Creatine is very popular in the fitness world, however, today we’ll talk about it from the context of midlife and anti-aging. It has so many benefits including helping you build bigger muscles, improving your brain and energy, and possibly increasing bone mass and health.
I will also share how I use it, including how much I take and when I take it, and general recommendations if you want to try it for yourself.
What Is Creatine
Creatine is a natural compound produced in our bodies from amino acids. Animals also naturally produce creatine – which is why consuming animal protein is a good way to get creatine.
However, it’s likely most of us aren’t eating enough meat to get adequate creatine levels, especially if you exercise intensely, follow a plant-based diet or restrict calories. That’s why most people who want the benefits of creatine use supplements.
Creatine appears to have a daily requirement like a vitamin to maintain sufficient levels, around 2g/day for a normal 70kg male (probably similar for females). However, to get some of the anti-aging benefits it may be better to aim for .1g/kg of body weight, which would be about 7g if you are 70kg or about 150lbs.
Put very simply creatine has a lot of benefits for muscle building, performance, endurance and energy and that makes it one of the most popular supplements in the fitness industry. But it’s not just of interest to the fitness industry – creatine may just be the ultimate anti-aging supplement.
Creatine Helps Build Muscle And Strength
The first most well known reason to take creatine is that it’s going to help you build and retain muscle.
I’m not one to blame aging for anything but I do think it’s harder to build muscle as you get older for a variety of reasons including things like changing hormones, joint problems or other injuries and just all around stress, busyness and fatigue that keep us from training hard. We also naturally lose muscle as we age and it becomes harder to build muscle as we age because of something called anabolic resistance.
I won’t get into the science but here’s a quick summary of how creatine helps with muscle building:
1. Creatine increases energy so you can exercise at a higher intensity and for longer periods of time.
Basically the idea is that when you take creatine you’ll be able to exercise harder for longer. It’s not like you become superhuman or anything crazy – it more just gives you a little edge. For example, your muscles may not fatigue as quickly when you are doing a set so you may be able to do a few more reps.
This is why creatine is so loved in the fitness industry. That edge helps you build muscle better than when you aren’t taking creatine.
2. Creatine increases muscular strength.
I personally notice a big jump in strength after about 6-8 weeks of using creatine. At this point I will usually notice that I can do more reps and that I can use heavier weight on many exercises.
For example, I normally do overhead presses with 15kg and this year I’ve been doing about 4 sets of 8-10 reps (I hadn’t been taking creatine most of the year). One day in the gym after I had started taking creatine again I noticed a big jump in strength, and this was probably at about that 6-8 week period. I picked up the 15kg dumbbells and did 4 sets of 12 and thought “ah there’s the creatine kicking in.” Right around the same time I went from being able to do one pull up to about 5 pull ups, likely also due to the creatine because I hadn’t actually been practicing pull ups at all because of my surgery.
3. Creatine may slow muscle mass loss when you can’t train.
Creatine is often studied in the case of immobolization – for example when in a cast or being unable to train due to injury. There are some mixed results but it may help preserve muscle loss when you can’t train.
4. Creatine helps increase muscle mass even in later life and has been studied in seniors along with exercise as a way of slowing sarcopenia.
Sarcopenia is age related muscle loss and it happens to us from about the age 30, and dramatically increases in our 60s. Creatine has been shown to help build muscle in your senior years. In studies, groups taking creatine and exercising gained more strength and lean body mass (muscle) than groups not taking creatine but doing the same exercise.
5. Creatine helps with recovery from training.
Creatine has been shown to reduce muscle soreness, inflammation and improve recovery from training.
Creatine Is Promising For Brain Health
This is growing interest in creatine’s effects on the brain and for those of us concerned about aging well this is definitely an exciting area of research. While the results are mixed and more research is needed it has been looked at in the context of conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and traumatic brain injury.
It’s also been studied for depression, mental fatigue and brain fog. You can also find anecdotal evidence that creatine helps with cognitive function on Google. Studies also show it can help with memory especially in aging adults and vegetarians.
The optimal protocol for brain health is yet to be determined.
Creatine May Improve Bone Mass & Health
There are a couple possible ways creatine may help with bone mass. First, it helps with muscle mass overall which leads to enhanced muscle pull and stress on the bones during exercise (which leads to bone increase (accretion)).
Second, it may directly impact bone mass because creatine is involved in the bone building and breakdown cycle, and it can increase the activity of osteoblast cells (the ones involved in bone formation).
One study induced menopause in rats and found that they had increased markers of bone health if they were given creatine. The results of the studies on creatine and bone health are mixed with some showing no effect and some showing a positive effect. It may be that the dose was too low in some of the studies – the usual dose is about 5g/day whereas studies with a positive result use about .1g/kg of body weight or about 7-9g.
It’s very likely that to positively impact bone you need to do resistance exercise and take creatine, not just take creatine.
Creatine Makes You Look Better (In My Opinion)
One of my favourite things about creatine is that it makes your muscles look fuller. This effect will be more noticeable for lean ladies with visible muscles. In my experience, when I take creatine my muscles are more full and round and overall more noticeable than when I’m not taking creatine.
This happens because creatine pulls water into the cell which volumizes your cells. When it comes to muscles that’s really good because your muscles will look fuller and more developed.
How To Take Creatine
Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know to get started taking creatine:
- Look for a creatine monohydrate or micronized creatine which is just the monhyrdate with reduced partical size and increased water solubility.
- The usual recommendation in the fitness industry is 5g/day. There’s no need for a loading phase.
- Take it whenever is most convenient. It’s flavourless and mixes reasonably well with most liquids.
- There is a possibility that it will help you more with muscle building if you consume it around your workout (ie. before or after) and with some carbs.
- Long term supplementation has been shown to be safe but it can affect your blood work. For people with more muscle than average creatinine levels can be higher on blood tests but it doesn’t mean something is wrong with your kidneys. (I have higher than average muscle and my creatinine levels are always high, don’t expect your doctor to know this – you may have to explain). This also happens when you are taking creatine.
With supplements you should always do your own research and make your own decisions. Definitely look into creatine more if you are interested because it is a very promising supplement for anti-aging but it also has many proven benefits when it comes to training, building muscle and improving energy.
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