Creatine - The Ultimate Brain and Body Rebrand

Today, we're talking about the biggest "PR rebrand" in nutrition history: Creatine.

Forget the old "gym bro" stereotypes. In 2026, research shows that creatine is just as much a longevity and brain supplement as it is a muscle builder. We're breaking down why this simple molecule is the ultimate "energy recycling program" for your body.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• The Science of ATP: How creatine helps recycle adenosine diphosphate (ADP) back into ATP—the energy currency that powers everything from your heartbeat to your heavy squats.
• Brain Health & Mood: Your brain uses 20% of your daily energy. We discuss how creatine supports memory, focus, and even helps mitigate "brain fog" during menopause.
• Metabolic Support: New clinical trials highlight creatine's role in improving GLUT4 activity, which helps stabilize blood sugar and insulin sensitivity.
• Muscle Preservation: Why creatine is an "insurance policy" against sarcopenia (muscle loss), especially for the 40+ club and those on rapid weight loss protocols.

5 Actionable Steps to Start Today:

1. Keep it Simple: Opt for Creatine Monohydrate (look for the CreaPure seal).
2. The Daily Scoop: 5 grams a day in your morning coffee is all you need—no "loading phase" required.
3. Journal the Shift: Track your mental energy for 21 days to notice the subtle lift in cognitive clarity.
4. Add Tension: Pair your supplement with light resistance training to signal muscle protein synthesis.
5. Hydrate+: Increase your water intake and add a pinch of sea salt to support intracellular hydration.

Stay focused, stay hydrated, and stay healthy, California!

References:

 EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org

The Fresh Factory, thefreshfactory.co

ELLE, www.elle.com

Lalezari Surgical, lalezarisurgical.com

Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org

Vitacost, www.vitacost.com

AdventHealth, www.adventhealth.com

UCLA Health, www.uclahealth.org

New Hope Network, www.newhope.com

Frontiers, www.frontiersin.org

PubMed, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Ultimate Nutrition, ultimatenutrition.com

Shamsah Amersi, MD, www.dramersi.com

Baylor Scott & White Health, www.bswhealth.com

Healthfarm Nutrition, healthfarmnutrition.com

Thank you for listening to Healthy California.

If you have tried all my suggestions and are still having trouble with your health, and would like an appointment with me, please email me, text, or call me via the contact information below.

My contact:

Linda Brown, MPT, Doctoral Candidate Functional Nutrition

916-426-2543

linda@heal-throughfood.com

www.heal-throughfood.com

Transcript

Hello, everyone. Welcome back.

00:01:16

This is Linda Brown, your physical therapist, functional nutritionist, coach, educator, and host of Healthy California.

00:01:25

Grab your favorite water, tea, or matcha, and let's get settled in.

00:01:29

Today we are going to dive deep into 1 supplement that has undergone the biggest PR rebrand in the history of nutrition, creatine.

00:01:39

If you're thinking, wait, isn't that just for guys at the gym with a gallon jug of water next to them? Not anymore.

00:01:46

Research in 2026 suggests that creatine might be more than a brain and longevity supplement than a muscle supplement.

00:01:55

Let's break down everything you need to know in 30 minutes of your life for the rest of your life.

00:02:01

So first of all, what is creatine? And why should we care?

00:02:05

Every single thing your body does, from your heartbeat to a heavy squat, is powered by a molecule called ATP. It stands for adenosine triphosphate, and it is the energy currency of our body.

00:02:20

Everything we do, every time we blink, every time our muscle moves, every time we don't even think about processes happening in our body, it takes energy, and that energy is ATP.

00:02:32

So ATP, I'm just going to break it down a little bit. I'm going to get a little bit nerdy here for a second.

00:02:39

In every cell, we have mitochondria, we have multiple mitochondria that makes energy, and that energy is ATP. So ATP, I just said ATP is adenosine triphosphate. Triphosphate means it has three phosphates attached to it. Tri meaning three phosphate. So adenosine triphosphate has three phosphates.

00:03:03

And when one of those phosphates comes off, it becomes ADP. That's important because once it has been converted to ADP, adenosine diphosphate, 2 phosphates, then at that point it's a dead molecule. It doesn't have any power to it. Like the battery is dead. You can't use it for energy anymore.

00:03:24

And that's where creatine comes in. So your body stores creatine as phosphocreatine, it literally donates its phosphate to that ADP to make ATP again.

00:03:38

So it's kind of like a cycle where this ADP gains a phosphate, turns into ATP, loses the phosphate for energy, becomes ADP, and it just goes back and forth and back and forth. It's that recycling system that creates the energy, that ATP pops off, creates the energy, and then the phosphocreatine donates its phosphate back.

00:04:01

So the phosphocreatine is necessary.

00:04:04

When you have creatine or you take creatine, it pulls water into the cell because it needs that water as part of this process. And this isn't the bloat that you feel like after a salty meal. Well, usually if you have a salty meal and it bloats you, it's because you don't have enough potassium.

00:04:20

But anyway, when we talk about that bloating after a salty meal, it's usually the water outside the cell that makes you feel bloated.

00:04:29

But when we get hypertrophied or get what bodybuilders try to get, like a bigger muscle, it's called hypertrophy. That is from water being pulled into the cell itself. So that is that intracellular hydration. It tells the cell, we have plenty of resources and it triggers water into the cell. And when you have water in the cell, that's kind of, that's really where you want it. You want it in the cell so that it can do things like make protein and repair muscle and grow.

00:05:04

So another reason why this is important, why creatine is important, because your brain, which is 2% of your body weight, uses about 20% of your daily energy. It relies heavily on ATP. And even though your brain is not physically moving, it's constantly at work. So it needs ATP, a lot of it.

00:05:23

Currently, in 2026, research shows that we now know that creatine helps maintain homeostasis of the brain. Homeostasis just means, you know, balance of the brain.

00:05:35

When you're stressed or sleep deprived, your brain creatine levels drop. So by having enough creatine, you're ensuring that your neurons have constant supply of energy, which helps prevent that brain fog or forgetfulness that you get when your brain is working overtime. So we need creatine for the brain.

00:05:54

And we recycle the creatine, but we can get depleted in it if we are sleep deprived or stressed. So it needs to be replaced.

00:06:05

And another reason this matters, and this is pretty cool, Myostatin is a protein in your body that actually limits muscle growth. It's like a biological break. But research shows that creatine can help decrease the myostatin levels, essentially taking the brakes off your body's ability to maintain and build lean tissue.

00:06:28

And this is great for people who lose muscle mass as we age. And also for people who are on weight loss medications where you lose weight fairly fast, because when you lose weight fast, you lose muscle. 40% of that weight is muscle. So it's important that you keep that muscle on your body, and creatine will help that.

00:06:50

So it's not just for bodybuilders, it's also just for anyone trying to maintain muscle.

00:06:56

And then another reason it's important is because of glucose management. In some of the newer clinical trials in 2026, so this is fairly recent, Creatine appears to improve the activity of what we call a GLUT4 transporter. And that transporter is at your cellular membrane and it helps bring glucose into the cell for energy. That's the whole reason why we need glucose, is to bring into the cell for energy. And it needs a transporter to do that.

00:07:30

So creatine improves the activity of the GLUT4 transporter. It helps glucose out of your bloodstream, into your cells, into your muscles. And so this means it might actually help insulin sensitivity and keep your blood sugar stable after a carb-heavy meal.

00:07:46

Let's break that down real quickly again.

00:07:48

So for muscles, creatine has a faster ATP recycling, which then gives you more strength and endurance. In your brain, it supplies a constant energy, which improves focus and memory. In your metabolism, there's better insulin sensitivity, so it improves your blood sugar support. And in your cells, it helps hydration into your cells, so intracellular hydration, and that helps with better recovery.

00:08:17

And sometimes even just helping your muscles look fuller giving your muscles a little bit more substance.

00:08:23

Creatine is basically the most efficient energy recycling program in your body.

00:08:29

It's actually an important supplement. It's an important supplement. Our body does make it.

00:08:34

So, you know, do you need to take it? I don't know. Let's find out.

00:08:37

That's probably what you're asking yourself right now.

00:08:40

So let's do a little bit deeper dive.

00:08:42

Past view of creatine was that it was for meatheads, for people, gym rats, people that just care about their looks, care about their strength, care about big muscles. So for decades, creatine was kind of stuck in this bro science category through the 90s and 2000s.

00:09:00

People also thought it might cause kidney disease, which it doesn't.

00:09:05

It might make your hair fall out, which there is absolutely no evidence for this.

00:09:09

That it's only for bodybuilders, absolutely not true.

00:09:13

It just also seems that people that go to the gym seem to be ahead of the science more so than the science community. And I think that's just because people that go to gyms don't necessarily wait for science to come out. They're just going to try anything. So it's been around in the gym longer than it has been scientifically based.

00:09:36

And so in the last 20, 30 years, there's been a lot of research on it. And a lot of good research.

00:09:42

So because of this, a lot of women and older adults stayed away from it, but now we know we're missing out on a massive piece of the health puzzle.

00:09:50

So let's look at currently.

00:09:52

We've moved from the weight room to the brain room, and here's what the latest studies are telling us.

00:09:57

Creatine has a neuroprotective part of it, so your brain is an energy hog. Creatine helps the brain maintain its ATP levels, and this is crucial for memory and focus.

00:10:10

It's also great for menopause support. For women in perimenopause or menopause, creatine is showing a 16% increase in their frontal brain creatine levels, which helps with that brain fog. Get older when we get this brain fog through menopause and perimenopause. Creatine helps that.

00:10:30

It also helps with mood and reaction time. New research shows it can actually help stabilize mood swings and improve how fast your brain processes information.

00:10:41

I think that's huge.

00:10:43

So who should take creatine?

00:10:45

Number one, the plant-based crowd. So creatine is found naturally in meats, red meats and fish. So vegetarians and vegans are almost always low. You'll likely see the biggest boost in vegans and vegetarians, the biggest boost in energy and clarity, because a lot of times they are not getting their creatine because they're not eating their meat. So if you are plant-based, then you may consider supplementing with creatine.

00:11:14

Who else should be taking it?

00:11:16

The 40 plus club. So women in menopause and perimenopause are also at risk for muscle loss, bone density decrease, and brain fog. So creatine can help that.

00:11:29

And then also people at risk for muscle loss. So maybe if you're not even a woman or you're not in perimenopause, if you have lost weight rapidly or on medication that helped you lose weight rapidly, you are at risk for sarcopenia, which is muscle loss. And you don't want to lose muscle. So creatine combined with light resistance training is an insurance policy for keeping yourself healthy.

00:12:01

And I've said this before, the more muscle you have on you is a big determiner of your longevity, of your health.

00:12:08

And who else should be taking creatine?

00:12:10

The overworked, the sleep-deprived. So research shows that creatine can help mitigate the cognitive slump when you haven't slept. And we mentioned earlier that sleep deprivation depletes creatine.

00:12:25

So who shouldn't be taking creatine?

00:12:28

It's one of the most researched and safest supplements on the planet, but it's not for everyone. If you have a pre-existing kidney disease, like a chronic kidney disease, you probably should avoid it. doesn't cause kidney issues in healthy people. It adds to the load of an already struggling kidney. So if you already have a struggling kidney, you probably shouldn't be taking it.

00:12:51

If you are on specific medications, like non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or diuretics, your water pills, check with your doctor first because these can affect the work and the load on the kidney, on kidney filtration.

00:13:09

How would you take creatine if you decided to take it? So the good thing about creatine is that it's easy to take. It's kind of like a no stress. It's a supplement, so it's not a medication where you have to take it regularly every single day. Supplements are there just to supplement. So your supplements don't have to be taken every day if you aren't depleted in them.

00:13:33

It's typically non-flavored. It comes in a little powder form. You can put the scoop in your coffee. You can put it in anything really, and it's pretty easy.

00:13:42

You'd want to get the creatine monohydrate. It's kind of the gold standard because it's been the most researched and you want to typically take 3 to 5 grams A day. You don't, like I said, you don't need to load it. You don't need to start off at 20 grams and then decrease over time. You don't need that much. Those are for people who are trying to build big muscles and you don't necessarily need that.

00:14:08

You just want a maintenance program. Doesn't matter when you take it, take it at morning or take it at night. Sometimes it's just good to put your container of creatine next to your coffee maker in the morning and just put a little scoop in there. Typically those containers have a little scoop and the scoop is a 5 gram scoop. Just add it to your coffee. You're not going to taste it.

00:14:28

The key is just to be somewhat consistent to see any results.

00:14:33

So creatine does pull water into a cell and so you have to also make sure you stay hydrated.

00:14:38

Our bodies make about one gram of creatine a day on its own. So it's mostly made in the liver and the kidneys. And then the rest has to come from what we eat.

00:14:48

And we have this recycling program that recycles its own creatine. But if you are not eating properly, if you are not sleeping properly, and you're stressed, you're going to be using up that creatine and not recycling it. So you may need to supplement to boost your levels.

00:15:04

And you don't have to do it forever. You can just supplement now and then.

00:15:07

And plants just don't have creatine. So again, if you're plant-based, you may have to supplement, even if it's just for a little bit, every now and then.

00:15:15

So let's look at where you would get it. I had said meats, meats and fish.

00:15:20

Herring has 3 to 4 grams per pound of herring.

00:15:27

Pork, beef, and salmon has 2 to 2 1/2 grams per pound.

00:15:31

Chicken has 1.5 to 2 grams, and cod about 0.3 grams.

00:15:36

Now these are per pound. So herring, if you were to get your daily dose, you'd have to eat a pound of herring. And same thing with pork, beef, or salmon. You'd have to eat 2 pounds of pork, beef, or salmon to get your daily creatine intake.

00:15:52

And when I say your daily intake, I'm talking about the prescribed 5 grams. Our body makes 1 gram of creatine. And if we're trying to maintain at 5 grams, you would have to eat 2 pounds of pork, beef, or salmon just to maintain that.

00:16:08

So the question that I get asked is, creatine good for vegans or vegetarians?

00:16:15

And I explained that yes, it is, of course, because we need it if we're stressed or sleep deprived. But the creatine that you get as a supplement is vegan friendly. So it's not made with animal products.

00:16:29

It's synthesized with sarcosine and cyanamide.So no animals were harmed in the making of this.

00:16:36

It's pretty inexpensive and it's pretty easy. But again, you know, these are a processed food at the same time. So keep that in mind.

00:16:44

If you are trying to be non-processed, you probably have a pretty healthy diet.

00:16:48

The one thing that I would want you to pay attention to if you are vegan or vegetarian is if you decide to take it in capsules, if you're taking it in capsule form, look for the V caps because those are the vegetarian caps. Because a lot of capsules are made from gelatin, which is usually derived from bovine.

00:17:09

So that's just something to think about.

00:17:11

So what depletes your creatine? I mentioned it a couple times. Technically, your body doesn't leak creatine, but certain factors increase your demand for it, uses your body battery faster.

00:17:22

So high intensity exercise is the obvious one. The harder you work, the faster you burn through your phosphocreatine stores.

00:17:30

And we do recycle it if we have enough. If we have more stores just waiting there in our muscles, then we can do more and last longer so that our recycling can be recycled faster.

00:17:44

As I mentioned before, sleep deprivation.

00:17:47

The brain uses creatine to buffer stress. In 2026, we're seeing that sleep-deprived brains have significantly lower creatine than well-rested brains. So sleep deprivation will blow through your creatine.

00:18:02

And chronic stress. High cortisol levels can lead to muscle wasting over time as well, which indirectly lowers your body's creatine stores.

00:18:13

And then the other thing that depletes your creatine is a low methyl diet. And this is kind of a hidden one. Your body needs methyl groups. And we get that from foods that are high in B12, folate, and choline. So like eggs, meat, and leafy greens. You're going to get your B12 from meats, choline from your eggs and then leafy greens.

00:18:35

If I go back through all my previous podcasts, it's pretty much the same song and dance. You got to eat healthy. But a diet that is a high, that has high methyl groups can make creatine. One gram a day base layer of creatine.

00:18:51

So what are medications that might deplete your creatine stores or what are some contraindications to be aware of?

00:19:00

diuretics or water pills. Since creatine pulls water into the cells, you have to have enough water to pull into the cell. If you're dehydrated, there's not going to be any water to pull into a cell. And that cell won't be able to make the energy it needs. So we usually take water pills if we have hypertension or high blood pressure. So if you're taking a diuretic, you might be a little dehydrated.

00:19:22

And then if you're on those pain meds, like ibuprofen, Advil, Naproxen. There's a concern that taking high doses of those NSAIDs while using creatine can put an extra strain on your kidneys. If you are taking pain meds semi-regularly, talk to your doctor before starting a creatine protocol.

00:19:44

And then another thing is if you are on a medication that helps your kidneys, you don't want to be taking something that's going to make your kidneys work a little bit more. So some things like antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs also put a strain on the kidneys because your kidneys have to filter. That's what our kidneys do. You don't want the kidneys to be working extra hard by taking something else that it's going to have to filter.

00:20:10

So medications and contraindications. Water pills, pain meds, and kidney medication, those would all be something to be careful with.

00:20:21

And what about caffeine? There's some old research suggesting that high doses of caffeine might cancel out the performance benefits of creatine. But the current verdict is you don't have to worry about your coffee because you have to have high doses of coffee. As long as you stay within your two, 3 cups a day, you're not going to have to worry about anything depleting your creatine.

00:20:45

And remember that caffeine is a diuretic as it is, so you still need to maintain your hydration.

00:20:52

I feel like I need to go back and summarize some of this.

00:20:56

So I'm going to kind of go back and summarize everything I just said, just real quickly.

00:21:01

Creatine.

00:21:02

It's neuroprotective. It's good for people that are perimenopause or menopause, and it's good for your mood and reaction time.

00:21:12

And who should take it? People that are plant-based, people that are over 40, people that are on a medication where you're losing weight fast, and the people who are stressed or sleep deprived.

00:21:24

Some contraindications are if you have a pre-existing kidney disease, you're on pain meds, and if you get bloated real easily when taking it. That's A contraindication.

00:21:36

And then how should you take it? Five grams a day, creatine monohydrate. It doesn't matter when you take it. And, take it with the meal so it gets absorbed.

00:21:44

Your top food sources would be herring, pork, beef, and salmon, and chicken.

00:21:50

And vegans and vegetarians benefit a lot from taking this because they don't typically have that in their diet.

00:21:56

And what would deplete creatine is exercise, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, and a low methyl diet.

00:22:03

And other medications and contraindications would be if you're taking a diuretic, pain meds, or medications for your kidneys.

00:22:12

Okay, so I felt like I needed to kind of put all that into a quick synopsis.

00:22:18

So let's talk about 5 actionable steps you can do today.

00:22:21

First, I want to share a Bible verse that reminded me of today's topic.

00:22:25

It's from Matthew 5:14. It says, you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

00:22:32

You know, if you are a light, how can you keep that from anyone? You can't. People just know if you have this light about you, people are, they're going to see it.

00:22:41

So when I think about how this relates to today's topic, you know, of creatine, It reminds me that we used to think creatine was meant only for a certain person, like a bodybuilder, someone that was more interested in their muscle than anything. But the whole time, it was meant for so much more. So like many scientific things, it's revealed to us when we're ready to understand it.

00:23:04

And we're finally just able to see it and understand it.

00:23:07

And so I think you are meant for so much more. I think that you have a light, you're meant for so much more, and now are you able to see and understand that? So what was revealed to you today that can be life-changing? Because you are meant for so much more. Sometimes we just don't see it. So I just want you to reflect on that for a second.

00:23:28

And then I'm just going to go back to these five actionable steps.

00:23:32

So if I had to pick three supplements for the average Californian looking to live a long life or to age gracefully, creatine would be one of the top five because it's affordable, it's safe, it's well-researched, and the brain benefits alone make it worth its, what, $15 a container?

00:23:54

And I'm a physical therapist, so I am always looking for something that's going to maintain our muscle as well. It just has so many benefits to it.

00:24:02

So if you're ready to stop just thinking about it and start actually feeling the difference in your brain and your body, here are some 5 actionable steps that we can just start today.

00:24:12

So don't get distracted by the shiny, expensive new versions of creatine. You don't have to think about the creatine nitrate or the liquid or the buffered creatine. Just straight creatine monohydrate. It's well researched. You can look for a seal that says Crea Pure because then you know it's the purest form and it's free of heavy metals. It's just pure creatine. That's step number one. Just get a creatine that is creatine monohydrate, Crea Pure seal on it. Simple.

00:24:44

Number 2, you would start taking a dose of about 5 grams. So it's usually a scoop. I would prefer the powder over the capsule, but you can do either one. You don't have to worry about a loading phase. Put the container next to your coffee and dump a scoop in the morning in your coffee.

00:25:01

The third thing we can do is journal. And I say that because sometimes we don't realize that we are feeling better until we write it down. You can journal for just a couple minutes on your mental energy. Maybe if you have a 3 o'clock slump in the afternoon, and then journal 14 days, 21 days later and see the change.

00:25:24

And then #4, you can pair your creatine with some mechanical tension. So I'm talking about exercise because I always mention it. Creatine gives you the energy to do the work, but you still have to do the work. You don't just take it and all of a sudden, boom, you have muscle. You have to actually work the muscle. And you can do that by just working out a a couple times a week doing resistance training. You don't have to become a powerlifter or do big, strong, heavy runs. You don't even have to join a gym. Just do some body squats or some push-ups or get a resistance band. Anything that's going to strain and push your muscle is all you need. So creatine helps with muscle protein synthesis, which means it helps build muscle. But it needs that signal, that tension.

00:26:09

And your bones do too. So your bones are the same way. I talked about osteoporosis last week. and your bones need tension on it, strain on it in order to build, our muscles do as well. And then our muscles pull on that bone, which then signals the bone to get strong as well. So we're doing a double whammy when we do resistance training. We're building our bones and we're building our muscle.

00:26:33

And then #5, the fifth actionable step would be to hydrate, to drink a lot of water. When you're taking creatine, you want to drink water because it also helps pull the water into the cells. We need water in our body in order to pull it into the cell. If you're taking creatine, you want to drink a little bit extra water. Typically, you know, half your body weight in ounces. So like if you're 100 pounds, you want to drink 50 ounces, but you want to do a little bit more than that. And people say 8 glasses of water a day, but when they say 8 glasses of water, they're talking about 8 8-ounce glasses of water. So maybe up that to 12-ounce glasses 8 times a day. And put a little electrolyte in there or a pinch of sea salt. It helps pull the sodium into the cells. It's that easy.

00:27:20

So 5 actionable steps.

00:27:22

Creatine monohydrate, take 5 grams, do a journal, do some workouts, and drink water.

00:27:31

It's that simple, pretty easy.

00:27:33

If you have any questions, you can find my contact information in the show notes.

00:27:38

And I want to thank you for tuning in and hearing about creatine.

00:27:44

So stay focused, stay hydrated, and stay healthy, California.