Creatine raises brain energy levels and slows cognitive decline: study

adamking

Creatine is one of the few supplements I actually notice a difference if I quit taking. Happy to see it’s benefits extend to beyond performance in the gym.

cj

Direct link to the study: https://jpbs.hapres.com/htmls/JPBS_1766_Detail.html I wanted to check the dosages they used. Looks like the review includes studies ranging from 5g/day to 20-25g/day. (Typical dosage you'll see for daily use is 5 grams)

manishsharan

How do you take Creatine ? And how much for what age group and weight?

pillefitz

Unfortunately, I get terribly tired and brain-fogged from even small quantities. Anyone else experienced this?

bmmurphy

The article's entirely AI-generated; not necessarily untrue but may not have been fully reviewed by an editor.

cheschire

Feels like a sign of the times that I expect half the comments here to be paid astroturfing about how amazing creatine is.

aatd86

I feel like crap when taking creatine... Actually most of these purported supplements are a no go. Preworkouts would work first session then make me ultra tired, caffeine is fine as long as I 'cycle' it... Wondering strongly if those studies are not just to sell more cheap supplements... As long as for some reason we find that it has some level of effect on most people. It has some effect for sure but not sure it is that positive... Besides, I don't know if it helped jump start the process or not but I build muscle either way, on little protein, no creatine... Carbs seem to be more important actually. Anyway, let me take a scoop of creatine to try again, even though I am unconvinced... Hope sells... :s (I think hydration levels are more important and that is not solved by drinking low mineralized water although I find it has better taste, it gets rid of tiredness)

ck2

not sure if I got it from here or reddit but someone made an automated site that gathers all published creatine studies https://creatine-sandy.vercel.app/

WhitneyLand

The article made up the claim it’s not from the paper itself. There was some improvement in cognitive scores, but no placebo group. Without a placebo group, there are a lot of explanations for the data.

suzzer99

Peter Attia is a crap human being for being buddies with Epstein after most of his crimes were already known. But I still trust his analysis more than anyone else at dissecting this kind of stuff and separating the wheat from the chaff. I'll be curious to see if he covers this.

dakolli

I have bad central sleep apnea, and regardless of CPAP I still end up with poor quality sleep unfortunately. I was on stimulants like Modafinil and Ritalin for over a decade, which comes at a huge cost physically, mentally. Its the only supplement I take other than Vitamin D, I'm not some freak biohacker. I've completely replaced stimulant use with 15g of Creatine a day, and 25-30g on days when I feel especially sleep deprived. It has actually changed my life. I decided to try this after reading this paper and will never go back: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54249-9 There's lots of interesting literature on Creatine starting to be published. EDIT: Also Creatine destroying your kidneys is a myth (unless you already have kidney issues). This myth is spread because people go to their doctors and get their kidney function tested while supplementing creatine. The doctor will initially be concerned because there will be higher levels of creatine in your urine, which is a sign of kidney disease. However, they will not be concerned if you tell them you're supplementing creatine. If you have excess creatine in your urine while not supplementing creatine then that would be of concern. If you are worried about this stop supplementation a week prior to getting kidney function testing. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10999421/

el_benhameen

Curious if anyone has had hair issues while taking it. I’m aware that there’s no positive evidence for an effect, but there is an at least plausible mechanism. I’ve gone through two periods where I took it and liked the effects, but felt like I shed way more hair and stopped due to that.

traviswingo

I wonder how long it’ll take this thread to become a proxy of r/creatine.

brunooliv

Side question: I've always been a recreational runner, running 3/4x a week, completed a few half marathons, and recently decided to _also_ go to the gym to do strength training as it has a lot of benefits for runners too. Should I consider/take creatine, is it useful?

SilverElfin

Has anyone else had GI issues from creatine? Even at low doses?

Scene_Cast2

Just beware that for some people (myself included), it causes stomach issues (quite intense in my case). There are mitigation strategies (slowly build up the dose, use more water, take with food, split up the doses across meals, and consider using the less studied HCL variant).

oh_my_goodness

I kind of hate it when people "explain" what happens in Alzheimer's disease. Because we actually don't know that.

tacone

The first time I took creatine (6g IIRC), I actually felt the mental effect just 2 minutes later. A pleasurable sensation of augmented presence and (mental) relaxation. I paused taking that momentarily out of precaution while I wait some physical issue to normalize, but I plan to resume it in some weeks. Also it is considered a very safe supplement.

solenoid0937

I get seizures more often when I use creatine. I wonder if it's related to "raised brain energy levels."

MilnerRoute

What is TheSciVerse.org? The domain was registered 8 weeks ago. Although The Guardian also covered the study... ___ More recently, attention has shifted beyond the gym. Early research suggests creatine could have a role in cognitive function, with some studies pointing to protection from cognitive decline. “A few bigger studies have brought it into focus,” says [Bethan Crouse, a sports nutritionist at Loughborough University]. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/may/25/is-it-t...