Creatine is one of the most popular nutritional supplements, but many people still think of it primarily as something used by bodybuilders and athletes. That view is changing. A new 12-week study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that creatine monohydrate supplementation helped middle-aged and older adults increase lean tissue mass and improve strength. These findings are particularly relevant as we age because maintaining muscle mass and strength becomes increasingly important for staying active and maintaining physical function.
Creatine is a nitrogen-containing compound that your body makes from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. It is produced mainly in the liver and kidneys, although the pancreas and brain can produce it as well. We also obtain creatine from food, primarily meat, poultry, and fish. Plant foods contain essentially no creatine, which is one reason vegetarians and vegans generally have lower creatine levels. About 95 percent of the body's creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, with smaller amounts found in the brain. Creatine levels also tend to decline with age, possibly because of lower dietary intake, reduced activity, declining muscle mass, and changes in the organs involved in creatine production.
One of the most important functions of creatine is helping your cells rapidly regenerate energy. Once creatine enters cells, it can be converted into phosphocreatine, also called creatine phosphate. When your muscles contract or your brain cells are active, they use ATP—the primary energy currency of the cell. ATP then loses a phosphate group and becomes ADP. Phosphocreatine can rapidly donate its phosphate to help convert ADP back into ATP. This happens very quickly and provides an immediate source of energy for muscle and brain cells during periods of increased demand. Creatine monohydrate is the form that has been most extensively researched and has been shown to effectively increase creatine levels in tissues including muscle and brain.
Researchers studied 64 healthy, sedentary adults between the ages of 45 and 65 who completed the 12-week trial. Participants received either a placebo or 10 grams of creatine monohydrate daily, divided into two 5-gram doses. Some participants also took part in an exercise and calorie-restricted diet program, while others did not participate in the structured exercise program. Creatine supplementation increased lean tissue mass compared with placebo, and participants taking creatine without structured exercise also improved measures of strength and muscular endurance. When creatine was combined with exercise and dietary intervention, improvements in strength and endurance were generally even greater.
Creatine may also support brain function, including memory. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Nutrition examined 16 randomized controlled trials involving 492 adults ranging in age from about 21 to 76 years. All of the studies used creatine monohydrate. Overall, creatine supplementation produced a significant improvement in memory compared with placebo. The researchers also found improvements in attention time and information-processing speed, although creatine did not significantly improve overall cognitive function or executive function. Importantly, the authors rated the evidence supporting the improvement in memory as moderate certainty.
These findings fit with what we know about creatine's role in cellular energy production. The brain has very high energy demands, and creatine helps regenerate ATP in brain cells just as it does in muscle. Earlier research also supports a potential memory benefit. A separate meta-analysis of randomized trials in healthy people found that creatine supplementation significantly improved memory overall, with the strongest effect seen in adults 66 to 76 years of age. Taken together, the research suggests that creatine may provide a modest benefit for memory, with potentially greater effects in some older adults.
Another interesting finding involved body composition. Participants who combined creatine with exercise and the weight-loss diet experienced a greater reduction in body-fat percentage while increasing lean tissue mass. This is important because losing weight is not simply about seeing the number on the scale go down. Maintaining lean tissue while reducing body fat is particularly important as we get older. The researchers concluded that creatine supplementation, both with and without structured exercise and dietary intervention, may help middle-aged and older adults maintain muscle mass and strength.
Creatine also has an extensive safety record. As I discussed previously, an analysis of 685 human clinical trials found that creatine supplementation did not increase the overall prevalence or frequency of side effects compared with placebo. Creatine can sometimes cause a short-term increase in water retention during the first several days or week of supplementation, but longer-term research has not shown persistent water retention. The new 12-week study also reported that 10 grams of creatine monohydrate daily was well tolerated. Taken together, this research supports the idea that creatine is not simply a supplement for young athletes. Its ability to support cellular energy production, lean tissue, strength, memory, and potentially brain resilience makes it particularly interesting as we age.
Chun, J., Liu, Y., Kibler, G. L., Lee, H., Babakhani, K., Rhoades, N., Bivins, I., Ko, J., Dickerson, B., Gonzalez, D. E., Sowinski, R. J., Rasmussen, C. J., & Kreider, R. B. (2026). Effects of creatine supplementation with and without exercise and diet intervention on body composition, cognitive function, and markers of health in middle-aged and older adults. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 23(Suppl. 1), 2716273. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2026.2716273
Prokopidis, K., Giannos, P., Triantafyllidis, K. K., Kechagias, K. S., Forbes, S. C., & Candow, D. G. (2023). Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Reviews, 81(4), 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuac064
Stengler, M. (2026). Everything you need to know about creatine [Video]. MarkStengler.com.
Xu, C., Bi, S., Zhang, W., & Luo, L. (2024). The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, 1424972. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1424972
