If you look in the supplement aisle at your local pharmacy, you'll likely find different forms of creatine in gummies, powders, capsules and even drink mixes. That's because creatine is a popular fitness supplement for those who want to gain strength and power while improving performance. It's also naturally made in our bodies and assists our muscles with energy production when we work out.
Though creatine can be found in smaller quantities in foods like salmon, chicken, beef and pork, many people take supplements for fitness benefits. For the longest time it was believed that creatine was this magical powder that could help you put on lean muscle. However, a recent study conducted by the School of Health and Sciences at the University of New South Wales found that creatine may not significantly influence muscle gain after all. The findings were published in the medical journal Nutrients, which explained that the clinical trial looked at 63 men and women for a 12-week period and divided them into groups where one took 5 grams of creatine daily, while others took a placebo. In addition, they all resistance trained during this time and found that there wasn't a noticeable change in lean muscle mass between the two groups.
However, this doesn't mean you should nix creatine altogether. Did you know that creatine can also have other effects on both your mental and physical health? To learn more, we spoke with experts about creatine's benefits, effects on weight, results and how to choose the right supplement.
Creatine benefits for your overall health
Although creatine is popular in the fitness space, it has other benefits that the average person can also take advantage of. For example, creatine can help with injury recovery, improve skeletal muscle and has been shown to have a positive impact on the brain.
Jenna Stangland, a registered dietitian, specialist in sports dietetics and Momentous adviser, says, "Most recently in research, it has been shown that a daily dose of creatine can increase brain creatine levels by 6%." Part of this can be attributed to the increase of phosphocreatine in the brain when taking creatine, which can help reduce cognitive neurological diseases. Phosphocreatine is a substance created by our skeletal muscles that serves as a buffer to maintain an energy form created by the cells called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
Stangland adds that creatine may even have a positive effect on your mental health. "It was found that when there are smaller amounts of white matter creatine and phosphocreatine in the brain, more severe depressive episodes occur," she said. Therefore, taking creatine can increase that white matter and, as a result, improve your mental state.
Creatine has also been shown to have an effect on mood, according to Strangland, by promoting brain energy levels, particularly for women. "Females have lower creatine stores within the brain -- about 70% to 80% -- compared to males, especially in the frontal lobe, so this is an area where females especially benefit from taking creatine daily," she said. The brain's frontal lobe is known to control mood, cognition, memory and emotion. Supplementing with creatine could positively impact this part of the brain.
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How to choose a creatine supplement
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