From influencer promos to targeted marketing, creatine is everywhere. How did a supplement once reserved for bodybuilders become the wellness industry’s latest buzz word? Does it even work?
What is creatine?
Creatine is a compound naturally produced by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. It’s also found in small amounts in red meat, poultry and seafood. New Zealand registered nutritionist and founder of Mission Nutrition, Claire Turnbull, says she doesn’t take creatine at the moment but many of her colleagues do and it’s something she will look to trial at some stage.
She explains creatine is stored in muscle cells, where it helps produce energy during short bursts of intense activity, such as sprinting or weightlifting. For those looking to support strength, energy and recovery, supplementing with creatine can offer additional benefits such as enhancing muscle performance and reducing soreness.
In the early 1990s, elite athletes and gym-goers were among the first to adopt creatine. Today, the supplement is supported by a growing body of research and is gaining popularity among everyday people interested in its promised benefits.
Research has linked creatine to improvements in brain health as well as bodies.
I’m not an Olympic-level athlete though, should I take it?
Yes, says Dr Stacy Sims, a women’s health and female physiology expert who works with both recreational and elite athletes.
“Three to five grams per day has been beneficial across sexes — better muscle performance (able to eke out higher intensities and heavier lifts), improved muscle recovery, mood stabilisation, better sleep; and in postmenopausal women, improvement in bone density,” says US-born Sims, now based in Mt Maunganui.
Jane Alexander, a Hawke’s Bay-based nurse practitioner and nutritionist, regularly recommends creatine to her patients. “I love creatine particularly for people who are fatigued, for women around menopause in danger of losing muscle and putting on fat. I suggest older men [take creatine] as well if they want to optimise body composition. Even young guys who need to build muscle, although a lot of them have heard of it and already use it.”
She says patients with low energy often benefit most. “I have seen people with low energy find creatine very helpful.” Concerns over safety, she argues, are misplaced. “I don’t feel there are any safety issues with its use. It’s a simple amino acid, so it hasn’t got any issues — not even with kidney function really.”
A 2024 study on sleep deprivation showed that a single high dose of creatine monohydrate can boost cognitive function and processing speed. It may also ease jet lag and other circadian disruptions.
“All of these have circadian shift issues, which alter brain metabolism — the brain is a highly energy-demanding organ, and creatine supports the high energy needs,” says Sims.
Researchers are now exploring creatine across a woman’s entire hormonal life cycle — from menstruation to menopause. As hormonal fluctuations influence cellular energy, creatine could play a central role in supporting women’s health at all stages.
How much creatine do I need?
Sims encourages people to start with a small daily dose and keep it up. “It takes about three weeks to fully saturate the tissues in the body,” she explains.
According to a comprehensive review published in the journal Nutrients, that saturation matters because of how creatine functions. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the main source of energy used by your muscles, brain, and almost every cell. During intense activity, your ATP supply runs out quickly. Creatine helps by increasing the amount of phosphocreatine stored in your cells, which helps regenerate ATP faster – so you can train harder, think clearer, and recover faster, even under stress or sleep deprivation.
What difference does it make?
Creatine supplementation has long been popular among power athletes, but its benefits are increasingly recognised by fitness enthusiasts across all ages and lifestyles.
Olivia Selemaia, 19, takes 5g of creatine every single day – even on rest days. She trains and coaches weightlifting full-time in South Auckland and recently won silver at the IWF Youth/Junior World Championships in Peru, lifting an impressive 235kgs.
Training up to eight times a week in a bid to make it to the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Selemaia follows the advice of a nutritionist and sports doctor who recommended consistent creatine supplementation.
“I’ve noticed creatine really helps with recovery. My body is constantly working hard, and it helps me reset so I’m ready to train again,” she says.
However, creatine use isn’t limited to young elite athletes. At 50 years old, Sarah Hawk, CEO of software company Discourse, has maintained a lifelong commitment to fitness. Hawk says working out has been central to managing her combined-type ADHD, even before she consciously recognised it as part of her treatment strategy.
Her fitness journey began with long-distance running in school and continued through university sports, eventually leading to Les Mills, where she’s been a regular for over 25 years and now teaches group fitness classes.
As she’s aged, her focus has shifted from high-intensity cardio to a more sustainable routine prioritising strength, flexibility, and injury prevention. Her weekly schedule includes core strength and yoga classes, functional training, and daily drumming, a surprising but effective form of cardio.
In 2023, after researching wellness strategies for perimenopause and the benefits of creatine for both ADHD and bone health, she began supplementing with 5g of creatine monohydrate around five times a week.
“I keep it in the car and dissolve one teaspoon in my one-litre drink bottle every time I go to the gym,” she says.
While the impact on performance or recovery hasn’t been dramatic, she values it as a simple, affordable addition to her routine, and one that supports her bone density and long-term wellbeing. The response among her peers has been encouraging too: “A couple of friends my age have started taking it as a result of our discussions about it.”
Is all creatine created equal?
There are many kinds of creatine on the market, but creatine monohydrate remains the most widely studied and affordable – and the only form studied during pregnancy.
Creatine monohydrate is creatine combined with a single water molecule, which makes it the most stable form of the supplement by preventing it from breaking down quickly both during storage and after consumption in the digestive system. It is usually available as a white, flavourless powder that people commonly mix into water, juice, or smoothies.
Colourful creatine gummies are advertised on social media as a tasty, easy way to pop the supplement. However recent independent testing has shown some contain almost zero creatine.
The ABC in Australia recently reported that a popular brand sold in New Zealand and Australia called PUSH was forced to halt all sales after testing showed its gummies were significantly underdosed with creatine.
They said Sydney-based personal trainer James Smith was sceptical about the gummy products and whether they met their label claims, so he sent nine brands for testing at independent lab Eurofins.
All of the testing was made public, and only one brand, Wellboost’s strawberry banana gummies, contained the advertised 5 grams of creatine.
PUSH’s strawberry flavour gummies returned a creatine reading of 0.102 grams per serving when it should have been 5 grams. Its apple flavour came in at 0.112 grams. PUSH was charging $59.95 for a 30-day supply.
In a statement, PUSH told the ABC it accepted full responsibility for the underdosing and was now suing its former manufacturer.
Sims says other types of creatine offer no additional benefits.
“There is no evidence to show creatine monohydrate supplementation causes kidney issues or other side effects. We do see some of these side effects in other forms of creatine, and in less clean monohydrate forms.”
The spare battery theory
Dr Stacey Ellery from Monash University leads research into creatine’s use during pregnancy and newborn brain injury. Working with the University of Otago and Wellington’s Capital Coast District Hospital, she’s investigating how creatine might prevent complications in vulnerable newborns.
She compares creatine to having a spare battery during a power outage for the body’s cells: it acts as a backup energy source during oxygen deprivation, maintaining cellular energy production and reducing fetal injury risk.
Observational studies show improvements in premature babies’ survival and brain function. Though the postpartum period is under-researched, creatine may support maternal recovery too, especially brain fog and fatigue.
“Like the now widespread use of folate, creatine could be a simple way to help protect babies from unexpected complications,” Ellery says.
Despite confidence from some clinicians, most doctors continue to advise against creatine use in individuals with pre-existing kidney conditions. However, a 2021 evidence-based review notes that in healthy individuals, “experimental and controlled research indicates that creatine supplementation, when ingested at recommended dosages, does not result in kidney damage and/or renal dysfunction”.
By Maggie Tweedie for rnz.co.nz
