#100 The Optimal Creatine Protocol for Strength, Brain, and Longevity | Darren Candow, PhD

1. Daily Creatine for Broader Health

Take creatine daily, even on rest days, to ensure continuous saturation of muscle stores and to maximize potential uptake into bone and brain tissues for broader health benefits.

2. Creatine Dosing for Brain & Body

Consider taking at least 10 grams of creatine daily, as studies suggest this dose can significantly increase brain creatine content and benefit muscle and bone.

3. Inform Doctor About Creatine

Always inform your doctor if you are taking creatine supplements, as it can elevate blood creatinine levels, which might otherwise be misinterpreted as kidney dysfunction.

4. Use Creatine Monohydrate (Creapure)

Prioritize creatine monohydrate, specifically ‘Creapure’ from Germany, as it is the gold standard due to extensive research, high purity, and GRAS status.

5. Combine Creatine with Weight Training

For optimal bone health, prioritize weight training, plyometrics, or any weight-bearing exercise, and then consider adding creatine supplementation to your regimen.

6. Creatine Supplementation for Vegans

Vegans, who get almost no dietary creatine, should strongly consider supplementation with third-party tested, vegan-based creatine to ensure adequate intake.

7. Take Creatine with Food (GI Relief)

To prevent GI tract irritation, always take creatine with food, as this can improve absorption and reduce rapid passage through the digestive system.

8. Separate Creatine and High-Dose Caffeine

Avoid combining creatine with high doses of caffeine (over 250mg) due to potential cellular interference; if consuming both, separate intake by at least two hours.

9. Daily Creatine for Contact Sports

Individuals participating in contact sports should take creatine daily as a preventative measure, as pre-existing creatine stores can accelerate recovery from concussions.

10. Creatine Dosing for Children

For children, a creatine dose of 2-3 grams per day or 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight is considered viable to support development.

11. Increase Creatine for Acute Stress

During periods of metabolic stress, sleep deprivation, or jet lag, consider acutely increasing your creatine intake to 20 grams per day to help offset inflammation and cognitive decline.

12. Choose Third-Party Tested Creatine

When choosing creatine supplements, always opt for third-party tested products to ensure purity, safety, and efficacy.

13. Combine Creatine with Protein

Combine creatine with protein (e.g., whey protein) for a potentially superior effect on muscle performance and lean body mass, especially in post-exercise meals.

14. Creatine for Females (No Loading)

Females should consider creatine supplementation, starting with 2-3 grams daily without a loading phase, to avoid water retention concerns while still gaining benefits from exercise.

15. Creatine Loading for Brain Health

To potentially improve brain creatine stores and cognitive function, especially under stress, consider a loading phase of 20 grams of creatine per day for at least a week.

16. Standard Creatine Dosing

Consider supplementing with 3 to 5 grams of creatine per day as a standard recommendation for muscle benefits.

17. Daily Creatine (No Loading)

You can take 2 to 3 grams of creatine daily without a loading phase, which will saturate muscles in about 30 days, avoiding rapid water retention or GI issues.

18. Gradual Creatine Dose Increase

Gradually increase your creatine dose over time, starting with 3 grams (1.5g morning/evening), then to 5 grams (2.5g morning/evening), and eventually to 9 grams (3g three times a day) to build tolerance.

19. Creatine Timing Around Exercise

While timing isn’t critical, consider taking creatine within an hour before or immediately after exercise to potentially maximize uptake due to increased blood flow and muscle contraction.

20. Split Dosing for Less Water Retention

To minimize water retention, split your daily creatine dose (e.g., 3 grams total) into smaller, separate doses throughout the day (e.g., 1.5 grams in the morning and 1.5 grams in the evening).

21. Creatine for Muscle Hydration

Creatine can help superhydrate muscles, potentially decreasing the chance of muscle cramping or dehydration, especially during intense exercise or in hot weather.

22. Mix Creatine with Food (Practical)

Mix tasteless creatine powder directly into food, such as yogurt or a meal, for easy consumption and to potentially improve absorption.

23. Avoid Multi-Ingredient Creatine Blends

For reliable creatine effects, choose pure creatine monohydrate rather than multi-ingredient blends (e.g., pre-workouts) where the efficacy of creatine may be diluted or untested.

24. Creatine Saturation Time (5g/day)

Expect it to take approximately 21 days to fully saturate your skeletal muscles when taking 5 grams of creatine per day.

25. Heat Does Not Degrade Creatine

Do not be concerned about heat degrading creatine when mixing it into hot liquids like coffee or tea, as the caffeine molecule is the more likely source of potential interference.

26. Creatine Dosing by Body Weight

Consider a relative creatine dose of 0.1 to 0.14 grams per kilogram of body weight daily (e.g., 7-9 grams for a 70kg person) to potentially benefit the whole body.

27. Minimum Creatine Dose (Microdosing)

When microdosing creatine, ensure each dose is no less than one gram, as smaller amounts may not enter the blood rapidly enough.

28. Creatine Benefits Without Exercise

Even without exercise, creatine supplementation can still accumulate in muscles and provide benefits, though at a slower rate than with exercise.

29. Creatine Dosing for Multiple Workouts

If you work out twice a day, consider taking creatine twice a day, ideally in close proximity to each exercise session.

30. Long-Term Creatine for Bone

While 8 grams is the lowest effective dose shown for bone, 5 grams of creatine taken consistently over a long period may still provide benefits for skeletal health.

31. Creatine Not a Drug Replacement

Understand that creatine supplementation, even with weight training, will not replace pharmaceutical interventions like bisphosphonates for severe bone conditions like osteoporosis.

32. Research Creatine Brands

Do your homework on creatine brands, ensuring they are certified safe, third-party tested, and ideally pharmaceutical grade, to avoid questionable products.

33. Low-Dose Caffeine with Creatine

Low doses of caffeine (under 250mg, like a normal cup of coffee) are unlikely to interfere with creatine’s effects, but consistent daily combination with very high doses might blunt benefits.

34. Potential Creatine for Pregnancy

While more research is needed, experts suggest creatine may have potential benefits during pregnancy for fetal development and maternal brain bioenergetics, especially for vegan mothers.