders. Although I have always been a regular exerciser, including strength training, my primary goal was improved health, not developing an Arnold Schwarzenegger physique. Then a did a deep dive into the science and started taking creatine daily. Let me tell you why.

So what is Creatine Monohydrate and why might I consider taking it? Creatine is a naturally occurring substance: Our liver and brain make about half of the amount our body needs (about 1-2grams), and the rest comes from eating animal protein (about 3grams - 0grams if you are vegan). Creatine is stored as phosphocreatine in muscle, and to a lesser extent in the brain. A little science about what it does in our body. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is an energy store for the cells in our body. The energy carried by the ATP is released for the cells to use when ATP is broken down into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and phosphate. The ADP can then be recycled by bonding with phosphocreatine making ATP and the waste product creatine. Creatine is then excreted via the kidneys as creatinine.

So if creatine is a waste product then why supplement? When you supplement with creatine monohydrate, your body absorbs it and converts a significant portion into phosphocreatine. This availability of increased phosphocreatine makes more energy available to the cells by recycling ADP to ATP.

So overall you can think of creatine supplementation as increasing your energy stores. Some specific reason I choose to take it

1. Part of aging is Sarcopenia (muscle wasting). This starts at about 30 years of age and increasing significantly after 60 years of age. This is why strength training to build muscle is so important. As we age this building muscle becomes more challenging. Creatine appears to increase your tolerance of more repetitions resulting in more lifting volume and greater muscle gain

2. Sarcopenia seems to be mostly in the Type 2 muscle fibers (sometimes referred to as fast twitch). Type 2 fibers are responsible for rapid, powerful/high, and explosive movements. You might think that “I do not need to sprint” however preventing a fall often requires quick, explosive responses. Lifting with creating vs placebo shows greater gains in lean body mass and muscle mass. This is believed to be due to creatine’s increase recruitment of primarily type 2 muscle fibers resulting improved muscle performance.

3. Increased phosphocreatine availability decreases the time for recovery between both sets and repetitions. When there are no phosphocreatine stores it takes about 3-5 minutes for a cell’s metabolism to recover and be able to perform again. Creatine supplementation allows a better workout in less time and more results

4. Creatine appears to also be helpful with recovery from long duration cardiovascular workouts. These longer workouts cause some muscle breakdown and cytokines (pro-inflammatory) creatine seems to decrease this reaction. In other words Creatine has an anti-inflammatory effect.

5. Creatine seems to have an anti-inflammatory effect in general. The research is showing that this mostly has impact during times on increased stress. This could be a hard workout, inadequate sleep or nutrition, injury, or mental stress.

6. Again our brains make about 1-2g of creatine and 3g is eaten by adult carnivores, however older adults tend to intake less, more like 1-2g . Your kidneys excrete about 2g. So in young adults this leaves a surplus of about 1-2 g, but for older adults the surplus is closer to 0-1g. There are many peer review articles over 40 years which reveal beneficial effects of creatine supplementation. These effects are not just in muscle, but also improve bone, brain and immune system health.

7. Older adults have less creatine stores. About 95% of creatine is stored in muscle. Research is showing the rest is stored in the bone and brain. Emerging research is showing that once the muscle store is full, the creatine will go to the bone and brain.

8. There have been about 15 studies showing Creatine having some bone anti-resorptive effects. There are no studies showing Creatine increases bone mineral density. The evidence is showing that Creatine and weight training certainly decreases bone mineral density loss. Creatine does not replace a pharmaceutical biphosphates.

9. Creatine and the brain is an emerging area of study. If you are getting adequate sleep, have no chronic, metabolic, or neurodegenerative diseases, then likely you are producing adequate amounts of brain creatine. It might be as little as 1 to 3 grams. The studies in this population do not show any effect of Creatine on the brain. However studies of individuals who are sleep deprived, have increase mental, cognitive and/or physical stress, or are aging show that the brain will use additional creatine.

A lot of good stuff on a supplement which has been used for about 4 decades which brings me to any risks or side effects. A worldwide review published in April of 2025(1) looked at 685 human clinical trials on creatine supplementation, and concluded no increased side effects of Creatine supplementation when compared with placebo. There has been concern about kidney injury with supplementation. This came from the fact that supplementing with Creatine will result in higher Creatinine levels in blood testing. These measurements are a measure of kidney health as a sick kidney will not be clearing creatinine. But with supplementation the kidney is not the issue but rather there is more because your intake is increased. It is important that your healthcare provider knows you are supplementing as your blood levels will likely be high.

So let me end with supplementation is icing on the cake. It is important to also look at lifestyle behaviors such as sleep, nutrition, exercises, stress management, social connections, and use of substances such as alcohol, smoking etc. Supplementation works best in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle. Strength training is critical to maximize the impact of Creatine supplementation. It has been a game changer for me relative to my exercise tolerance, strength and muscle mass. I am looking to maximizing my years of good health with an excellent quality of life. Creatine is a small tool helping me do just that. Finally check that the Creatine you choose is third party tested to insure it is free of heavy medals

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15502783.2025.2488937?scroll=top&needAccess=true#

2. https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/darren-candow?email={{contact.EMAIL}}

3. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/what-is-creatine-can-it-treat-sarcopenia/

4. https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/darren-candow