Creatine

What plants do not provide

An immediate energy reserve of muscle and brain.

The body makes about one gram a day; the rest comes from meat and fish. Levels are lower in vegetarians, and it is also in them that supplementation gives the clearest effects.

Effects and benefits

The instant energy reserve of muscles and brain. It increases performance in short, intense, repeated efforts, and after 55, it enhances the effect of strength training on strength, at 3 g a day.

In muscle, phosphocreatine recharges ATP in a fraction of a second: it is the fuel of sprints, jumps and heavy lifts, for the first ten seconds. Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise, at 3 g a day (Regulation 432/2012).

By age: after 55, 3 g a day with resistance training enhance its effect on muscle strength (Regulation 2017/672). Muscle loss with age makes it a much-studied subject.

By sex: men store more, because they have more muscle; trials are also studying its interest for the brain, which uses a lot of it.

Sources: EU Regulations 432/2012 and 2017/672 · EFSA, 2016