Creatine supplementation and brain health

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A new review from the Journal of Nutritional Physiology explains creatine supplementation may boost brain energetics and cognitive function, particularly under stress or disease. However, evidence is inconsistent due to methodological challenges in MRS quantification. Higher doses over longer periods appear necessary to overcome blood-brain barrier limits.

The human brain is a metabolic marvel defined by a striking physiological irony: it accounts for a mere 2% of total body mass yet consumes a staggering 20% of our resting energy expenditure. To sustain this relentless metabolic flux, neurons rely on a sophisticated “spatial energy shuttle”—the phosphorylcreatine (PCr) circuit—to move high-energy phosphates from mitochondria to distant cytosolic sites of ATP consumption. While we have long viewed creatine through the narrow lens of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, its most profound role may lie in its capacity to serve as an energetic insurance policy for our neurons.

However, the transition from muscle-building protocols to neuroenergetic health is not a simple linear transfer. As we pivot into the “brain era” of creatine research, we are discovering that the rules governing cerebral uptake and measurement are fundamentally different from those of the gym.

🔗 Link to the paper

​Creatine supplementation and brain health: Methodological challenges, current evidence, and translational perspectives