Creatine Supplementation

Creatine - Should I take it? 

As creatine gains popularity and shifts from bro-culture icon to gen pop optimiser, it's important to make one thing abundantly clear. The hype is real, and very justified. All too commonly does the opposite occur in the health and wellness space. Overstated claims, god tier superfood label, and then it disappears from popularity. Why? Because what follows the health gurus and influencers cherry picking the latest in scientific literature, to tell you about the next hottest thing, comes the health professionals. The doctors, the dieticians and the qualified nutritionists weigh in on the topic, explain the evidence, or lack thereof, and the hype starts to fade. 

If you have been paying attention, this hasn't happened with creatine. The second most studied supplement on the market behind Whey Protein Powder, creatine has well and truly continued to break the mould. The more evidence we find, the more it continues to impress the evidence-based health community and not just for guys in the gym trying to build muscle. For women and the ageing population, we are seeing the real impact that creatine can have across many facets of health, not simply isolated to fitness. 

In the latest evidence from the Journal of American Nutrition Association, creatine has been shown to improve improvements in reaction times, decision making, energy systems, fat metabolism, and mood swings in peri and post-menopausal women with NO adverse side effects across the group over 8 weeks. We are seeing its neuroprotective and cognitive function benefits even over short-term use. 

In other recent studies, it has been shown to improve memory and attention spans, support mood in depression, and assist in patients with traumatic brain injury. The evidence is building, and it is unanimously positive for this relatively cost-effective and accessible supplement as even over longer-term research, we are seeing little to no side effects. 

So what is creatine? Creatine is made from three amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), and its main responsibility is to help the body produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), which is the fuel currency every cell in our body uses.  It's found in red meat, chicken, turkey and fish, and our body naturally produces about 1-2g of creatine in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. However, these levels are below the amounts on which these studies are based. This is when supplementation comes into play. For the average person, 3-5g of creatine every day is the recommended dosage. For those looking to optimise use or athletes looking to perform better, a dosage of 0.1g per KG of bodyweight is recommended. Eg. A 75kg person would take 7.5g per day. 

There is even promising evidence that creatine's short-term effectiveness mitigates the physical response from a bad night's sleep. 0.35g per KG of bodyweight was administered (a 75kg person would take 26g of creatine), and participants saw a reduction in cognitive deficits induced by sleep deprivation (improved processing speed, some memory tasks) and mitigated changes in cerebral high-energy phosphates. This obviously won't mitigate sleep deprivation damage long-term, but for a short-term solution, this is definitely a good trick to have up your sleeve. 

So from where we stand, looking at the mounting evidence in support of this supplement, it's more a question of why aren't you taking it?

If you want to know MORE on the topic, then please, reach out to us! OR if you want a nutrition coach in your corner that does this level of research to give you the best nutrition guidance possible, then also reach out! 

You know where to find us. 

As always, we show our research:

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