What is Creatine?
Creatine is one of the most popular supplements among athletes and active adults. It is also one of the most studied by researchers. The road to understanding creatine has been rocky, but through thousands of studies, the consensus on creatine is clear and the answer may surprise you.
If you travel through the supplement time machine and go back twenty years, the conversation on creatine was much different than it is today. The controversy around creatine, once centered around the type of people who were taking it and unfounded fears of kidney damage and baldness, has evolved significantly.
Today, the narrative around creatine has dramatically changed. Extensive research has revealed that the benefits of creatine far outweigh any potential negative side effects, providing a reassuring shift in our understanding.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a substance that our body makes, but we can also consume creatine from meat and fish. It is formed in our bodies from amino acids, but it is not an amino acid and not a true protein. This also means that when added to the diet, it does not contribute to dietary protein amounts.
Creatine is stored primarily in the muscle but also in the brain. This has sparked a vast number of studies exploring not only creatine's effects on body composition but also its potential role in cognition and recovery from traumatic brain injury, offering a fascinating range of benefits. In a nutshell, creatine has been shown to produce positive outcomes with short-term and long-term supplementation.
How Does Creatine Work?
As we graze over the weeds of biochemistry, some of the “creatine” in the body is actually called phosphocreatine. When the body needs quick energy, we get that burst of energy by using up ATP. To generate more ATP, the phosphate group from phosphocreatine is added to ADP, so the body has more ATP for quick muscle contractions.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition and other prominent nutrition organizations have concluded that creatine is beneficial for short-duration, high-intensity exercise. Creatine, whether it comes from our own production or from supplementation, increases the body’s ability to do work. This means that supplementation on its own will not make you stronger or bigger, but it aids the stimulus (strength training) to make you stronger because it increases your body’s capacity for work. In simpler terms, it may give you the edge to complete more reps or go longer on your workouts.
Research is less clear on creatine’s role in aiding in endurance activity. Creatine may be beneficial in activity where short bursts of energy are needed at multiple times, such as cycling, rowing, or sprinting at the end of a race.
Supplementation with Creatine
The most widely form of creatine studied is creatine monohydrate. There is no evidence to suggest that any other form of creatine supplementation offers additional benefits, regardless of claims.
If choosing to take creatine monohydrate, consider the following:
Always look for third-party testing certifications when choosing any dietary supplement, such as USP or NSF for Sport. This ensures you are getting only creatine monohydrate without additives.
There are different strategies for loading and dosing. Do your due diligence and read about different dosing strategies and find the one that works for you based on your goals and lifestyle.
Creatine supplementation may lead to early water retention. Creatine pulls water into your muscles during initial supplementation. This typically subsides after the loading phase.
Bottom Line
Creatine monohydrate has been studied extensively in human subjects and is considered a safe and well-tolerated ergogenic aid and dietary supplement when taken appropriately. Supplementation with creatine is a personal decision that should consider the benefits and potential side effects.
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Sarah Pflugradt is a registered dietitian with a specialization in human performance. She is an Air Force vet, a military spouse, and a health promotion professor at American University in Washington D.C. She spends her free time cooking, writing, and watching her 3 kids compete in sports.
