Surprising Facts About Creatine

Did you know that people used to think you had to take creatine for days—even weeks—to feel an effect?

It turns out that this wasn’t true. In fact, there’s a lot about creatine that people don’t know. 

It’s easy to assume that creatine is just a really effective muscle-building supplement—and it is!—but it also offers fantastic benefits for cognitive and cardiovascular health, metabolic regulation, pregnancy, and more. 

Here are just a few of the incredible benefits you get from taking creatine that I recently discovered in Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s newsletter:

Fast results. Not only does creatine work, but it works quickly! If you take it today, you will feel the results today. Even taking it an hour and a half before a workout (or whenever you need an energy boost) makes a big difference. 

Improved sleep. According to Dr. Patrick’s latest newsletter, while creatine does not broadly improve sleep, it did “significantly increase sleep duration on workout days in a study of novice resistance trainers. Creatine may help mitigate sleep disruptions caused by physiological stress, such as exercise or sleep deprivation.” Creatine is especially helpful to take when you’re sleep deprived, as it can restore your performance to pre-sleep deprived levels!

Just look at the results of a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition that compared people who were getting 3-5 hours of sleep at night with people who were sleeping 7-9 hours: one (placebo) group didn’t receive any creatine, while the other group was given creatine 1.5 hours before a workout. The sleep deprived group that didn’t receive any creatine showed a huge drop in performance, while the creatine group were able to maintain performance levels, like they weren’t even sleep deprived at all. Plus, the more creatine they took (up to 100mg per 1kg of bodyweight), the stronger the effect. 

Cognitive benefits. Studies show that even short-term creatine use improves cognitive function, short-term memory, and many other processes. It has also been found to enhance cognitive performance and reduce mental fatigue in vegetarians, older adults, and sleep-deprived individuals, especially when under stress.

Cardiovascular health benefits Another fact I learned about creatine was how it alters blood vessel function—a recent study discovered that taking creatine for 28 days led to a 1.2–1.4% increase in two measures of blood vessel function! As Dr. Patrick noted, improvements of this size have been associated with substantial reduction in future cardiovascular events in prior studies.

Additionally, another study found that older adults who supplemented with 20 grams of creatine daily for 7 days improved artery stiffness—a risk factor for cardiovascular disease—indicating that creatine can strongly improve cardiovascular health markers with a short-term, high dose, as well as with a longer-term, standard dosing regimen.

Metabolic regulation: Studies show that creatine supplementation, when combined with exercise, lowers blood lipids, improves glycemic control, and leads to reductions in cholesterol, triglycerides, and VLDL in adults with high cholesterol, and with improved glucose control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Female health: Studies also show creatine consumption can be vastly beneficial for women going through menopause, and it’s also a great supplement to use during pregnancy, as it supports fetal development and brain function. Research suggests that creatine may help protect preterm infants from birth complications like asphyxia and promote neural development, though human trials are lacking.

Depression: Creatine supplementation, when used alongside antidepressant therapy, can improve brain energy utilization and reduce depressive symptoms. While results will vary because of factors like dosage and individual responsiveness, studies do report reductions in symptoms by up to 79% in some cases.

Neurodegenerative diseases: Human trials have shown limited success so far, but animal studies on the benefits of creatine show that it protects neurons in diseases like ALS, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s, so creatine supplementation may be better suited for prevention (or used in combination with other treatments) instead of being relied on as a standalone treatment method.

Traumatic brain injury: Creatine supplementation may reduce cognitive and physical impairments following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Studies in animals and humans, including children, suggest creatine supplementation results in improvements in communication and locomotion, and reduced post-injury symptoms like headaches and dizziness.

Want to start supplementing with creatine today? I take B.rad 100% Pure Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder every single day—click here to order it and see how quickly you feel a difference! Also, our bestselling B.rad Superfuel has a winning combination of USA-sourced grassed whey protein isolate along with 3 grams of creatine in every scoop. 

The common recommendation is to supplement with 5 grams of creatine per day, and you’ll typically see the small 5 gram scoop included in creatine products. Recent research has shown that supplementing with much more than that delivers benefits without any of the adverse effects you might have heard about in bro-science. The only thing you might notice taking larger doses is some stomach distress. Personally, I typically take 3 scoops of Superfuel in my morning smoothie, which delivers 9 grams of creatine. On the two days per week where I do my most intense workouts, I’ll add an additional 5 gram scoop of B.rad Creatine. I’m doing everything I can to perform and recover as I enter a new 60-64 age group for masters track & field competition in 2025, and creatine is a central element of my diet and supplement regimen. 

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