Creatine: A Deep Dive into the Supplement That Fuels Your Brain, Muscles, and Recovery
Creatine is one of the most well-researched and effective supplements in health and performance science. Long misunderstood as a bodybuilder-only aid, creatine is now recognised for its wide-ranging benefits in muscle physiology, neurological health, cognitive performance, and injury recovery. Experts like Dr. Andy Galpin, Dr. Andrew Huberman, Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, and Dr. Mark Hyman have helped bring attention to its role in healthy ageing, mitochondrial support, and energy regulation.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound made from three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. It is synthesised in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas, then transported through the bloodstream to organs and tissues.
Approximately 95% of the body's creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, where it serves as a rapid energy buffer. The remaining 5% is distributed in the brain, heart, retina, and other high-demand tissues, especially the central and peripheral nervous system.
What Does Creatine Do?
Creatine is stored inside muscle and brain cells as phosphocreatine. Its primary role is to regenerate ATP (adenosine triphosphate) — the body's immediate energy source — during high-demand activities.
ATP breaks down quickly during intense effort (e.g., sprinting, lifting, reacting), and creatine helps replenish it within seconds. This energy buffering system is crucial not only for muscle contraction, but also for neural signalling, cognitive tasks, and cellular repair.
How Creatine Is Synthesised and Stored
Synthesis: Primarily in the liver, also in kidneys and pancreas
Transport: Creatine is circulated through the blood and absorbed into tissues via creatine transporter proteins (SLC6A8)
Storage: In the form of free creatine and phosphocreatine, mainly in skeletal muscle and brain tissue
Once stored, phosphocreatine acts as a phosphate donor to regenerate ATP from ADP during high-demand situations.
Supplementation: How and Why It Works
Most people have muscle and brain creatine stores that are only 60–80% full. You cannot fully saturate creatine levels through diet alone. A standard 6-ounce steak provides less than 1 gram of creatine — far short of the optimal daily amount.
Supplementation with creatine monohydrate raises your tissue stores to saturation, enhancing ATP regeneration capacity and increasing cellular resilience. This process is especially important for anyone experiencing fatigue, cognitive strain, or muscle loss.
Creatine and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Whiplash, and PCS
Concussion, TBI, and whiplash often result in energy crisis in the brain. During impact:
- Neurons depolarise rapidly
- Glutamate floods the synapses
- Calcium and sodium channels become dysregulated
- ATP is depleted at a high rate
- This energy crash leads to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and symptoms like brain fog, dizziness, fatigue, mood swings, and memory loss. The brain becomes metabolically exhausted.
Why Creatine Helps:
After a traumatic brain injury or concussion, the brain enters an energy crisis. ATP, the molecule responsible for fuelling cellular activity, is rapidly depleted. This loss is particularly damaging in neurons, which require constant energy to maintain communication, balance neurotransmitters, and repair tissue.
This is where creatine comes in. Supplementing with creatine helps replenish ATP, allowing injured brain cells to recover more efficiently. It also plays a crucial role in supporting mitochondrial health, reducing oxidative stress, and restoring the brain's cellular power plants when they are most under pressure.
Importantly, creatine also helps stabilise the neuronal membrane potential—the delicate electrical balance that allows neurons to fire properly. In the post-injury state, this stabilising effect may help protect against further dysregulation of neurotransmitters and improve brain resilience.
Athletes who play contact sports—like rugby or American football—often pre-load creatine before matches. Why? Because having fully saturated creatine stores in the brain has been shown to reduce the severity of the initial injury and may support a faster recovery. It’s a pre-emptive strategy based on one core principle: a brain with full energy reserves is more protected.
This becomes even more important in the context of Second Impact Syndrome—a second brain injury occurring before the first has healed. If the brain's creatine and ATP stores were already depleted after the first hit, the second can lead to catastrophic failure in cellular energy production, making the damage far more severe.
In short: creatine doesn’t just help with recovery—it helps build energy resilience before trauma even occurs.
Mitochondrial Health, Ageing and the Role of Creatine
Mitochondria are often called the "powerhouses" of the cell – and for good reason. These tiny organelles are responsible for producing ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy currency your body needs for every function: from muscle contraction and brain activity to hormonal signalling and repair. Each cell can contain hundreds to thousands of mitochondria, depending on its energy demands. The healthier and more efficient your mitochondria, the better your body performs and recovers – and the slower you age.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly recognised as a key factor in ageing and many chronic diseases, including neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and fatigue-related conditions. Supporting mitochondrial health is therefore essential for anyone looking to optimise energy, resilience, and longevity.
This is where creatine comes in.
Creatine is not just a performance supplement – it's a mitochondrial ally. Inside the cell, creatine helps buffer and recycle ATP via the creatine phosphate energy system. This is particularly vital during short bursts of high energy demand, such as lifting weights, sprinting, or thinking under pressure. But beyond this, creatine improves the efficiency of mitochondrial respiration and may even increase the number and density of mitochondria through stimulating biogenesis.
Emerging research also shows creatine may protect mitochondria from oxidative stress and help preserve their function in ageing tissues – particularly in the brain, muscles, and heart. For women in perimenopause and menopause, where mitochondrial decline and hormonal shifts intersect, creatine becomes especially relevant.
In short, creatine isn’t just about muscles – it’s a key molecule for energy, resilience, and mitochondrial vitality.
Perimenopause, Menopause, and Creatine for Women
Hormonal shifts in perimenopause and menopause are accompanied by:
- Muscle loss (sarcopenia)
- Osteoporosis (Loss of bone density)
- Brain fog
- Mood instability
- Slower recovery from stress and exercise
(Just to mention a few of the changes we women go through during perimenopause and into menopause. Read more here to get a deep insight into female health
- Menstrual Cycle, Diet and Exercise
- Perimenopause and Menopause - More than just Hot Flashes.
Creatine addresses each of these issues:
- Creatine increases muscle mass and strength (especially when combined with resistance training)
- Supports brain energy and may alleviate cognitive decline
- Helps buffer mental fatigue and symptoms of low mood, anxiety and depression
Women tend to have lower creatine stores than men, and benefit significantly from supplementation during midlife. It's an evidence-backed way to support healthy ageing, preserve bone density, and maintain lean mass.
Creatine + Resistance Training: A Proven Duo
Creatine works best when paired with strength training. The combination:
- Enhances muscle fibre recruitment
- Increases protein synthesis
- Improves body composition
- Reduces exercise-related inflammation
- Studies show larger gains in strength, lean mass, and physical performance in those who take creatine alongside weight training than those who train without it.
Benefits of Creatine Supplementation
- Increases muscle mass and power output
- Supports brain energy and focus
- Reduces mental fatigue
- Enhances mood and may support treatment of depression
- Improves memory and executive function
- Helps recover from TBI and concussion
- Slows down sarcopenia and age-related muscle loss
- Supports ATP generation in all high-demand tissues (muscles, nerves, brain)
Is Creatine Safe?
Yes. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in the world. Clinical trials show:
- No adverse effects on healthy kidney or liver function
- No increased risk of dehydration or cramping
- Excellent long-term tolerance
The only caveat is that creatinine, a breakdown product of creatine, can elevate slightly on blood tests. This is not a sign of kidney damage but rather an expected result of higher creatine intake. If undergoing bloodwork, consider a 2–3 week washout period if you want baseline readings.
Those with existing kidney disease should consult a doctor before starting any supplementation.
How to Take Creatine
Standard Daily Dose: 5–10g per day
Loading Phase (optional): 20g/day for 5 days, then reduce to 5–10g
TBI/Concussion Support: 20g/day for several weeks post-injury, then taper to 5–10g daily for maintenance
Best practice:
Take with carbs and protein for optimal absorption
Mix with water
Timing: Any time of day — consistency is key
Caffeine does not interfere with creatine efficacy
Creatine is more than a performance enhancer. It is a neuroprotective, energy-boosting, anti-sarcopenia supplementwith applications in everything from menopause to concussion recovery.
If you work with clients, train your body, or simply want to age well, creatine is one of the smartest, safest, and most powerful tools you can add to your daily routine.