By Shellie L. Rosen, Ph.D., Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM)®, DOM, L.Ac.
Creatine supports the cellular energy necessary for maintaining strength, memory, and heart health. We acquire creatine from foods like red meat and seafood, and we produce it with amino acids from the diet. Our body stores 95 percent of creatine in skeletal muscle and 5 percent in the brain. Higher creatine stores result in better brain and heart protection, increased cognitive ability, and more significant bone and muscle formation.
After age 40, muscle mass and bone density decrease by 1 percent to 2 percent annually. Resistance training is essential to prevent musculoskeletal aging and to maintain bone strength. Creatine stores help mobilize the energy necessary for exercise and muscle recovery and development. However, due to anabolic resistance with age, the body becomes less efficient in digesting, creating, storing, and utilizing creatine.
Thankfully, creatine supplementation and resistance training can augment diminishing cellular energy and muscle development. Aging and highly active populations have the highest need to replenish stores, and they experience the most obvious benefits. When stores are low, we find higher incidences of osteosarcopenia (bone and muscle loss), leading to increased dangers from falling.
Nutrition Review published a paper in April 2023 titled “Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Memory in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” The review reports that “creatine supplementation enhanced measures of memory performance in healthy individuals, especially in older adults (66-76 years).” The bioenergetics of the brain are enhanced with creatine, which protects brain cells in the event of a traumatic brain injury. The heart also benefits from the energy production necessary for the force of contractions, which helps to prevent arrhythmias and withstand ischemic events.
A 2021 study in Nutrients showed that “creatine supplementation may be even more effective for females by supporting a pro-energetic environment in the brain.” Post-menopausal females showed positive effects from creatine supplementation. These effects included benefits to skeletal muscle, bone development ( when combined with resistance training), mood, and cognition.
For supplementation, a loading dose of 20 grams of creatine monohydrate powder is recommended for five to seven days before starting a maintenance dose of 5 grams daily. Higher doses may be beneficial, but many studies show that 5 grams daily is sufficient. All the studies that showed benefits with bone remodeling and density included resistance training and a dose of 8 grams of creatine powder daily.
Excess creatine is released through the urine, so be sure to inform your doctor you are supplementing if you have a urinalysis.
Creatine is not a popular new supplement. The research dates back 200 years, but it was popularized among athletes in the 1992 Olympics. Athletes praise creatine for energy and post-workout recovery as it contributes to healthy cellular inflammatory processes. Movement or resistance training is necessary to see the full benefits of creatine supplementation. Abundant blessings, and happy holidays!
