Reader question
“My teenage sons are hoovering up the creatine and I keep reading stories that say middle aged women should be taking it too. Is this true, and why and how do I take it?” – Sarah, aged 54.
Professor Grant Schofield’s response
Sarah, you’re not imagining it, creatine is suddenly everywhere. Your sons are on the cutting edge, and now the research is showing it may be even more valuable for women (and men) in midlife and beyond.
Creatine helps every cell in the body have an extra back up supply of phosphate.
What that does is help you produce a high rate of energy as efficiently as possible. This counts the most in the brain and the muscles. Every cell in the body moves phosphate back and forth billions of times a second in just one cell. That’s how we turn food into energy. It’s the basis for life.
What does the research actually show? The results might surprise you.
Over 680 clinical trials have looked at creatine in humans. We’re talking dozens of meta-analyses, the gold-standard reviews that combine data from multiple studies to cut through the noise. For context, that’s more scrutiny than most prescription drugs get before hitting the market.
Muscles and leanness
Adding creatine to resistance training gives you an extra 1-1.4kg more lean mass over six months compared to training alone. Expect a 0.5-1kg drop in fat as well. In older adults, expect strength gains by 1-2% per week more than training alone.
Is there a single human who doesn’t like that result? Obviously, you have to actually workout.
Athletic performance
Creatine works well in repeated high-intensity sprints and strength efforts. Research shows boosts in sprint power by 5-15% and strength by 5-10%. Endurance results are mixed, though it may help with recovery and bursts of speed.
OK, well that’s great but the bleeding edge of athletic peak performance isn’t going to help most of us. But it’s good to know it could.
Brain function
Creatine ups brain creatine phosphate levels by up to 9%, improving memory, focus, and processing speed, especially under sleep deprivation or stress. One study showed you can potentially mitigate some effects of a poor night’s sleep (at least regarding alertness) with a morning load of creatine.
While it’s not ideal to be mitigating your poor sleep brain fog with coffee and creatine, at least the effect is real.
Mental health
A recent randomised controlled trial paired creatine with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression and saw massive gains: The creatine group improved by 10 points on depression scores, versus just five points for CBT alone.
Promising pilot studies show creatine improves cognition in early Alzheimer’s and dementia.
I’m all for new ideas which help our poor mental health or lessen the impact of your brain deteriorating as you get older. We probably need more research in both these areas.
My overall verdict?
Safe. Side effects are mostly limited to mild gut issues in a few people.
You will retain more water, perhaps seeing the scale go up 1-2 kg, but that is water held inside the muscle cells. That is a good thing, and overall creatine probably will make you leaner.
So, yes, it’s worth taking if you aspire to peak performance in mind and body. You don’t need to, but it is proven to have benefits.
How to take it
For muscles: 5g a day of creatine monohydrate.
For the brain: The research suggests higher doses (10-20g a day). Note: Do not take this all at once or you will get an upset stomach. Split it into two or more doses.
Because creatine is naturally found in meat (about 1g in a big steak), vegans or vegetarians might see the biggest upsides, as their baseline levels are lower.
I take it, and so does my whole family. My mum is 85, and my youngest son Danny is 16.
I’ve spent most of my career arguing that we mostly don’t benefit from supplements. This is the exception.
This article was originally published by Stuff on 8 June 2026, as part of Grant’s HealthStuff column.
Disclaimer: This column is intended as general health information only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your own GP or healthcare provider for advice specific to your condition.
