The Many Stealthy Ways Creatine Boosts Your Health

Creatine’s main sales pitch is already strong. The single-ingredient supplement—among the most thoroughly researched in the nutrition category—is 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.

Creatine acts at the cellular level, where it is stored as phosphocreatine and spurs production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)—an 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.

“While creatine is renowned for enhancing physical strength, its cognitive, mitochondrial, and metabolic benefits are equally compelling,” says Gina Nick, NMD, PhD, naturopathic physician and researcher. “As 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.”

Here are some of the lesser-known ways creatine can benefit your body, mind, and more.

Your body uses ATP to do much more than just get you yoked. Often referred to as the “energy currency” 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. “If 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—maybe even higher, just because the risk profile is a lot lower,” says Karan Rai, MD, a sports medicine physician with OSF HealthCare.

Research suggests that creatine can help regulate glucose metabolism, which means steadier, more sustained energy levels throughout the day. “[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,” says. Dr. Rai. It’s also particularly useful for those using weight-loss medications, such as GLP-1s, which can deplete energy stores and muscle mass, says Dr. Nick. “Creatine can help counteract these side effects by preserving lean tissue and supporting cellular energy,” she says. (Here are four more things you should do after starting weight-loss drugs.)

Sharpens focus and shores up defenses

Around five percent of your body’s 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. “You're able to build up that store, and that is going to impact cognition, mood, memory, and emotion,” says Vanessa King, MS, RDN, registered dietician nutritionist and spokesperson for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. One clinical trial saw improvements of up to 50 percent in cognitive and memory test scores among people supplementing with creatine. In another study, creatine helped sleep-deprived subjects improve their performance significantly on short-term memory tasks, along with improved mental processing time and reaction speed.

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 suggest creatine may help delay the progression of certain neurodegenerative diseases, and several studies have found it to be a powerful ally against depression. “I think the cognitive aspect is really under-publicized,” says Dr. Rai.

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. “I hope this myth [of creatine just benefitting strength building] will continue to be dispelled,” says Dr. Rai. “From an endurance standpoint, if you think about your slow-twitch versus fast-twitch fibers, they still utilize the creatine pathway for energy production.”

Creatine increases the muscles’ capacity to store glycogen, a type of fuel used to support high-intensity and long-duration exercise. According to a 2012 study, creatine may also improve aerobic endurance and power output (take note, triathletes) and potentially increase the body’s oxygen consumption efficiency. “There is also data out there that creatine supplementation, when used in conjunction with exercise that is meant to improve your VO2 max, has been shown to have a greater increase than just exercise alone,” says Rai. There’s even research showing that creatine can help endurance athletes extend their time to exhaustion when performing in the heat by lowering their core body temperature.

Whether you’re into strength training, cardio, endurance sports, or weeknight pick-up games, creatine seems to be an effective way to speed up muscle recovery between sessions. “What we know is that it helps the muscles store glycogen—even better than other post-workout supplements that you can take—and that's what allows the body to recover from exercise,” says King.

We also know that creatine helps power the cells responsible for repairing muscle fibers after workouts. Combined, these factors have a quantifiable effect on accelerating post-workout recovery and getting you back on the bike, bench, or basketball court faster. A recent study found that creatine can accelerate recovery after bouts of intense exercise while also reducing muscle soreness in the hours and days following. The study’s authors suggest it may even be a helpful tool for speeding up recovery from injury.

Most of the creatine in our bodies is stored in our muscles, which, of course, includes the heart. In fact, ATP is the heart’s primary energy source, and research has found that creatine supplementation supports a healthy heart rhythm and even increases overall heart efficiency.

Creatine has been shown to help lower levels of triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood. At high levels, triglycerides can play a role in the hardening and thickening of the arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke while impacting everything from cognitive function to sexual performance. In that same vein, literally speaking, creatine also helps bring down levels of homocysteine, a naturally occurring amino acid that can damage the arterial linings, potentially leading to blood clots or coronary artery disease down the line.

“One of the big positives from an efficacy standpoint is the fact that [creatine] has been shown to have a relatively quick time to onset, as in you're seeing improvements within one to four weeks,” says Dr. Rai. Just check with your doctor before getting started, he says, particularly if you have any known kidney or liver issues.