Creatine: The Best-Supported Supplement for Aging Muscle

September 20, 2026

Supplements · Muscle and aging

The most studied supplement in sports nutrition, and one of the few with real evidence for aging well. It works best with one condition: you lift.

Written for my patients. If you are not one, read "call me" as "call your own clinician", and take the questions here to them.

What it is

Creatine is something your body makes and gets from meat and fish. Your muscles store it as a quick energy reserve for short bursts of effort, like the last few reps of a set. Topping up that reserve lets you train a little harder, and over months that adds up to more muscle and strength. Your brain uses it for energy too.

It is not a steroid or a hormone, and it is not a stimulant.

Why it matters after 40

Starting in midlife, adults lose muscle every decade, and strength drops even faster. Muscle is what keeps you getting off the floor, carrying groceries, and catching yourself when you trip. It also helps control blood sugar. Holding on to muscle is one of the most important things you can do for how you age.

What the research shows

Strong evidence

Muscle and strengthIn older adults doing strength training, adding creatine increased lean muscle and strength more than training alone, including chest press, leg press, and getting up from a chair. This has been shown across multiple pooled analyses.

SafetyStudied for decades, including daily use for up to five years. In people with healthy kidneys, it has not been shown to cause kidney damage.

Emerging or mixed evidence

Women specificallyWomen benefit too, but in older women the gains have been smaller and less consistent than in men. Still worth it, with realistic expectations.

Memory and thinkingA 2023 analysis of 10 trials found creatine improved memory, with the biggest effect in older adults. Promising; not yet settled.

Without exerciseOn its own, creatine does little for muscle. The training is what builds it; creatine helps you get more out of each session.

How to take it

3 to 5 grams a day, every day, including rest days. One scoop of most products is 5 grams.
Any time of day. With a meal, in coffee, in a protein shake, in water. Consistency matters more than timing.
No "loading" needed. Loading (20 g a day for a week) fills your muscles faster, but 5 grams a day gets you to the same place in about a month with fewer stomach issues.
Choose plain creatine monohydrate that is third-party tested. It is the form in nearly all the research. Fancier forms cost more and have not been shown to work better.

What you may notice

Water weightMany people gain 1 to 2 pounds in the first few weeks. That is water moving into your muscles, not fat. It is part of how creatine works.

StomachOccasional bloating or loose stools, mostly with big doses at once. Split it or take it with food.

Lab resultsCreatine can raise your blood creatinine, a kidney lab, a little. It does not mean your kidneys are damaged. Tell any clinician who checks your labs that you take it.

Myths worth letting go

"It damages your kidneys."Not in people with healthy kidneys, across decades of research.

"It makes your hair fall out."This came from one small 2009 study that measured a hormone change, not hair loss. It has not been repeated.

"It is only for bodybuilders."The strongest case for creatine may be in adults trying to hold on to muscle as they age.

Talk to me before starting if

KidneysYou have kidney disease, or a lab has shown reduced kidney function.

PregnancyYou are pregnant or breastfeeding. It has not been studied enough there.

Heart or fluidYou have heart failure or are on a fluid restriction.

I wrote this for my patients, and it reads the same for everyone: general information, not a plan. If you would like your own numbers read against your own story, that is what a Lab Second Look is for. If you are not sure where to start, the free intro call is fifteen minutes.

A note on how to use this. General information for my patients, not individualized advice.

Chilibeck PD et al. Effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscular strength in older adults: meta-analysis. Open Access J Sports Med 2017;8:213–26.
Devries MC, Phillips SM. Creatine supplementation during resistance training in older adults: meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2014;46(6):1194–203.
Forbes SC et al. Creatine ingestion strategies on lean tissue mass and strength in older adults. Nutrients 2021;13(6):1912.
Prokopidis K et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: meta-analysis. Nutr Rev 2023;81(4):416–27.
Kreider RB et al. ISSN position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:18.

Trang Ca Laube, FNP-BC, FMACP · Reclaim Power Telehealth · Updated September 2026

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Trang Ca Laube, FNP-BC, FMACP

Board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. Founder of Reclaim Power Telehealth, seeing adults in Indiana, Colorado, Utah, Washington and Arizona. Author of The Safety Switch. These handouts are general information written for my patients, not individualized advice.

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