{"id":399238,"date":"2026-01-09T22:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T22:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/399238\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T22:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T22:44:11","slug":"the-many-stealthy-ways-creatine-boosts-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/399238\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Stealthy Ways Creatine Boosts Your Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creatine\u2019s main sales pitch is already strong<\/a>. The single-ingredient supplement\u2014among the most thoroughly researched in the nutrition category\u2014is scientifically shown to accelerate muscle growth and strength gains in particular, making it a staple in supplement stacks of weekend warriors and elite athletes alike.<\/p>\n

Creatine acts at the cellular level, where it is stored as phosphocreatine and spurs production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)\u2014an energy source used by cells. Most of the creatine that we consume (and produce naturally, albeit slowly) is stored in our muscles. But creatine is stored in other areas of the body as well, such as the brain, where it initiates cellular processes that do much more than build bigger biceps. Years of research show that the knock-on effects of creatine include everything from boosting brain function and warding off cognitive decline to balancing blood sugar and increasing energy levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile creatine is renowned for enhancing physical strength, its cognitive, mitochondrial, and metabolic benefits are equally compelling,\u201d says Gina Nick, NMD, PhD<\/a>, naturopathic physician and researcher. \u201cAs public interest shifts toward supplements that enhance both performance and longevity, creatine stands out as a cost-effective, research-backed option for improving health at a cellular level. Yet, its benefits for brain function, energy, and metabolic support remain under-discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some of the lesser-known ways creatine can benefit your body, mind, and more.<\/p>\n

Increases energy\u2014for longer<\/p>\n

Your body uses ATP to do much more than just get you yoked. Often referred to as the \u201cenergy currency\u201d of the cell, ATP is utilized as a universal energy source throughout the body. As a precursor to ATP, creatine can help keep all systems firing by combating fatigue and supporting energy metabolism. \u201cIf we’re thinking of ways to give us a jolt, other than our morning caffeine or the numerous energy drinks out there, I would recommend creatine probably right up there with them\u2014maybe even higher, just because the risk profile is a lot lower,\u201d says Karan Rai, MD<\/a>, a sports medicine physician with OSF HealthCare.<\/p>\n

Research<\/a> suggests that creatine can help regulate glucose metabolism, which means steadier, more sustained energy levels throughout the day. \u201c[Creatine] can really help kind of even it out, which in turn overall makes you feel more energized, just because you’re not crashing all the time,\u201d says. Dr. Rai. It\u2019s also particularly useful for those using weight-loss medications, such as GLP-1s, which can deplete energy stores and muscle mass, says Dr. Nick. \u201cCreatine can help counteract these side effects by preserving lean tissue and supporting cellular energy,\u201d she says. (Here are four more things you should do after starting weight-loss drugs.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Sharpens focus and shores up defenses<\/p>\n

Around five percent of your body\u2019s phosphocreatine stores are in your brain, where cells rely heavily on ATP for energy. When you supplement with creatine, brain cells make good work of the excess fuel, resulting in optimized output. \u201cYou’re able to build up that store, and that is going to impact cognition, mood, memory, and emotion,\u201d says Vanessa King, MS, RDN<\/a>, registered dietician nutritionist and spokesperson for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. One clinical trial<\/a> saw improvements of up to 50 percent in cognitive and memory test scores among people supplementing with creatine. In another study<\/a>, creatine helped sleep-deprived subjects improve their performance significantly on short-term memory tasks, along with improved mental processing time and reaction speed.<\/p>\n

In addition to giving your brain a boost, creatine may also help bolster its defenses by playing a neuroprotective role in fending off cognitive decline and more. Clinical trials<\/a> suggest creatine may help delay the progression of certain neurodegenerative diseases, and several studies<\/a> have found it to be a powerful ally against depression. \u201cI think the cognitive aspect is really under-publicized,\u201d says Dr. Rai.<\/p>\n

Adds endurance when the competition heats up<\/p>\n

Creatine is widely known as a tool for building muscle and strength, but the supplement can also provide a valuable advantage for cardio and even endurance athletes. \u201cI hope this myth [of creatine just benefitting strength building] will continue to be dispelled,\u201d says Dr. Rai. \u201cFrom an endurance standpoint, if you think about your slow-twitch versus fast-twitch fibers, they still utilize the creatine pathway for energy production.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Creatine\u2019s main sales pitch is already strong. The single-ingredient supplement\u2014among the most thoroughly researched in the nutrition category\u2014is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[49,48,84,2376,395,52820,1776,18549,343,406],"class_list":{"0":"post-399238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-heart-health","12":"tag-nutrition","13":"tag-sleep-and-recovery","14":"tag-strength-training","15":"tag-textbelowcentergridwidth","16":"tag-web","17":"tag-wellness"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}