First, it was mushrooms in your coffee. Then protein in your soda. The latest wellness staple sneaking into your pantry is creatine. In the days of yore, creatine supplements were a muscle-bro staple, relegated to the lockers of collegiate linebackers and bodybuilders. Lately, it has muscled its way into Pilates studios, gym girlies’ TikToks, and longevity wellness retreats.
TikTok content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
“Creatine has been gaining popularity among women across different age groups,” says Gretchen Zimmermann, a registered dietitian. “We do see women who are lifting heavier, and there used to be this thing that was circulating a decade or two ago, where women thought that if they lifted heavy, they would get bulked up. Now we know that’s not true, and naturally there’s some interest in creatine for that reason.”
But what is creatine? Here's everything you need to know.
Creatine, Explained
Creatine is a compound your body produces in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, according to Federica Amati, a medical scientist and registered public health nutritionist. Most of it ends up in your skeletal muscles, where it’s stored as phosphocreatine and used to regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that powers muscle contractions, nerve signals, and protein synthesis for tissue repair. The rest—less than 5 percent—is found in brain tissue and the testes.
You make about a gram of creatine a day from three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. You also get more from animal-based foods like red meat, fish, and poultry. For most healthy people, that’s enough. So, creatine supplements aren’t essential for general health, but they can boost performance and recovery under the right conditions.
How Creatine Works in the Body
Photo by Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images
ATP is your cells’ main energy source. High-intensity exercise drains it fast, breaking ATP down into adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Creatine phosphate donates a phosphate group to ADP, recycling it back into ATP almost immediately. The more phosphocreatine stored in your muscles, the faster you can regenerate ATP and the more power you can produce in short bursts.
... continue reading