The bottom line on Creatine

This would be one of the most asked about supplements in my practice. But there is a lot of misconceptions and mixed information out there about Creatine. So here is the basic breakdown on how Creatine can benefit you and your health.

How does Creatine work?
Creatine is a natural compound made from amino acids in our body, and small amounts obtained through our diet (animal proteins), which our body stores primarily in its skeletal muscles as phosphocreatine. Here it is used to essentially create more energy in the body, in the form of ATP (hello high school science class)!,
to be used for energy.

When you perform short explosive movements like heavy lifting or HIIT training, your body uses up this ATP for the energy. So by taking creatine, you can essentially produce more energy, which allows you to increase your training volume (e.g. more reps or more sprints).

Increasing lean muscle mass
Creatine will increase your strength, your training volume, build more muscle and improves your recovery. It will help you “add more weight to your bar” we like to say. However these benefits of creatine are only achieved in conjunction with the right exercise, specifically strength training, or short burst high intensity training.

The effect on fat loss
Creatine itself does not make you lose weight. Due to the increase in intracellular fluid it can actually cause ‘water weight gain’ on the scales. However used in the long term, it will essentially reduce your body fat mass, as you increase your lean muscle mass. Your lean muscle is the ‘furnace that burns your fat,’ so you will see a positive change in your body composition over time.

Brain Benefits
Creatine is also used by our brain for energy production. So when it comes to benefits for everyone, this is where I feel creatine shines. Creatine has shown to have positive effects on the brain with research coming out its anti-inflammatory effects which can specifically benefit individuals who have mental health/mood disorders, dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. Daily benefits such as more brain power and mental energy, reduced slumps throughout the day and improved mood overall have been reported.

Which Creatine is best?
Creatine Monohydrate is the most studied and cost effective form for creatine. So choosing a clean source with minimal additives and flavours is best. I like ATP Science, Switch Nutrition or True Protein brands. Creatine as a supplement is very cost effective.

How much Creatine to take?
I recommend a daily maintenance dose which will still saturate your muscles at a slower pace, preventing any side effects. The key is consistency with creatine, more than timing. So taking it daily will yield the most benefits, with some studies showing benefits to taking it after a strength training session, if you wanted to pick the most optimal time. The recommended dose is 3-5g of Creatine a day.

Do I need to load creatine?
No you don’t. Creatine works over time, so the maintenance dose slowly loads the muscles with the creatine to get the desired effects. Loading with high doses of creatine over a shorter time period simply gets you there faster. However it can come with undesirable side effects, and only really useful when it comes to specific competitions and athletes.

Does Creatine cause bloating?
Creatine does draw water into your muscle cells for a reason, it’s in the cell though. For people who experience bloating or fluid retention with Creatine, they’re potentially consuming too much or could be linked to gastrointestinal issues where your gut has been irritated by the Creatine. This would be a sign to look at some underlying gut issues.

The bottom line
Creatine has added benefits for everyone, but it’s not a magic pill.
It’s most effective when used in conjunction with a good strength training regime and adequate nutrition.
Creatine can also benefit those who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, as they don’t have any dietary sources of creatine, increased energy has been reported for those individuals.
And of course the emerging research on brain health and mood disorders, provides some additional benefits we can all get from taking Creatine.