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What is Creatine? The Truth Behind This Popular Supplement [2025 Guide]

by DIVISA INC May 02, 2025 10 min read

Creatine stands out as one of the most researched supplements in fitness, and studies lasting up to four years prove it's both safe and effective. Regular gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts have probably heard about this powder that helps create energy during intense workouts and heavy lifting sessions.

Your body gets about half of its creatine naturally from foods like red meat and seafood. The remaining amount comes from your liver and kidneys. The benefits go far beyond muscle growth. This versatile supplement improves strength and power for athletes. It helps cognitive function in older adults and supports better short-term memory and reasoning skills. Many athletes in power sports like bodybuilding, football, and wrestling rely on its performance-boosting qualities.

Let 's walk you through what creatine really is in this piece. You'll learn how it works in your body and why it could benefit you - whether you're a serious athlete or just want to improve your fitness level.

What is creatine and where does it come from?

Creatine isn't just a popular supplement - it's a natural compound that plays a vital role in your body's energy production. This unique substance exists as a non-protein amino acid made up of three building blocks: glycine, arginine, and methionine ^[1]. Let me explain what creatine really is and where you can find it.

Naturally produced in the body

Your body makes its own creatine quite efficiently. The liver, kidneys, and pancreas blend together to make about 1-2 grams of creatine each day ^[2]^[3] - picture one or two jellybeans. This internal creatine production happens through a series of biochemical reactions that start with amino acids arginine and glycine ^[4].

The process begins at the time the enzyme AGAT moves the amidino group from arginine to glycine, which creates guanidinoacetate ^[4]. The enzyme GAMT then adds a methyl group from methionine to produce creatine ^[4]. Your body handles this complex process smoothly as part of its normal metabolism.

Found in red meat and seafood

Your body gets the other half of its creatine from food. Creatine shows up mostly in animal-based foods as a carninutrient ^[5]. Red meats like beef, pork, and veal pack significant amounts of creatine, along with seafood such as fish and shellfish ^[2].

The best food sources include:

Wild game (highest natural concentration) ^[6]
Herring: 1.1 grams per 100g ^[4]
Salmon: 0.9 grams per 100g ^[4]
Tuna: 0.4 grams per 100g ^[4]
Beef: Up to 2 grams in a 16-ounce steak ^[4]

People who follow vegetarian and vegan diets usually have lower creatine levels in their plasma and muscles since plant foods have almost no creatine ^[5]. Their bodies make up for this by producing more creatine naturally.

Stored mostly in muscles as phosphocreatine

Creatine moves through your bloodstream to various body tissues. The distribution isn't even - your skeletal muscles hold about 95% of your body's creatine ^[2]^[7]^[4]. The remaining 5% goes to other high-energy tissues like your brain, heart, retina, and testes ^[1].

Your muscle cells transform creatine once it arrives. The enzyme creatine kinase changes it into phosphocreatine (PCr) - a stored form that acts as an energy bank ^[2]. This phosphorylated version helps regenerate ATP, your cells' main energy source ^[8].

A typical 70 kg (154 lb) person has around 120 g of total creatine. About 60% exists as phosphocreatine while 40% stays as free creatine ^[8]. This internal storage helps produce quick energy, which becomes especially valuable during intense activities.

Understanding creatine's role and origins helps explain its effectiveness as a supplement. Boosting your natural creatine levels provides extra energy for both powerful physical activities and intense mental tasks.

How creatine works in the body

The way creatine works in your body shows why athletes worldwide swear by this supplement. Many supplements leave you guessing about their effectiveness, but creatine's benefits come from its direct involvement in your body's energy systems.

Role in ATP production

Your body uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as its main energy source, and creatine plays a key role at the cellular level. The enzyme creatine kinase transforms creatine into phosphocreatine (PCr) once it reaches your muscles ^[9]. Your muscle's total creatine reserves consist of about 60% of this stored form ^[7].

This system shines through its quick energy transfer abilities. Your muscles need instant energy, and phosphocreatine steps in by giving its phosphate group to make ATP from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) ^[10]. The reaction happens so quickly that it's perfect to power explosive movements.

The system works with remarkable efficiency. Phosphocreatine shows a higher free energy change for hydrolysis at pH 7.0 (-44.58 kJ·moL−1) compared to ATP (-31.8 kJ·moL−1), which creates a thermodynamic advantage ^[7]. PCr's smaller size and lower negative charge allow better movement of high-energy phosphates within cells ^[7].

Energy support during high-intensity exercise

PCr serves as your muscles' immediate energy backup during intense workouts. Studies show that creatine supplementation can boost muscle PCr stores by about 20% ^[2]. Some research has found increases from 80 to 95 mmol·kg−1 dry mass ^[7].

This bigger PCr supply matters because intense exercise quickly uses up these reserves. Your body typically needs more than six minutes to fully restore depleted PCr after exercise ^[9]. Supplementation gives you a larger energy pool and might help you recover faster between workouts ^[9].

Real results back this up. Athletes see better performance in activities needing burst energy. Research shows soccer players improved their 5-meter and 15-meter sprint speeds, while collegiate football players ran faster sprints ^[6]. Weight training studies revealed stronger squat and bench press numbers, and one study found a 15% increase (11 lbs) in 1-rep max bicep curl after just six weeks ^[6].

Impact on muscle cell hydration and signaling

Creatine affects your muscle cells in remarkable ways beyond energy production. It pulls water into muscle cells because it's osmotically active ^[7]. This extra water inside cells creates a cell volumization effect ^[11] that signals your body to build more muscle ^[11].

Scientists believe this hydration effect explains why creatine helps build lean body mass. Research reveals that expanding cell volume acts as a signal that might boost protein synthesis ^[11].

Creatine also shapes cellular signaling pathways. Studies reveal it boosts important gene expression: collagen 1(α1) by 250%, glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) by 45%, and myosin heavy chain I mRNA by 80% ^[12]. Your muscle growth improves because creatine creates better conditions through these changes in gene expression and protein synthesis.

The CK/PCr system gets better with creatine, connecting ATP production sites to areas needing energy ^[10]. Think of it as creating energy highways throughout your muscle cells, which makes everything work better ^[7].

Creatine benefits for different groups

Creatine's benefits go way beyond the weight room and help different groups with specific needs. Recent research shows how this compound helps various populations overcome their unique challenges.

Athletes and bodybuilders

Athletes who focus on performance get reliable benefits from creatine. Research shows that taking supplements with resistance training makes you 8% stronger compared to just training ^[13]. Your muscular endurance also goes up by 14% compared to placebo groups ^[4]. The results are impressive for high-intensity activities. A meta-analysis showed that soccer players who took creatine ran faster in both 5-meter and 15-meter sprints ^[4].

The numbers tell the story - 31% of studies looking at athletes' supplement use show they take creatine ^[14]. Some sports have higher usage rates, with football players leading at 30.1% ^[14].

Older adults and fall prevention

Creatine helps older adults fight sarcopenia - the loss of muscle mass and strength that comes with age. Taking creatine while doing resistance training builds more lean tissue mass and helps older adults move better ^[13]. This tackles one of aging's biggest risks - falling.

Research shows creatine helps people stand up from sitting position more easily, which is crucial for daily activities ^[15]. The benefits go beyond physical strength - it helps with brain function and might boost memory and intelligence ^[15].

Taking 3-5g daily works best, and studies show it's both safe and effective for people over 65 ^[16].

Vegetarians and low creatine diets

Plant-based diets create special challenges with creatine levels. Vegetarians get almost no dietary creatine intake (0.01g compared to meat-eaters' 1.73g), so their creatine stores are lower ^[17].

Supplements work better for vegetarians. Studies show their muscle phosphocreatine levels increase more than meat-eaters' after taking creatine ^[17]. Vegetarians who take creatine gain more muscle mass, strength, power, and even see improvements in brain function ^[3].

You need about 1g daily to maintain good levels - that's what you'd get from 200g of steak ^[17].

Women and hormonal considerations

Research specific to women shows creatine works differently during hormonal cycles. Women with regular periods naturally take in more dietary creatine (11.1mg/kg body mass) than those with irregular cycles (9.8mg/kg) ^[18].

Creatine helps women at every life stage. Pre-menopausal women get stronger and perform better during exercise ^[19]. Post-menopausal women benefit from higher doses (0.3g/kg/day), and their bones get stronger when they combine it with resistance training ^[19].

Women's brains naturally have less creatine, especially in the frontal lobe that controls mood, thinking, and memory ^[19]. This explains why women who eat more creatine have lower rates of depression ^[19].

Creatine and brain health

Your brain needs substantial energy. It uses about 20% of your body's total energy consumption while making up only 2% of your body mass ^[20]. Creatine plays a crucial role in this neural energy equation that goes well beyond muscle function.

Creatine's role in cognitive function

Creatine's impact on brain function becomes clear when we scrutinize creatine deficiency syndromes. People born with these conditions face developmental delays and intellectual disabilities that partly reverse with creatine supplements ^[1]. This occurs because creatine provides immediate energy to neurons that have increased demands ^[20].

Research shows creatine supplementation can improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning ^[20]. The benefits become more pronounced under challenging conditions. Studies show that creatine helps alleviate cognitive decline during sleep deprivation ^[8]. One study found that creatine supplements reduced fatigue by 8% at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. ^[8].

Creatine supplements substantially improved working memory test performance by 10.3% and processing speed by 17.7% in sleep-deprived subjects ^[8].

What it all means for neurological conditions

Creatine's neuroprotective properties benefit neurological conditions of all types. Research shows it can protect against:

Excitotoxicity (neuronal damage from overactive glutamate receptors) ^[21]
β-amyloid toxicity (associated with Alzheimer's disease) ^[21]
MPTP toxicity (which affects dopamine neurons) ^[21]

Creatine shows promise for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Animal studies demonstrate extended survival and improved motor function ^[21]. A clinical trial for Parkinson's disease showed roughly 50% improvement in disease rating scales after one year ^[21].

Memory and mental clarity in older adults

Brain creatine content naturally declines as we age ^[22]. So, supplements tend to have stronger cognitive effects in older adults compared to younger people ^[20]. A meta-analysis found substantial memory improvements in adults aged 66-76 years (SMD = 0.88) but not in younger people aged 11-31 years (SMD = 0.03) ^[1].

Older adults (68-85 years) who took creatine supplements (20g/day for 7 days) showed notable improvements in forward number recall, backward and forward spatial recall, and long-term memory ^[23]. Creatine supplementation offers a promising and well-tolerated option to support cognitive health as we age.

How to take creatine effectively

"Then once they started exercising, they saw no additional benefit from creatine, which suggests that 5 grams per day is not enough if you're taking it for the purposes of building muscle." — Dr. Darren Candow, Associate Professor, School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW)

You need practical supplementation strategies to get the best results from creatine. The right dose, timing, and product choice are vital parts of making your supplements work better.

Loading vs. maintenance phase

Creatine supplementation works in two different phases. Your muscles get saturated quickly during a loading phase where you take 20-25g daily (split into 4-5 servings) for 5-7 days ^[5]. This method can boost your muscle creatine stores by about 20% in the first week ^[11].

The maintenance phase follows with 3-5g daily to keep those levels high ^[24]. You could skip loading and take 3g daily for 28 days instead. This takes about 3 more weeks to fill up muscle stores ^[24].

Your body weight might increase by 2% during the loading phase because muscles hold more water ^[5]. This cell volumization sends positive signals for muscle growth - it's not just "water weight."

Best time to take creatine

The timing of your creatine intake makes a difference. Research shows taking creatine near your workout might work better than taking it at other times ^[25]. This matches up with increased muscle blood flow during exercise, which helps your body absorb creatine better ^[5].

Your body stores more muscle creatine when you mix it with carbs (94g per 5g creatine) or a carb-protein combo (47g + 50g per 5g creatine). This happens because insulin levels rise ^[5].

Creatine monohydrate vs. other forms

Creatine monohydrate stands out as the gold standard among many options. Micronized creatine monohydrate from AlzChem (Creapure®) leads the pack. Hundreds of clinical trials have tested its safety and effectiveness ^[7].

Other types like creatine HCl claim to dissolve or absorb better but cost 116% more per gram ^[7]. The biggest problem is that 43.75% of alternative creatine forms lack evidence about their bioavailability, effectiveness, or safety ^[7].

Tips for staying hydrated

Good hydration matters when you take creatine. Drink at least 3-4 liters (12-16 cups) of water daily, especially during loading ^[26]. This extra water helps creatine pull water into your muscle cells.

The loading phase needs an extra 16-20 ounces of water each day ^[27]. Keep a water bottle with you and check your urine color - pale yellow shows you're drinking enough ^[26].

Final Thoughts

Creatine is one of the most researched and effective supplements you can find today. This piece showed how this remarkable compound naturally works in your body to support everything from explosive strength to brain function. The benefits go way beyond the reach and influence of the weight room. They are substantial advantages for older adults fighting age-related decline, vegetarians who need to fill nutritional gaps, and women dealing with hormonal changes.

Studies keep showing that creatine is safe when used properly. You'll notice clear improvements in strength, power output, and muscle mass within weeks after you start taking it. On top of that, the brain-boosting benefits make creatine versatile enough to help both your body and mind.

If you want to experience these benefits yourself, quality plays a big role. You might want to think about INVIGOR8 Creatine Monohydrate Gummies as an easy and effective way to supplement regularly.

Note that patience is essential when you start taking creatine. Results might take a few weeks to show up, but science strongly backs its effectiveness. Whether you pick the loading protocol or take it gradually, staying consistent with your dose will give you the best results.

Creatine is a rare supplement that lives up to the hype. Decades of extensive research confirm what athletes have known all along – creatine delivers results. While everyone responds differently, most people who take it properly can expect real improvements in their performance, recovery, and possibly their mental function.

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What is Creatine? The Truth Behind This Popular Supplement [2025 Guide]