Do You Really Need Creatine for Muscle and Brain Health?

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Creatine was once the kind of supplement mostly associated with bodybuilders and gym culture. Now, it’s one of the buzziest topics in women’s health, touted as a potential game-changer for muscle, energy, and even brain health as we age.

But does the science on creatine support the hype? And if so, how much should we be taking and what should we look for in a creatine supplement?

We asked Stacy Sims, PhD, to break down what women need to know about creatine, protein, muscle, and what it really takes to age with strength.

A CONVERSATION WITH STACY SIMS, PHD

Everyone is talking about creatine these days. What does it do, and should most of us consider taking it as a supplement?

Creatine is one of the very first things that the body uses in all of our fast energetics. It is part of our fuel system for the body and brain. The brain uses a lot of fuel during the day, and it has all these cellular processes that go fast all the time, and we need creatine for those processes.

Women also have a higher incidence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and gut issues because our mucosal lining erodes pretty quickly, especially under high stress and under hormone fluctuations. What preserves that mucosal lining? Creatine.

Creatine is important for our heart health, muscle health, and building bone. It’s also important for brain health. In one controlled trial, women who were having episodes of anxiety and depression who used creatine with their SSRI or creatine with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) came out of their depressive and anxiety episodes much faster than those who weren’t using creatine. That’s because creatine is involved in brain metabolism.

Another exciting study on creatine supplementation just came out and the researchers found that the group who benefited the most from small-dose creatine supplementation were women, ages 15 to 80. It turns out supplementing with creatine helped all of their systems.

How much creatine do we need, and what’s the best way to get it?

The current recommendation is 3 to 5 grams of creatine minimum. While you can get creatine from certain foods (like red meat and chicken breasts), you’d have to eat five chicken breasts to get the recommended 5 grams of creatine. Who’s going to eat that in a day? That’s where a creatine supplement comes in.

For the general population, supplementing with 3 to 5 grams of creatine leads to better improvements in overall health. We also see that adding resistance training and a little jump training while also supplementing with creatine improves bone health. And while creatine is important for both men and women, women benefit even more so from creatine supplementation.

One important note: Many people find that when they start taking those 5 grams of creatine all at once instead of slowly titrating it into their diets, they feel bloated. That’s because with creatine, you’re going to store water within the muscle. This is why the recommendation is to start small. If you want to work your way up to five grams, start with 1.5 grams and work your way up to 5 over the course of a couple of weeks. Don’t just all of a sudden dump it into your smoothie; that’s when we start to see some side effects.

Do you have advice when it comes to what form of creatine we should look for in a supplement?

When people who come up to me say, “I can’t take creatine because it gives me gut issues,” I always ask, “What form of creatine are you using? What’s the brand?” Because we see that the cheaper versions of creatine are coming from a formaldehyde start. The cheaper versions use an acid to break down the formaldehyde to be able to produce creatine.

Ideally, you want to look for brands using a simple water wash, which means it’s a non-formaldehyde molecular structure that creates creatine through the use of water and reverse osmosis. One of those brands is Creapure. If you’re looking at a creatine supplement and you pick up the package and on the side it says Creapure or Creavitalis, that tells you it’s a product that uses water, not formaldehyde.

I also recommend avoiding a creatine supplement that has lots of flavors and fillers. Just get the plain white powder, which stirs into liquid easily.

What do more women need to know about the importance of building muscle as we age—especially for brain health?

When we look at muscle and muscle strength, we know inherently there are sex differences. Women are born with more endurance fibers, which means that we have the capability of going long and slow. That means if you train to do 50 push-ups, it’s going to come relatively easy. But what I want every woman to do is switch her mindset. The goal is to be able to do 10 push-ups with 20 pounds on your back.

Now, that’s really hard for women to do because we have fewer fast twitch fibers. Why are fast twitch fibers so important? One, they produce lactate, which is a preferred fuel for the brain. One of the things that happens in the 40- to 60-year-old range is that we start to see some dysfunction in our brain metabolism, which means our brain doesn’t use glucose very well. This can feel like brain fog. But if we’re regularly producing lactate through strength training or high intensity work and we’re building those fast twitch fibers, it helps with our brain metabolism and we have fewer issues when we get into our 40s, 50s, and onwards.

What are some of the myths about strength training that you wish would go away?

First and foremost, strength training will not make you bulky. To get bulky, you’d have to be in the gym 90 to 120 minutes, four or five times a week, and eat lots and lots and lots. It is really hard to put on muscle, especially as a woman.

Also, strength training isn’t just about aesthetics. That’s icing on the cake. Strength training gives so much to women. It improves brain health and heart health. It builds our bones and helps our proprioception and balance. It prevents injuries. It builds confidence. Being muscle centric helps every system of the body.

And it’s never too late to start. The key is that if you’re just starting out, you have to start slow.

What do you think about weighted vests?

If a weighted vest inspires you to get out the door for a walk, I’m not going to tell you to stop using one. But when we look at it from a biomechanical standpoint, a weighted vest is made for men. A man’s center of gravity is up higher; a woman’s center of gravity is lower. So, if we start putting weight high on our chest and our center of gravity is around our hips, what happens? Our entire biomechanics are off, which can lead to soft tissue injuries. And what is that weighted vest doing? Is it enough of a load to increase bone? No. Is it enough of a load to increase muscle? Maybe. For the most part, you don’t need a weighted vest. It isn’t right for women’s bodies.

Watch the entire interview with Stacy below!