Body Handbook კატალოგი პროფილი რეიტინგი
დანამატები BODY HANDBOOK
დანამატები · §501
Creatine
Three to five grams of creatine monohydrate a day, in whatever you're drinking, is the closest thing on the supplement shelf to a free lunch — about twenty-five dollars a year. It's the most-studied supplement there is, and it does several things at once: builds visible muscle when you train, slows hip-bone loss in postmenopausal women, holds your thinking together on no sleep, and lifts mood in depression. Almost any adult without kidney disease has at least one of those returns waiting.
გააკეთე · ყოველდღე მტკიცებულება ზომიერი თავი დანამატები

Creatine sits in muscle and brain cells as a phosphate battery: when a cell needs energy fast, it hands off a phosphate to recharge the cell, then reloads 1. Three to five grams a day fills the muscle reserve about 15 to 20 percent over a month. Vegetarians start lower and gain more, since they eat none from food 2.

What it actually does

Muscle and strength are the settled case. A year of resistance work with creatine leaves you about a kilo and a half more lean tissue than the same training alone — bigger the older you are 3 4.

Bone is the surprise. Postmenopausal women lifting weights lost about a third as much hip bone on creatine as on placebo 5.

Thinking holds up under sleep loss: a large dose before an all-nighter kept working memory and reaction time closer to baseline 6. The benefit is largest in older adults and vegetarians 7.

Mood is the smallest signal but real: added to an SSRI, it sped antidepressant response in women with depression 8.

How to take it

What changes, and when

  • Week one: the scale is up a kilo or two of water held inside the muscle; you look slightly fuller 9.
  • Week two: the last hard reps come out cleaner.
  • Year one: a kilo and a half of lean tissue beyond training alone, and a better hip-bone scan if you're a postmenopausal woman lifting 3 5.
  • Bad-sleep nights: a topped-up reserve means you wake up not quite as broken 6.
The fine print — when to skip it, and what people get wrong

Skip it if you have pre-existing kidney disease — talk to your nephrologist first 9. With bipolar disorder, clear it with your psychiatrist; a tiny early study saw two patients tip into mania 11. And creatine nudges blood creatinine up 10 to 20 percent without touching your kidneys, which can look like kidney decline on a routine panel — mention it before a blood draw, or ask for a cystatin-C test 9.

  • "It damages kidneys." Not in healthy people; thirty years of trials, some at high doses for five years, find no harm 1.
  • "You have to load." You don't 10.
  • "It makes you bloated." The first-week water sits inside the muscle, not under the skin 9.
  • "It's only for bodybuilders." The mood, thinking, and bone evidence is strongest in older adults and women 12.

Most "it did nothing" stories come down to missing days, taking it without training, or expecting brain effects in a week — those build over weeks to months 4. About one in four to five people don't respond much regardless; eight weeks tells you.

References
  1. 1Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. link
  2. 2Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Parise G, Candow DG, Mahoney D, Tarnopolsky M (2003). Effect of Creatine and Weight Training on Muscle Creatine and Performance in Vegetarians. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. link
  3. 3Chilibeck PD, Kaviani M, Candow DG, Zello GA (2017). Effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscular strength in older adults: a meta-analysis. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine. link
  4. 4Lanhers C, Pereira B, Naughton G, et al. (2017). Creatine Supplementation and Upper Limb Strength Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. link
  5. 5Chilibeck PD, Candow DG, Landeryou T, Kaviani M, Paus-Jenssen L (2015). Effects of Creatine and Resistance Training on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. link
  6. 6Gordji-Nejad A, Matusch A, Kleedörfer S, et al. (2024). Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation. Scientific Reports. link
  7. 7Avgerinos KI, Spyrou N, Bougioukas KI, Kapogiannis D (2018). Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Experimental Gerontology. link
  8. 8Lyoo IK, Yoon S, Kim TS, et al. (2012). A Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Creatine Monohydrate Augmentation for Enhanced Response to a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor in Women With Major Depressive Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. link
  9. 9Antonio J, Candow DG, Forbes SC, et al. (2021). Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. link
  10. 10Hultman E, Söderlund K, Timmons JA, Cederblad G, Greenhaff PL (1996). Muscle creatine loading in men. Journal of Applied Physiology. link
  11. 11Roitman S, Green T, Osher Y, Karni N, Levine J (2007). Creatine monohydrate in resistant depression: a preliminary study. Bipolar Disorders. link
  12. 12Smith-Ryan AE, Cabre HE, Eckerson JM, Candow DG (2021). Creatine Supplementation in Women's Health: A Lifespan Perspective. Nutrients. link
დაკავშირებული სახელმძღვანელოში (15)
Works well with
  • — Creatine's whole long game is holding muscle onto your frame; grip strength is the cheap test that tells you whether you're winning that fight.
  • — In postmenopausal women who lift, creatine roughly thirds the hip-bone loss — one of the few non-drug levers on bone.
  • — One of creatine's clearest uses is holding onto muscle, including during GLP-1 weight loss.
  • — A single large dose buys back working memory and reaction time on a night of bad or no sleep.
  • — Creatine earns its place precisely because it makes resistance training pay off more.
  • — The bone and muscle payoff only lands if you train. For women past menopause, creatine plus lifting slows hip-bone loss about threefold.
ალტერნატივები
  • — The honest comparison: the same monthly spend buys creatine, which has far stronger evidence for the things people hope NAD precursors do.
დაკავშირებული
  • — An adjacent topic in the handbook.
  • — A DEXA scan is how you actually see the muscle and bone creatine helps you hold onto.
  • — Creatine bumps blood creatinine 10-20% without harming kidneys — mention it before labs, or ask for a cystatin C test.
  • — Creatine shows a small but real antidepressant signal, especially added to an SSRI — but exercise is the better-proven mood lever to build first.
  • — An adjacent topic in the handbook.
  • — An adjacent topic in the handbook.
  • — Creatine is one of the few things in this category with real cognitive trials — it earns its place where most stacks don't.
  • — An adjacent topic in the handbook.
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