07/25/2025
A brilliant article - "YOUR CELLS ARE STARVING FOR CREATINE" by Chris Masterjohn, PhD (Nutritional Science). Why supplementing with creatine is soooo important, even if you don't workout! HERE'S WHY:
๐ฃ "There is no point optimizing your mitochondria if you don't optimize your creatine...Every muscle fiber wants to be exactly as rich in creatine as achieved with creatine supplementation...ALL of your cells want to be rich in creatine. Your brain is DYING to be this rich in creatine. Your muscles are STARVING to be this rich in creatine...It is completely natural to be this rich in creatine, yet most of us in the modern era who donโt supplement just arenโt that optimized."
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Most people use creatine to enhance athletic performance and build muscle mass and strength, while also shortening muscle recovery times after working out...which is all very well and good for those who work out regularly.
But quite frankly, I'd argue that it's even more important for those who're potentially facing the progressive loss of muscle mass and function (sarcopenia)...as is commonly found as we get older. Or for those with diabetes, cancer, COPD, and physically inactive people.
Which is, quite frankly, a significant part of our population.
And considering that creatine is only found in meat, people on a strict plant-based diet are also at a high risk for being deficient in creatine unless they supplement it.
The same goes for those who don't typically eat enough meat every day (1-2 pounds) to get enough creatine, or for those who have methylation issues, digestive issues, and/or gut issues, because they'll lack the necessary nutrients and abilities needed to synthesize creatine.
Which, again, is a significant part of our population, and why supplementing with creatine is so necessary.
But building healthy muscle tissue and strength aside, creatine is really beneficial (critical, really) for so much more, including:
โข as mentioned earlier, it significantly improves mitochondrial function by turning used up ATP - known as ADP - back into ATP. Your ATP is being used up whether at rest or working out, so this is kind of a big deal. Given that the health of our mitochondria is LITERALLY EVERYTHING to overall health, this benefit cannot be stated enough. You WILL NOT be healthy if your mitochondria aren't healthy.
โข supporting cognitive function, improving memory and attention, and overall brain performance by enhancing energy metabolism in the brain (the brain is an energy hog consuming roughly 25% of our ATP). It also helps with oxidative stress, age-related decline, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, depression, anxiety, and brain injuries.
โข improving focus under stress and sleep deprivation
โขimproving glycemic control (balancing blood sugar)
โข reducing fatty liver
โข healthy vision (our retinas have the greatest concentration of mitochondria in the body)
โข healthy hearing
โข healthy hormones (guess where the first step of s*x hormone synthesis occurs? In your mitochondria.)
โข healthy, vibrant skin and powers hair growth
โข improving male fertility (creatine provides the gas for your swimmers to race towards the finish line)
โข improves gut health, stomach acid secretion, nutrient absorption, and maintains gut integrity
โข improves bone mineral density and counteracts menopausal-related loss of muscle and bone
Again...most people are struggling in most, if not all, of those areas.
And just 3-5g a day is all you really need to saturate your tissues...and keep them saturated.
Here's the article mentioned: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/your-cells-are-starving-for-creatine
