Creatine is gaining a lot of traction as a trending topic, as it is seen as a very “safe” and effective supplement for not only muscle gains and physical performance but also for brain health.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a natural energy source that supports the contraction of skeletal muscles, enabling them to sustain activity, particularly during exercise. Roughly half of your body’s creatine (about 1 to 2 grams per day, equivalent to 1 to 2 jellybeans in size) is obtained from your diet, primarily from protein-rich foods like red meat, seafood, and animal milk.
The remaining creatine is synthesized by your body in organs like the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. These organs distribute around 95% of the creatine to your skeletal muscles for use during physical exertion, with the remainder allocated to other tissues including the heart and brain.
Creatine supplements are being used by individuals to supplement their diet, especially if they exercise frequently or have a limited intake of creatine-rich foods. These supplements are commonly found in the form of powders, tablets, capsules, liquids, and energy bars.
Many amateur and professional athletes use creatine supplements to boost their workouts and recovery. Creatine provides quick bursts of energy and increases strength, which can enhance performance without impacting your ability to exercise for longer periods (aerobic endurance). This used to be a supplement only men gravitated to, but now women are encouraged to take it as well.
What is the Most Common Type of Creatine?
The most widely used type of creatine supplement is creatine monohydrate. This supplement is known to enhance muscle performance during short-duration, high-intensity exercises like weightlifting, sprinting, or bicycling. Other forms of creatine do not seem to offer the same benefits as creatine monohydrate.
How Does Creatine Work?
Most of the creatine you consume goes straight to your skeletal muscles, where it converts into phosphocreatine (or creatine phosphate), a compound that plays a key role in generating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the cellular energy currency during exercise. This means creatine helps sustain a steady muscle energy supply during intense lifting or exercise.
Beyond just providing energy and supporting muscle growth, creatine offers several other benefits:
- Speeding up muscle recovery: When you work out, you create tiny tears in your muscle fibers. As these tears heal during recovery, your muscles grow stronger. Creatine helps activate satellite cells in your muscles, aiding in the repair of these micro-tears.
- Increasing anabolic hormones: Creatine can boost levels of anabolic hormones, such as insulin, human growth hormone (hGH), estrogen, and testosterone. These hormones play a role in muscle growth and tissue repair.
- Enhancing water content in muscle cells: Improved cell hydration due to creatine supplementation may promote muscle growth, reduce dehydration, and minimize muscle cramps during intense exercise.
- Improved Exercise Performance: Creatine may enhance your ability to perform during workouts.
- Increased Muscle Mass: Creatine supplementation has been linked to muscle growth.
- Reduced Risk of Muscle Injuries: Creatine might help prevent or lessen the severity of muscle injuries.
- Enhanced Endurance: It can assist athletes in handling more demanding activities.
- Reduced Dehydration and Cramping: Creatine may help combat dehydration and muscle cramps.
- Minimized Muscle Tightness: It could reduce the likelihood of muscle strains and pulls.
If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, using creatine supplements might be particularly beneficial because plant-based diets lack natural sources of creatine. However, it may take longer to build up creatine levels in your muscles.
How Much Muscle Growth Can You Expect from Creatine?
The extent of muscle gain from creatine varies depending on your exercise routine. Some studies suggest that individuals taking creatine supplements alongside regular exercise might gain an extra two to four pounds of muscle mass over four to twelve weeks compared to those not using creatine.
Are Creatine Gains Permanent?
If you continue using creatine, maintain a consistent exercise regimen, and consume appropriate nutrition to support your workouts, you should be able to sustain the strength gains achieved with creatine supplementation.
Creatine for Brain Health
Aside from athletic benefits, creatine supplements might also be advantageous for individuals with specific health conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease), diabetes, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and conditions affecting creatine metabolism or transportation through the body. Creatine may even help those with insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardial ischemia). In a recent paper published in the journal Scientific Reports they have even seen improved cognition in sleep-deprived individuals taking creatine.
There is increasing evidence suggesting that creatine can also help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, which is beneficial for the brain, and that creatine may lower the risk of depression and anxiety, provide neuroprotection against brain injury, and promote brain health and development.
What Are the Potential Side Effects of Creatine?
Creatine is generally considered safe, but some individuals may experience side effects, including:
- Weight Gain: This is often due to increased hydration in the muscles
- Dizziness
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis)
If you encounter these side effects, consider reducing your daily creatine intake by dividing it into smaller doses throughout the day instead of taking it all at once. Always consult with a healthcare provider before starting or adjusting any supplement regimen.
A New Side Effect Of Creatine
Yes, creatine has been widely celebrated for its benefits with claims of having no downsides, being one of the most studied supplements. However, in the current environment with the spike protein infiltrating all of our bodies, there’s a significant downside emerging.
Creatine inhibits glycine, which is crucial for protein digestion, and can lead to an increase in arginine through glycine depletion. Increased arginine is associated with varicella-zoster virus activation. The disruption in the arginine-glutamine ratio can exacerbate this issue. We are witnessing a notable rise in varicella virus activation due to the spike protein’s effect on this virus.
This might sound far-fetched, but personally, my optic nerve inflammation that has plagued me over the last year was attributed to the varicella virus, part of the herpes virus family (including chickenpox and shingles). Have you noticed the increased concern about shingles in recent years? My eye inflammation coincided with my recent use of creatine over the last three months. Although I enjoyed the cognitive and workout benefits, I’ve stopped taking it.
My experience isn’t isolated. I’ve always had excellent eye and brain health, but I started experiencing blurred vision and dull headaches with inflammation after taking creatine. Moreover, we’re seeing inflammation leading to issues with the sciatic nerve, multiple sclerosis (MS), Epstein Barr virus, ulcerative colitis, and more.
Creatine increases the demand for specific amino acids crucial for controlling viral loads while depleting glycine, glutamine, and taurine. If you choose to supplement with creatine, it’s essential to ensure you’re also getting these supporting amino acids.
What To Use In Place of Creatine
Given these potential side effects and the need for more research on creatine, I’ve shifted my focus. For cognition and muscle support during workouts, I’m supplementing with PerfectAmino acids to provide the necessary amino acids in optimal ratios before and after workouts, and rely on wild animal protein to supply the building blocks my muscles need. This approach allows me to prioritize my health and fitness goals while avoiding the risks associated with creatine supplementation in the current context.
For Muscle and Performance Support
BodyHealth PerfectAmino Amino Acid Capsules
PerfectAmino is a pure, vegan supplement containing all 8 essential amino acids with 99 percent absorption. 1 tablet of PerfectAmino is precisely 1 gram of pure protein, which is the equivalent to 6 grams of whey protein, 3 grams of meat protein, or 2 grams of egg protein, without the calories, fillers, GMOs, or carbs. It is a perfect supplement to use with a wild animal protein diet providing sufficient amino acids for those unable to consume adequate amounts through diet.
Dr Amie Hornaman's Hormone Fixxr
Without optimal amounts of testosterone for women or men, muscle growth won’t happen. Not only that, but without testosterone, it is difficult to find the motivation to workout. Hormone Fixxr helps raise testosterone to healthy levels for women, and as a result, maintaining and growing muscle may be more easily achieved.
Wild Animal Protein
Wild animal proteins are rich sources of essential nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, and others crucial for protein synthesis and overall health. Additionally, during digestion, the body experiences a “thermic” effect, burning 25% of the calories consumed as heat. The natural balance of amino acids and Omega-3 fatty acids in wild animal proteins stimulates the release of a hormone called CCK, which helps curb sugar cravings and suppresses appetite. Examples include bison, elk, deer, lamb, grass-fed, grass-finished beef, and wild fish.
For Cognitive Support
As for my cognition whether I’m sleep deprived or not I’m focusing on taking Acceleradine® iodine, Accelerated Cogniblast® Nootropic and Accelerated Methylene Blue. Creatine works by increasing ATP; all three of these supplements, Acceleradine® iodine, Accelerated Cogniblast® Nootropic Accelerated Methylene Blue increase ATP and mitochondrial health.
Acceleradine® Iodine
Acceleradine® Iodine will not only increase metabolism and cellular energy in the brain and body for physical and mental energy, but will also boost mood.
In fact, iodine deficiency is the number one predictor for depression. Acceleradine® iodine not only supports thyroid health and metabolism, giving you the energy you need for daily life, but it also helps detoxify the brain from toxins like fluoride, which can cloud your mind.
What’s fascinating is that Acceleradine® Iodine doesn’t just stop there—it also has powerful antimicrobial properties that help fight off harmful pathogens like fungi, parasites, viruses, and bacteria. This not only supports brain function but overall health too.
One of the most impressive things about Acceleradine® Iodine is its ability to boost ATP levels significantly. This means more cellular energy, which can improve metabolism, physical performance, and brain function, and even aid in wound healing and fat burning.
And the added scalar frequencies in Acceleradine® Iodine? They’re designed to assist in detoxifying your brain and body from radiation, heavy metals, fluoride, bromide, and chlorine—stuff that can weigh down your brain function.
I’ve personally found that taking Acceleradine® Iodine has helped me feel more clear-headed and energized, making it easier to tackle my daily tasks with focus and vitality.
Accelerated Cogniblast® Nootropic
Accelerated Cogniblast® Nootropic is the most cutting-edge natural nootropic in the world combining traditional Ayurvedic herbs known to improve brain health with “smart” nutraceuticals and scalar frequencies.
The unique blend of ingredients in Accelerated Cogniblast® Nootropic may offer a comprehensive range of benefits:
- Enhances mood
- Improves focus
- Increases ATP production for sustained energy
- Reduces anxiety
- Boosts motivation
- Supports brain health to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia
- Neutralizes damaging free radicals
- Lowers inflammation
- Supports the health of vital organs like the liver, lungs, and kidneys
- Improves circulation for better overall vitality
- Reduces stress levels
- Optimizes energy levels
Additionally, Accelerated Cogniblast® Nootropic is enhanced with proprietary scalar frequency programming designed to:
- Clear emotional and physical shock from the body
- Enhance brain health and memory function
- Detoxify halogen toxins from the pineal and pituitary glands
- Decalcify the pineal, pituitary, and hypothalamus
- Balance both hemispheres of the brain
Accelerated Methylene Blue
Below are some of the researched potential benefits of methylene blue:
- Antioxidant Properties: Methylene blue acts as an antioxidant, helping to combat oxidative stress in the body, which is associated with aging and chronic diseases.
- Neuroprotective Effects: It’s being investigated for its potential in treating neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
- Electron Carrier: Methylene blue serves as an electron carrier, showing effectiveness against conditions such as malaria and methemoglobinemia. It’s particularly beneficial in cytotoxic scenarios within the brain, boosting cellular oxygen consumption and reducing anaerobic glycolysis.
- Cellular Protection: Through its role as an electron carrier, methylene blue can reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), offering cellular protection against challenges like glutamate blockage. It also helps maintain mitochondrial membrane potential and shields against neurotoxicity, showcasing a range of advantageous effects.
- Enhancement of Mitochondrial Function: Some studies suggest that methylene blue may enhance mitochondrial function, improving cellular energy production and suppressing mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage.
- Antimicrobial Properties: Methylene blue exhibits antimicrobial properties, showing effectiveness against various bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
- Cognitive Enhancement: Research indicates that methylene blue may improve memory and cognitive function.
- Antidepressant Properties: There’s evidence suggesting that methylene blue may have antidepressant effects by increasing serotonin levels. It’s being explored as an adjunctive treatment for depression.
- Increase in Nitric Oxide: Methylene blue may increase nitric oxide levels, which acts as a natural vasodilator, relaxing blood vessels and promoting improved blood flow.
With any supplement, proceed with caution. Creatine may have more benefits than risks, but until further research is done, using alternatives to reach the same results may be the right answer for now.
Sara Banta
Sara Banta is a Stanford University Graduate with a Degree in Economics and Psychology, and a certified Natural Supplement Expert & Graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara is the Founder of Accelerated Health Products and host of the health & wellness podcast, Accelerated Health Radio.
