New research shows creatine’s benefits go far beyond the gym floor – boosting energy, sharpening focus and even supporting long-term health. We break down what it is, how it works and whether you need it
Originally only associated with athletes and extreme fitness fanatics, creatine is now getting a surge in attention. Why? Well, research has recently revealed the surprising advantages that could potentially benefit a much wider range of people than just gym junkies. But what actually is it? And how can it help?
“Creatine is a naturally derived product that we can get through animal-based meats which supports various things like muscle mass, power, explosive movements – and as we’re seeing now with new research, there’s a potential of cognitive and longevity benefits.” That’s what Dan Richardson, Performance Nutritionist at Warrior says. He’s been working across elite sport and the health industry for 10 years now.
“It’s something that’s in the very late stages of research and has been trialed and used for a really long time,” says Dan. “It’s always been a little on the back burner – but I think there’s some real perks that occur quite early on.”
What are the benefits of creatine?
“Up until probably the last couple of years, we’ve seen creatine as this powerhouse in sports nutrition – a secret weapon that we can use to support athletes to enhance performance,” says Dan. “But what we’re realising now is that there’s more benefits than what first met the eye.”
So, what has creatine research shown it could help with?
- Enhanced strength, power and energy levels
“If we’re looking at it from a health perspective, some of the things we can see quite early on is a shift in energy,” explains Dan. “Often it can help reduce mental fatigue, improve brain function, and it also helps to improve our general energy systems to perform a bit more optimally. Longer-term we start seeing enhanced strength and power and increases in muscle mass.”
- Recovery and repair
“For individuals that are gym goers or, recreational kind of exercisers, it can be highly beneficial for reduction of injury risk, but also supporting sustained performance and making sure they’re getting the most out of their activity,” explains Dan. “So, the enhancement of the recovery and repair of the body, and also regeneration of tissues and supporting tissue health and function – and the skin is obviously one of the largest tissues on the body,” says Dan.
- Sleep
“One of the biggest things that’s recently come to light in the research is that if we’re looking at an acute dose of Creatine for sleep deprivation,” he says. “There are some studies that suggest that if taken during a morning of deprived sleep (on a non-regular basis), hyperdosing at 20 g can actually offset a lot of the deprivation effects and can boost brain function.”
- Cognitive benefits
“There’s a lot of studies now indicating creatine’s effects on memory and retention of information,” Dan says. “They call it executive function of the brain, so the thought process around day-to-day life could be improved. Similarly, a reduction in stress and fatigue – probably more around the fact that we’re able to get better quality sleep.” Dan says there’s also new evidence to suggest some long -term benefits for older populations of 60+ in improved brain energy levels, such as being able to think at a quicker speed, or process thoughts more effectively.
- Longevity
“One of the lesser-known benefits of creatine is that it can actually have a positive effect on aging and skin,” explains Dan. “Looking towards that holistic point of view of utilising the supplement, there’s some early research to suggest that it potentially helps with aging and wrinkles and can be used almost as a beauty product – similarly to how collagen is used.”
Can we get creatine naturally?
Creatine is something we all produce naturally in our bodies; animals also produce it, which is why they carry it in their meat. However, it can be difficult to get as much as we need from our diet alone – even if you’re a meat-eater, explains Dan.
“The way that I theorise supplement usage or any kind of additional products is that we should always look at food first,” says Dan. “Creatine very much falls into this category of, it’d be great to do through food, but ultimately we can’t always do it.”
“The levels of creatine that are available within food is typically limited to animal products, which is always a challenge for those with dietary requirements. Even if you eat meat, a regular diet would only really get around 1 g of creatine through foods.”
“If we look at the research now, the minimum entry to any of these additional benefits we see is 3g of creatine per day,” says Dan, which he estimates is equivalent to around 2.5 kg of salmon in a singular day!
“That would cost a fortune, so it is not one of my recommendations as a nutritionist!” he laughs. “Hence why we have to bring supplements into the frame with this one.”
Is creatine for everyone?
“I believe where the research is now, I’d say there’s no risk factor to taking creatine (as long as you’re above an adolescent age). We’ve not found any negative effects from younger exercising populations – so we may as well take it for the potential benefits and upsides that we’re starting to see in the research.”
“It’s one of the safest supplements on the market, it’s FDA approved, certified from specific brands, meaning that it’s safe to use for elite level athletes in competition.”
However, Dan says that like with any supplementation, it should only be used to build on a healthy diet and lifestyle. “The biggest caveat is that all of these amazing benefits that we see in the research is only going to come and be derived from a good foundation of nutrition.”
“If we eat poorly, have poor nutrition and don’t focus on the general habits of food and intake, then it’s not going to combat that. It needs to be done in unison with a good intake of food and nutrition, and again, a supplement is always intended to add or supplement a good diet already.”
“So, basically, if you’re just eating takeaways and crisps all day and then having creatine, it’s not going to work in the way that you want it to!” says Dan. “It’s not a miracle supplement that will fix all nutrition problems. I think we first have to identify that our nutrition is in a good spot before we can then add that into the fold.”
What should we take and how should we take it?
When first thinking about taking creatine, Dan says that consistency is one of the most key factors. “Depending on how good we are with habits, the first thing I’d recommend is picking a time of day that you’re going to stick to to take it. The biggest thing is ensuring that they are taking it on a regular basis, so it’s a daily habit that we need to instil.”
“For the average dose, it would be looking towards associating it with a time of day or a specific habit, so it might be that you wake up first thing in the morning and have an electrolyte, so add your creatine to that, or you wake up first thing in the morning, and on your way into work, you have a coffee – adding creatine into that.”
Of course, there’s many different types of creatine on the market, but Dan recommends sticking with creatine monohydrate. “For creatine newbies, get a standardised creatine monohydrate in a powdered form, and keep it super simple to start with.”
“Creatine monohydrate is mainly used in research and is probably the most cost-effective version,” he says. “You’ve also got micronized creatine, which is where they reduce the particle size, which then makes it a little bit easier to dissolve, so you don’t get that kind of grittiness. But again, because it’s been tampered with, the purity is sometimes lost a little within that.”
Dan says it’s important to exercise caution and do your research when buying your supplements. “I really believe that as creatine grows, we’re going to see a lot of misinformation, which can always pose a bit of a threat to the creditable information that’s out there – that always happens with a supplement that blows up,” warns Dan.
“If you buy from a reputable brand and they’re using a reputable manufacturer and creatine distributor, then you’d be fine, but I think because of the supply and the demand and how high it’s gone, the biggest thing to watch out for is a ridiculously cheap creatine that almost feels too good to be true – because the quality is probably compromised.”
