“Should I be taking creatine?”
I hear that question almost every week.
Somebody read something somewhere about how creatine is good for you and they want to know whether or not they should be taking it.
My honest answer:
Unless you’ve been diagnosed with kidney disease, then sure. Go for it.
Look for the cheapest version of creatine monohydrate you can find…
Start taking 5 grams per day.
Just dump the powder in liquid and drink it.
If it upsets your tummy (it can create some bloating) then either stop taking it or split it into two doses throughout your day.
Now… as someone who’s been pretty openly against most supplements, why am I so glib about creatine?
A few reasons.
1 – It works.
Now when I say “works,” you should probably understand what it’s doing.
Like most supplements, it’s not magic.
Creatine is part of an energy system in your body, so having a little more of it allows you to do more, harder work.
You also get it from meat, but it’s pretty much impossible to eat enough meat to completely saturate your creatine stores.
That’s not a challenge. It’s just a fact.
So it gives you a little more energy and you’re pretty much guaranteed to benefit from it…
Cool.
Seems like a pretty guaranteed win.
It’s also my guess as to why we’ve seen recent cognitive benefits from creatine.
When you have more energy, you tend to think better…
Great.
I’m all for things that help you feel better and do more work.
Even if it didn’t actually do anything…
2 – The placebo effect is real.
And sometimes it’s okay to leverage it.
I don’t have a lot to say on this one, but it’s one of the primary reasons I don’t like to argue much with people about supplements.
The brain is a crazy thing and if we can take something legal that helps boost performance, awesome.
Unfortunately, most supplements are unnecessarily expensive.
(Like spending $3 a day for a powder that’s more or less just Metamucil and 2 grams of protein…)
Not creatine.
Which brings me to the next one…
3 – It’s cheap.
As of this morning, the creatine I buy costs less than 20 cents a serving.
I realize money’s tight for a lot of people…
But I also pretty much guarantee if you’re reading this email you waste more than 20 cents a day on less helpful things than creatine.
And this is why I’m willing to leverage it for people even if it didn’t actually help.
Which again, it almost certainly does because…
4 – It’s been studied for decades.
We have more evidence that creatine works than almost anything else in the supplement market.
It’s only rivaled by things like testosterone and caffeine.
It’s been studied to death and we just keep learning more and more positive benefits.
The only negatives?
It creates some bloating, which is usually preventable with proper dosing.
It’s also not great for your kidneys if you already have kidney disease.
(I stress the last point for reasons I’m not going to get into publicly, but I’m happy to chat with you about it privately if you’re curious)
Otherwise it’s fine.
So if you’re interested, here’s how to try it.
Buy creatine monohydrate – not any other form.
A lot of companies will try to sell you “better” forms for more money.
They’re lying to you.
Creatine monohydrate is the best form and also the cheapest.
Once you have your creatine, take 5 grams per day.
A few decades ago, people used to go through a “loading” phase for a week of 20 grams per day.
The negatives of this far outweigh the positives. Don’t bother.
5 grams.
Every day.
One note… don’t let it sit too long in fluid. It denatures over time.
An hour or so is fine, but if you mix it the night before, it probably won’t be doing much by the morning. And yes, that does mean that any pre-made drink with creatine doesn’t really have creatine in it by the time you drink it.
So that’s creatine.
It’s one of the only supplements I take.
And if all that weren’t enough, there’s one more reason why I’m so loose with my recommendations on creatine.
I find the conversation somewhat boring.
The supplement itself is useful, but most of the time when someone asks me about it they’re just looking for another shortcut.
Which it absolutely isn’t.
You still have to do the work.
You can’t take creatine, sit on the couch, and get stronger, faster, and smarter.
It doesn’t work that way.
And most of the people who ask me about creatine are the same people who ask me about Athletic Greens and raspberry ketones and whatever other supplement is currently being pushed on their favorite podcast.
The only difference is creatine actually works.
Yet it’s still not going to do it for you.
So should you be taking creatine?
Sure. Go for it.
It’s less than 20 cents per day and will likely give you a little more energy to work hard.
But it’s not magic.
It’s better than almost every other supplement out there for all the reasons I just listed above and probably more…
But you still have to go do the hard shit if you want to see results.