Creatine Health Benefits: Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Supplement

4 min readCREATINE HAS BUILT up a serious personal brand in the fitness space. It’s known as the go-to supplement for sweat devotees chasing strength, better recovery, and that extra rep. But its talents go way beyond the weight room. The powerhouse compound—it’s naturally stored in your muscles and brain and plays a key role in producing cellular energy—boasts benefits in areas like cognition, hormonal health, and healthy aging.And supplementation can help nearly everyone, regardless of gender, says Gabrielle Lyon, DO, a fellowship-trained, board-certified physician and WH advisor. But given that many women eat smaller portions of food, they tend to get less creatine (from red meat, fish, and dairy), adds Dana White, RDN, a sports nutritionist and athletic trainer—all the more reason to supplement.Meet the experts: Gabrielle Lyon, DO, is a fellowship-trained, board-certified physician, WH advisor, founder of Muscle-Centric Medicine, and author of Forever Strong. Dana White, RDN, is a sports nutritionist and athletic trainer in Fairfield, Connecticut. Nicole Lund, RDN, is an NYU Langone clinical nutritionist and certified personal trainer, with a master's degree in public health from Hunter College.So, should you be thinking about supplementing creatine even when you don’t have that deadlift on your mind? Here’s what this supplement can do for overall wellness.The Benefits of Creatine for Overall Wellness1. It might improve your brain health. Taking a creatine supp can increase brain creatine stores, which may have positive effects on cognition and memory, according to a 2023 review in Sports Medicine. It has also shown promise for improving health outcome measures associated with muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury (including concussions in children), depression, and anxiety.A preliminary study conducted in 2025 at the University of Kansas Medical Center suggests that creatine may have the potential for improving cognition in people with Alzheimer’s disease.2. It can potentially help keep your hormones in check. In each phase of the menstrual cycle, dramatic shifts in hormones like estrogen and progesterone affect the body’s natural creatine levels, sometimes causing them to dip. Supplementing with creatine can help keep the levels more consistent throughout the cycle, says White.Women who are pregnant, postpartum, or postmenopausal also have altered creatine levels due to hormonal changes. But more research is needed in this specific area of its usage. While it seems as if creatine supplementation might help address these shifts, it’s super important to consult your health care provider before adding it to your routine to ensure it’s safe and appropriate for you, especially if you’re expecting or thinking about getting pregnant.3. It may boost your energy. Creatine boosts the production of ATP—the energy currency your muscles rely on to power movement. This helps provide quick bursts of energy during high-intensity workouts like sprinting or lifting, particularly for power-based movements, says Nicole Lund, RDN, a clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone and a personal trainer.But it’s unclear whether this perk directly translates to everyday activities that require energy—like carrying groceries while walking across a parking lot or hoisting children. Note: most studies specifically examine how creatine affects energy during exercise.In theory, though, supplementation would help provide energy for daily activities, too, White says. “Creatine is responsible for muscle energy, and you use your muscles when you’re not working out,” she says. Having extra on board is probably a good thing, she theorizes, “so your muscles can tap into it.”4. It’s an emerging mental health treatment. Low creatine stores in the brain may be associated with depressive symptoms, according to a 2024 study in European Neuropsychopharmacology. When one group of individuals took creatine and underwent cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) while another took a placebo paired with CBT, both groups experienced reduced symptoms of depression overall—but depression scores were “significantly” lower in those who took creatine.This improvement may be due to creatine's ability to boost brain energy metabolism, modulate neurotransmitter systems that regulate mood, and provide neuroprotection—all of which may help improve mood disorders, especially when combined with antidepressants for 2 to 8 weeks, per 2024 research in Cureus.Creatine is used in the frontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with mood, so the finding that creatine eased depressive symptoms makes sense, but more research is needed, White says. Supplementing with creatine may bring you back to a healthy range in the brain, which might combat symptoms of depression, Lund adds. However, the findings are preliminary and more data is needed to determine how creatine supplementation can help people suffering from depression.How to Take Creatine Safely Look for creatine monohydrate, the most-studied and “optimal form,” Lund says. Also, scan the label for third-party testing, indicated by an “NSF Certified for Sport” or “Informed Choice” badge, to rule out contaminants.The recommended daily dose of creatine is at least 5 grams per day, according to the International Society of Sports Nutrition. This amount has been shown to be safe and effective for maintaining creatine saturation in the muscles.While research is inconclusive about timing, there is some evidence that taking it before or after exercise may be beneficial. You can mix it with water, juice, or another beverage. And taking it in the presence of carbs increases creatine retention, according to Lund.