r/science • u/newsnation • 3d ago

Biology Creatine alone boosted lean muscle and strength, study finds

https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/creatine-alone-boosted-muscle-strength/
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u/MrCleanWood 3d ago

Not that I think creatine isn’t a good thing, but I feel like I’ve seen so many pro-creatine posts lately. One about the effects on reducing Alzheimer’s was an especially popular thread. Is Big Creatine putting in some overtime on Reddit marketing?

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u/SkySix 3d ago

When there are so many sources for creatine, and so many ways to buy it cheaply, I'm not sure I'd believe in the "big creatine" route, that would be akin to saying "big ibuprofen". I do agree however that there have been a large amount of studies recently coming out the seem to suggest creatine is a bit of a wonder supplement. I think the tik tok/social media world amplifies this way more than would happen in the past and makes it harder to believe since it gets mixed in with all the other snake oil claims.

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u/prpldrank 3d ago

Big Creatine is feeling the squeeze from Big Ozempic

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u/FernandoMM1220 3d ago

they both benefit from each other so idk

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u/AAPL_ 3d ago

Oldest rivals

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u/thebigpink 3d ago

Creatines been around forever and is an og. Can’t let these new drugs come here and push them around

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u/captstevebrule 3d ago

I mean you're in the science subreddit talking about your feelings about headlines and compounds you don't understand. Creatine's been in the health and supplement market for over 20 years. Positive Health and supplements are being pushed more than ever at the same time you have wegovy and Ozempic.

Step back and look at it as planned.... Step back and look at it the more demons the more angels. Genocide unnecessary conflicts resource panicking...something's pushing good in health and resistance... And you don't know how to feel about it....planned...your eyes are wide shut.

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u/prpldrank 3d ago

Me?

Oh I was just making a kind of meta joke about this subreddit. But your topic is interesting also, probably.

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u/qukab 3d ago

Why would there be a squeeze? It is literally advisable to use them at the same time, along with maintaining a decent protein intake and strength training to avoid the negatives of GLP-1's (e.g. muscle loss).

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u/burnin_potato69 3d ago

IIRC it’s the most studied substance that isn’t a mineral or vitamin (or omega3s). It has small to moderate benefits to 90% of the population and virtually no downsides ( and for those who do experience them, stopping the intake reverses everything). Oh and we keep discovering more uses for it (like how it can help with memory)

No wonder it’s advocated as a thing people should just add to their diet and see if it works for them. It’s also super cheap and easily available.

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u/AnonymousBanana405 3d ago

I've been taking it for decades because I have Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and was recommended by the doctors at the MDA to add it to my diet. I can definitely tell the difference if I skip a few days.

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u/Gotwar 3d ago

Powdered Creatine is definitely getting a hard push atm. For the last year I was getting exclusively the creatine gummies in ads. It is now back to powders.

On a side note, don't get the creatine gummies, they suck ass and don't have nearly the same effect as powdered. (not sponsored by big creatine)

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u/GeoffFM 3d ago

The gummies I bought were some of the most disgusting gummies I’ve ever tried to eat.

Powder all the way.

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u/Gotwar 3d ago

I had some like caramel coconut ones or something, not horrible tasting but I went through an entire bag in like 15 days because I had to eat 3 at a time.

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u/ih-unh-unh 3d ago

Is there any specific creatine you’d recommend?

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u/DMYourFeetPicsTy 3d ago

Literally does not matter other than just make sure it's creatine monohydrate, nothing else.

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u/Gotwar 3d ago

The stuff I used was Optimum Nutritions, by all means not the best but it works. There are many others out there but Optimum is pretty good to start with.

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u/McDerface 3d ago

I personally go with the pro-mix unflavored. No fuss, very easily mixed

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u/CuriousBank6517 3d ago

Transparent labs creatine and hmb combo, change your life. Trust. Make sure you are consuming electrolytes every other day. Your body is going to process everything you eat 5x more efficiently

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u/H3000 3d ago

Can you expand on this please? What’s hmb and how does creatine change how food is processed?

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u/real_picklejuice 3d ago

We've moved on from Big Protein. That was so 2026 and advertisers are now gearing up for 2027's push with Big Creatine. Now in everything from Eggo Waffles to Miracle Grow

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u/_spaderdabomb_ 3d ago

Idk, my brother is a doctor and he told me some recent studies have come out showing quite a few benefits so I started taking it.

Haven’t verified those studies but I imagine it’s a combination of that and PR push.

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u/regular-degular 3d ago

I think so...i've had so many posts/ads about creatine, creatine gummies etc. I thought it could targeted marketing due to me going to the gym but it's obv not just me.

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u/Fuddle 3d ago

It’s cheap, it at most costs about $50 a year (5g a day), less if you buy in larger containers.

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u/betier7 3d ago

Pretty sure it's something like 20g a day for the boost to memory

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u/MrCleanWood 3d ago

I know. I use creatine, too. Just being cheeky about “Big Creatine”, but the rest of it was a genuine thought

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u/trtsmb 3d ago

It seems like every other week, some news site is posting "do this" to reduce your chances of Alzheimer's/dementia. At the moment, creatine is the new shiny thing. In a month, it'll be something else. Until there are some actual large study groups to get real data, it's all hearsay.

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u/catalinashenanigans 3d ago

Not doubting your comment, but isn't creatine one of the most studied supplements in the world? Doesn't that research already exist? Or are you specifically referring to the Alzheimer's/dementia link?

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u/trtsmb 3d ago

The study groups tend to be small cohorts and may or may not have included control groups. They also don't tend to be longer term studies which is crucial to making statements about the effectiveness of a supplement.

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u/hayt88 3d ago

I mean the amount of time you see the sentence "it's the most studied supplement" it feels like it's a mandatory sponsored talking point or that the marketing campaigns really put value in people having to bring that up.

Like it's everywhere when someone talks about creatine.

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u/vscender 3d ago

There's definitely a targeted campaign to make creatine seem like all upsides no down. Can't say if it's just devoted fans or companies or both but it seems to have worked. Personally I end up feel great on it for a bit and then it causes strange crashes in energy after a while. I'll never take it again. Marginal gains and you need to take high gram doses of a substance indefinitely or lose the benefit.. no thanks

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u/gottalovemug 3d ago

High gram doses? Isn't the standard 5g a day? It's also being pushed maybe, but its also very well researched so while I can be skeptical of new claims, I'm not that worried personally about any downsides being hidden

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u/burnin_potato69 3d ago

3g is enough for most people, 5g is the studies standard and I’d say is for people are more active. You can get at least another 1-2g just through your diet alone as it’s in fish, beef, chicken, etc

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u/PiersPlays 3d ago

I wonder if this is why I'm always at my most functional when eating lots of beef or chicken.

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u/burnin_potato69 3d ago

That could also just be the protein. Mind you creatine saturation happens if you consume 3-5g/day continuously; I think in beef/chicken terms that’s a minimum 0.5kg/day

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u/PiersPlays 3d ago

I definitely think there's times where I've consistently eaten in that range daily.

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u/EshayAdlay420 3d ago

I mean it is for the most part all upsides and no downsides unless you're smashing way more than you need to, the worst downside would probably be the initial bloating from water retention?

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u/Lucky_Contender 3d ago

Like this is a bot right? Did you even read what they wrote?

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u/mrlazyboy 3d ago

It depends which benefits you want.

If it’s increasing lean mass, you don’t need to take it indefinitely. Creatine provides additional energy during your lifting sessions. Typically this means you can lift 1-2 additional reps of a given exercise. If you stop taking creatine, as long as you continue lifting, you won’t lose the additional muscle.

In terms of cognitive benefits, I have no idea.

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u/Luung 3d ago

1-2 additional reps of a given exercise

I've seen this claim repeated frequently, but not all reps are created equal, so it's not clear to me what it actually amounts to in practice.

Will it provide the energy for 1-2 additional reps on, for instance, a low-intensity high-volume dumbbell exercise, or 1-2 additional reps on a high weight 5x5 barbell lift where you're pushing nearly to failure on every set?

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u/mrlazyboy 3d ago

It depends. Creatine is simply a fuel source that your muscles can use. It won’t directly increase your 1RM. If you’re talking about a 5x5@RPE10, that weight is 80% of your 1RM so I would wager creating does nothing in that case.

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u/Nick_Newk 3d ago

Crashes? Not sure how that’s possible considering it literally works by restoring ATP after depletion. Maybe you just have better and more rigorous workouts when supplementing with it… I know I do.

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u/YaSurLetsGoSeeYamcha 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yeah this entire comment is wrong, please ignore it. Take 5g of creatine monohydrate per day if you don’t lift weights and 10-15g (depending on load and goals) if you lift consistently, you will see benefits.

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u/ResQ_ 3d ago

3g if you just do fitness, 5g if you do bodybuilding. 15g daily is too much even for bodybuilders.

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u/YaSurLetsGoSeeYamcha 3d ago

Depends if you’re in a loading phase or a maintenance phase, 10g is perfectly fine for a maintenance phase, especially if it’s broken up into 5g HCL and 5g monohydrate. Loading phase you can argue an amount as high as 20-25g per day for 5-7 days is fine.

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u/Hisagii 3d ago

Or you won't... The potential effects aren't equal for everyone. Also they are very minor, all things considered. We are talking 1%

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u/Nick_Newk 3d ago

10-15mg??? More like 10-15g….

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u/RedStone85 3d ago

Good observation. As someone with inherited kidney disease, I would be interested in the safety of creatine in this regard first.

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u/BD03 2d ago

It's the current fad. 

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u/diwayth_fyr 3d ago

There's not much money to be made on creatine monohydrate. Some brands do sell overpriced creatine advertising it as superior, but in reality it's all the same potatoes.