If you ask in the gym which supplement you should take to supplement your exercise, one answer comes up quite often: Creatine. The molecule with an extensive research background not only brings advantages in (strength) sports, but is also able to influence cognitive performance. This endogenous substance is even recommended to astronauts for space travel. In this article you will find out what benefits creatine brings you, how you can take it and how longevity research evaluates the molecule.
Where is creatine found in the body?
First of all, we have to clarify the question of what creatine actually is. To do this, let’s take a closer look at the molecule. Creatine consists of three amino acids: arginine, glycine and methionine. Our body produces the molecule itself from these three building blocks. The place of origin is mainly in the liver. It is also produced in smaller quantities in the kidneys and pancreas.
Creatine is then transported from the liver to its main site of action: the muscles. There it serves as an energy store in the form of creatine phosphate. You can imagine the whole thing like a short-acting but very powerful battery. Do we want to move our muscles, e.g.b When we do the bench press in the gym, our muscles use a large amount of energy in the form of ATP. After a few seconds, the ATP stores are empty and our muscles can no longer contract.
This is where creatine comes into play by donating its phosphate groups and regenerating ADP (two phosphate groups) back into ATP (three phosphate groups). Without this “battery boost,” we wouldn’t be able to lift heavy weights as effectively or sprint quickly over short distances. Once creatine phosphate has been used up, creatinine is produced as a “waste product”.
Did you know? The amino acid glycine is a true all-rounder in the human body. It is involved in many important metabolic processes. Some of these also affect longevity. Glycine can act as a methyl group donor for better DNA repair, or in combination with NAC it can strengthen your mitochondria. The combination GlyNAC is also available as a supplement. If glycine is combined with hyaluronic acid , the molecule can also contribute to better skin health.
Creatine, creatinine, creatine monohydrate or creatine citrate - what's the difference?
Admittedly, there are a lot of similar-sounding names and they can cause confusion. That's why we'll give you a brief overview of the most important molecules. This will help us later when we ask whether creatine is harmful to the kidneys.
But everything in order:
- Creatine (written in English creatine), is our starting molecule. We can consume this through food, supplement it and the body can produce it itself from the building blocks.
- Creatinine (written in English creatinine) is the breakdown product of creatine. It is excreted via the kidneys
- Creatine monohydrate: There are various options for supplementation. The best researched and most effective is creatine monohydrate. Here the creatine molecules are connected to a water molecule. This combination is so suitable as a dietary supplement because the bioavailability is over 99%.
- Creatine Citrate: Is another option for supplementing creatine. In contrast to monohydrate, the protein molecules are linked to citric acid (citrate). However, the creatine content is lower and there are fewer studies.
The myth of kidney damage
Even long-term use of creatine could not be linked to kidney damage in the studies. But why does this question come up so often??
This is because the breakdown product, creatinine, is used in medicine to measure kidney function. Creatine supplementation leads to an increase in creatinine levels in the blood. This raised concerns that kidney function may be impaired. However, several studies (R,R,R) were able to show that there is no kidney damage. The creatinine level is therefore increased, but not due to kidney problems.
Power for your muscles – the supplement for more strength
The main effect of creatine as a supplement can be seen during exercise. The molecule can be particularly helpful in fast, force-intensive units, as strength increased in the studies compared to placebos. In addition, taking creatine reduces body fat percentage in athletes.
The molecule is also able to increase the water content in the body. This “side effect” is particularly desirable in strength training, as this water is mainly stored in the muscles. If you take it regularly, you should expect to gain around 1-2 kilograms in weight.
While the data is clear for strength sports, it is a little more mixed for endurance sports. The strength developed increased during sprints, but creatine does not seem to have a directly measurable effect on longer runs. Nevertheless, it can make sense to supplement as an endurance athlete, because taking it after the training session supports a shorter recovery phase.
Did you know? Creatine is the most common and best-studied supplement among athletes. There are also other molecules that promote longevity in addition to your performance. One of these is alphaketoglutarate (AKG).
In addition to research on animals, human studies showed that taking AKG in the form of Calcium alphaketoglutarate the Supports muscle renewal. In addition to this very interesting effect for athletes, this study was able to make another exciting discovery. After 7 months of taking a preparation containing AKG, the biological age of the test subjects was reduced by a full 8 years!
More than just pure strength – creatine can help you in more than just training
In addition to the muscle cells, our brain cells require a lot of the daily energy in the form of ATP. Due to the close connection between creatine and ATP , it is reasonable to hypothesize that it could also improve cognitive performance. In fact, this has also been proven by studies. The greatest effects were seen in older people whose body's own production of creatine was reduced. As we age, synthetic performance decreases, which leads some to assume that supplementation can be useful, especially in old age. There are also many well-known faces from the longevity scene, such as Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Mark Hyman or Bryan Johnson take creatine daily.
Another area that is currently being researched is interaction with the immune system. We now know from model studies that creatine can dampen inflammatory processes in the body. For this reason, it was suspected that the molecule could contain the so-called cytokine storm after a Covid-19 infection. However, larger studies on the topic have not yet been published and we will certainly have to wait a little longer until we have more data.
Does creatine promote muscle growth? Yes. It ensures a higher water content in the muscle cells and some studies suggest that the molecule dampens the inflammatory processes in the muscle after a hard workout. Creatine makes the muscle appear fuller through water retention - but this does not directly produce more muscle mass in the form of fibers.
There is also another molecule that affects the muscle. Betaine, also a derivative of the amino acid glycine, stimulates protein buildup and the formation of new muscle cells. In addition, betaine increases the biosynthesis and availability of creatine. Betaine and creatine are ideal partners for building strength!
Creatine in food – is it enough?
We mainly find creatine in meat products. Here is some data for the creatine content of various foods:
- Beef: approx. 4.5g per kilogram
- Chicken meat: approx. 3.4g per kilogram
- Pig hearts: approx. 1.5g per kilogram
Creatine is almost not found in vegetarian products. The amino acids that our body needs to produce the molecule. In total, our creatine stores in the body have a capacity of around 120g.
We lose around 1.6-1.7% of it every day in the form of creatinine. This means that we have to produce around 2g of creatine every day to compensate for this loss. A large part of it is synthesized by our body itself, but performance decreases with age and the loss can be even greater during exercise. Due to the limited amount of food available, it is difficult to balance the diet alone, which is why supplementation as needed makes sense.
Creatine supplementation – not just useful for men
Most studies with creatine were conducted on men - especially male athletes whose main goal was to improve athletic performance were examined in more detail. As is so often the case in medicine, this results in a rather one-sided picture.
In this study however, women were explicitly examined. In addition to the already known advantages, it was shown here that women in particular after menopause had improved bone mineralization through the combination of creatine and strength training. Falls and broken bones in old age are common and can often have serious consequences for those affected. Taking creatine can help preventatively here.
Creatine in food – is it enough?
We mainly find creatine in meat products. Here is some data for the creatine content of various foods:
- Beef: approx. 4.5g per kilogram
- Chicken meat: approx. 3.4g per kilogram
- Pig hearts: approx. 1.5g per kilogram
Creatine is almost not found in vegetarian products. The amino acids that our body needs to produce the molecule. In total, our creatine stores in the body have a capacity of around 120g.
We lose around 1.6-1.7% of it every day in the form of creatinine. This means that we have to produce around 2g of creatine every day to compensate for this loss. A large part of it is synthesized by our body itself, but performance decreases with age and the loss can be even greater during exercise. Due to the limited amount of food available, it is difficult to balance the diet alone, which is why supplementation as needed makes sense.
Creatine supplementation – not just useful for men
Most studies with creatine were conducted on men - especially male athletes whose main goal was to improve athletic performance were examined in more detail. As is so often the case in medicine, this results in a rather one-sided picture.
In this study however, women were explicitly examined. In addition to the already known advantages, it was shown here that women in particular after menopause had improved bone mineralization through the combination of creatine and strength training. Falls and broken bones in old age are common and can often have serious consequences for those affected. Taking creatine can help preventatively here.
Creatine and longevity – what does the research say?
In addition to its role in sports, studies have shown that creatine may be helpful for depression. In one study taking it alone could lead to a reduction in depressive symptoms, while in the other Studies the absorption/effect of antidepressants was increased. Since a stable psyche is important for longevity, creatine could offer an advantage here. But you shouldn't expect too big an effect.
Another area of research is neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. In mouse studies researchers observed that daily creatine intake protected against the development of neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, a larger number of older mice were examined in this study. Here, a group was given the molecule daily and the mice in this population lived a median of 9% longer. They also had improved brain function and their cells contained less lipofuscin, also known as “aging pigment.”
These promising results have not yet been reproduced in human studies. So it remains exciting to see what the future holds. We hope that you now know more about the exciting molecule. Whether as a supplement to sport or for better cognitive performance, creatine is an ideal and, above all, evidence-based everyday companion.
