Health and Fitness
Creatine: Remarkable Health Benefits of the Most Researched Fitness Supplement
How creatine can improve physical & mental health, enhancing fitness performance for athletes based on insights from scientific papers
Why Creatin Is Such a Popular Supplement
Yesterday I posted an article about a beneficial supplement, alpha-lipoic acid. Some subscribed readers asked my thoughts about creatine.
As I have experience and knowledge of this supplement, I decided to share my reviews and experience. I don’t randomly write about health and fitness supplements.
I only reviewed and experimented with those heavily researched and gained acceptance by consumers for several years.
My interest in creatine started during my studies in cognitive science in the early 1990s. The cognitive effects of creatine on the brain were promising.
My particular interest was in studies highlighting the benefits of creatine on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological conditions such as epilepsy, ischemic stroke, and spinal cord injuries.
Interestingly, creatine has become popular quickly and turned to be a prominent fitness supplement as the research into its effects on muscles has been found remarkable by researchers.
So, fitness communities started discussing and experimenting with creatine. More and more theoretical and experimental studies were conducted. Its essential role in exercise metabolism is well documented. Creatine contributes to muscle health, especially by creating adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a source of energy at the cellular level.
In the early 2000s, my fitness coach started me with three grams of creatine monohydrate daily. Within a month, my workout performance significantly increased.
In addition, I gained more lean muscles around 2010, as confirmed by DEXA scans. Then, I gave a break for a few months and continued using it for several years. In addition to fitness, it improved my mental clarity. However, since my current diet is abundant in creatine, I don’t supplement it anymore.
When I checked PubMed (the US Government Medical Library), I noticed over 63,000 scientific artifacts documented creatine between the years 1908 and 2022. Here is an indication of the papers submitted to this repository. Just in 2021, 2418 papers were indexed. 2021 created a new record so far.
Despite the common use of the term in the medical and fitness literature, I am surprised that the term is still not in some dictionaries and the spellcheckers show it as an error.
I categorized the benefits of creatine under five broad topics. There are many more benefits of creatine beyond the scope of my article. I only highlight a few papers out of hundreds of papers that I reviewed over the years.
1 — Brain and Mental Health
This paper informs that “subsequent studies have demonstrated that cognitive processing, that is either experimentally or naturally impaired, can be improved with creatine supplementation. Creatine is an inexpensive and safe dietary supplement that has both peripheral and central effects. The benefits afforded to older adults through creatine ingestion are substantial, can improve quality of life, and ultimately may reduce the disease burden associated with sarcopenia and cognitive dysfunction.”
This recent paper informs that “creatine is pivotal in the energy metabolism of muscle and brain cells, both in physiological and pathological conditions. Additionally, creatine facilitates the differentiation of muscle and neuronal cells. Evidence of the effectiveness of creatine supplementation in improving several clinical conditions is now substantial. Convincing evidence also exists of creatine effectiveness in muscular atrophy and sarcopenia in the elderly, and in brain energy shortage, mental fatigue, sleep deprivation, environmental hypoxia as in mountain climbing, and advanced age.”
Dopamine is critical for brain and mental health. This animal study mentions that “systemic administration of MPTP produces parkinsonism in experimental animals by a mechanism involving impaired energy production. We found that oral supplementation with either creatine or cyclocreatine produced significant protection against MPTP-induced dopamine depletion in mice.”
As informed by this paper., the creatine-supplemented diet extends Purkinje cell survival in spinocerebellar ataxia. The paper informs that “it is not known why the expression of a protein with an expanded polyglutamine region is pathogenic in spinocerebellar ataxia, Huntington’s disease, and several other neurodegenerative diseases.”
The results of the study “demonstrate that preserving neurons from degeneration is insufficient to prevent a behavioral phenotype in this transgenic model of polyglutamine disease. In addition, we suggest that the means by which creatine mitigates against the neurodegenerative effects of an ataxin-1 protein containing an expanded polyglutamine region is through mechanisms other than stabilization of mitochondrial membranes.”
2 — Muscle Building and Maintenance
This comprehensive review paper states that “creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement currently available to athletes in terms of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. Creatine monohydrate supplementation is not only safe but possibly beneficial in regard to preventing injury and management of select medical conditions when taken within recommended guidelines.”
This review aimed to quantify which dietary supplements augment lean mass and strength gains during resistance training added peer-reviewed studies between the years 1967 and 200. The paper concluded that “two supplements, creatine and HMB, have data supporting their use to augment lean mass and strength gains with resistance training.”
This scientific study in Cell Physiology investigating differentiation of myogenic C2C12 cells confirmed that “creatine upregulated phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt/PKB; +60%, P < 0.001), glycogen synthase kinase-3 (+70%, P < 0.001), and p70(s6k) (+50%, P < 0.001). Creatine also affected the phosphorylation state of p38 (-50% at 24 h and +70% at 96 h, P < 0.05) as well as the nuclear content of its downstream targets myocyte enhancer factor-2 (-55% at 48 h and +170% at 96 h, P < 0.05) and MyoD (+60%, P < 0.01).”
It is important to note that creatine can change cellular pathways leading to muscle growth via the formation of proteins in muscle fibers.
3 — Blood Sugar Management for Diabetes
This study investigated the effects of creatine supplementation on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in sedentary healthy males undergoing aerobic training. The results of this study suggest that “creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, can improve glucose tolerance but does not affect insulin sensitivity, and may warrant further investigation with diabetic subjects.”
This study investigated whether an enhanced glycogen super-compensation could be realized if the glycogen loading protocol was preceded by a five-day creatine load. The paper suggested that “a muscle’s glycogen loading capacity is influenced by its initial levels of creatine and the accompanying alterations in cell volume.”
According to this paper in Oxford Academic, “ evidence has suggested that creatine supplementation alone, and mainly in combination with exercise training, may improve glucose metabolism in healthy individuals and insulin-resistant individuals, such as in those with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Creatine itself may stimulate insulin secretion in vitro, improve muscle glycogen stores and ameliorate hyperglycemia in animals. In addition, exercise induces numerous metabolic benefits, including increases in insulin-independent muscle glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity.”
4 — Increasing Energy and Reducing Fatigue
This pilot study evaluated the clinical benefits of creatine administration in children and adolescents for the prevention of traumatic headache, dizziness, and fatigue with creatine administration. The paper reported significant improvement recorded in the categories of headache and fatigue aspects in all patients. No side effects were seen due to creatine administration.”
This study examined the effect of creatine supplementation and sleep deprivation, with mild exercise, on cognitive and psychomotor performance, mood state, and plasma concentrations of catecholamines and cortisol. The paper concluded that “following 24-hour sleep deprivation, creatine supplementation had a positive effect on mood state and tasks that place heavy stress on the prefrontal cortex.”
This study published in BMC investigated the effects of five days of creatine loading on the electromyographic fatigue threshold (EMGFT) in college-aged women. The findings of the study “suggest that five days of creatine loading in women may be an effective strategy for delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue during cycle ergometry.”
5 — Increasing Exercise Performance
This review paper asking the question, “Could Creatine Improve Vascular Health?” points out that “recent findings have further indicated a potential therapeutic role for creatine in several pathologies such as myopathies, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic disturbances, chronic kidney disease, and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, creatine has been found to exhibit non-energy-related properties, such as serving as a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.”
This study reported that “creatine supplementation is effective in lower limb strength performance for exercise with a duration of fewer than three minutes, independent of population characteristic, training protocols, and supplementary doses and duration.”
This paper confirms that “creatine monohydrate appears to be the most effective nutritional supplement currently available in terms of improving lean body mass and anaerobic capacity. To date, several hundred peer-reviewed research studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of creatine supplementation in improving exercise performance. Nearly 70% of these studies have reported a significant improvement in exercise capacity.”
Conclusions
Our bodies naturally make creatine. Diet rich in animal products such as red meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy products has creatine abundantly. As pointed out in this resource, plants do not include creatine; hence vegetarians might need to take creatine via supplementation. When I was on a plant-based diet, I had to supplement it as advised by my fitness coach and dietician.
Creatine is not considered an essential nutrient as the liver and kidneys produce it and transport it to the muscles. However, people who depend on only plant-based diets might have lower amounts of creatine in their muscles.
This study investigating the effect of creatine and weight training on muscle creatine and performance in vegetarians suggests that “subjects with initially low levels of intramuscular creatine (vegetarians) are more responsive to supplementation.”
When I reviewed the scientific and fitness literature, I noticed that people use creatine for various reasons. The most common ones were sports performance, increasing muscle mass, weight loss, reducing muscle cramps, beating fatigue, increasing energy, improving mood for mild depression, and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Creatine is not considered a performance-enhancing drug. Therefore, its use is permitted by sports committees such as International Olympic Committee. As pointed out in this resource, “initial public interest in creatine began in 1992, inspired by stories that several British track and field athletes, including Linford Christie, owed their amazing success at the Barcelona Olympics to creatine supplementation.”
While there are some disputes about side effects, most of the studies couldn’t replicate the claims. However, it is always wise to use supplements carefully assessed and advised by healthcare professionals. We are individuals. Something working for one person might not work for another. Supplements may have side effects for some people.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Disclaimer: Please note that this story is not health advice. I shared my reviews, observations, and perspectives for information purposes only. If you have any disease symptoms, please consult your healthcare professionals.
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