Should I be taking a creatine supplement?

There is a lot of buzz surrounding creatine at the moment. Some of the benefits that are talked about are science-based, whilst others require further research. So what’s the truth and is there any benefit to taking a regular creatine supplement.

What is creatine?

Creatine is one of your body's natural energy sources which helps your muscles produce energy during heavy lifting or high intensity exercise. Athletes and body builders often take creatine supplements to gain muscle, enhance strength and improve exercise performance, but older adults and vegetarians may also benefit.

Chemically speaking, creatine shares many similarities with amino acids, the compounds in the body that help build protein.

About 95% of the body’s creatine is stored in the muscles, mainly in the form of phosphocreatine. The other 5% is found in the brain and testes. About half of your body’s creatine stores come from the food you eat, especially red meat and seafood. The rest - around 1 gram per day - is made in your liver and kidneys from the amino acids glycine and arginine.

When you supplement, you increase your stores of phosphocreatine, which helps your body produce more of a high energy molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is often called the body’s energy currency. When you have more ATP, your body can perform better during exercise.

What does creatine do?

In high intensity exercise, your body uses these additional stores of creatine to produce more ATP, the key energy source for heavy lifting and high intensity exercise.

Various studies have found that creatine can help build muscle strength, mass and endurance and improve jumping, sprinting and endurance exercise performance, and even promote brain health and improve symptoms of neurological disease.

So it’s just for athletes then?

Whilst it’s true creatine is often used by body builders and athletes, there is a lot of evidence that it can also assist older adults.

Maintain muscle mass

A 2019 study concluded that creatine, with or without resistance training, can improve muscle mass and strength in older adults, reducing the potential for falls by protecting against sarcopenia and osteoporosis, age-related decrease of muscle mass and bone mass.

Some older studies found that creatine increased muscle fibre growth 2 - 3 times more than training alone, though more recent studies have produced more modest results.

Improves exercise performance

In one study, adults ages 57 to 70 who supplemented with creatine for 7 to 52 days of resistance training showed a greater increase in lean tissue mass than those who didn't take creatine. An increase in lower-body strength is especially important to older adults, as the muscles in your lower body are more affected by aging than others.

Helps fight Type 2 diabetes

One study showed that creatine supplementation combined with an exercise program has a positive effect on glycaemic (blood sugar) control in people with type 2 diabetes. However, there are also risks associated with taking creatine if you have diabetes, so it is important to talk with your doctor before trying it.

Helps fight certain neurological diseases

Like your muscles, your brain stores phosphocreatine and requires plenty of ATP for optimal function. New studies show that creatine can help protect against age-related neurological diseases including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease.

However, it's unclear whether or not creatine helps people who are in the middle or late stages of progressive neurodegenerative disorders.

So how much should I be taking?

How much creatine you should use depends on the purpose for which you are taking it and whether or not you eat meat.

In a typical omnivorous or carnivorous diet, you eat about 1 to 2 grams of creatine per day. Vegetarians and vegans, however, usually have lower amounts of creatine.

Studies show that 3 to 5 grams per day (14 mg per pound of body weight or 30 mg per kg of body weight) is all that you need in order to maintain your muscle stores. Body builders, athletes and people involved in regular intense exercise will typically need more but in general this dosage amount is consistent for both men and women regardless of athletic ability.

Depending on how much creatine you already have in your body, it can take anywhere for 2-4 weeks until you start seeing the effects.