Tens of millions of people take creatine every day for their muscles. A comprehensive review and a landmark clinical trial published in 2025 and 2026 have now documented what the same supplement is quietly doing to their brains. Creatine crosses the blood-brain barrier, raises phosphocreatine levels in neurons, and provides the ATP buffer that keeps cognitive performance from hitting an energy ceiling during demanding mental work. In early Alzheimer's patients, it slowed cognitive decline by approximately 30% versus placebo in a controlled trial. In healthy adults under sleep deprivation, a single dose measurably improved cognitive performance. In depression patients, adding it to cognitive behavioral therapy significantly improved outcomes beyond therapy alone. None of this is mentioned on the label.
The comments section on hacker news already has some rundowns, generally it looks low quality and then the reporting is taking unwarranted liberties on top of it. The supplement industry is desperate to get people to buy this dumb powder since it costs pennies to produce.
The funniest thing to me about the recent push to convince people to take it for their brain health is that they’re recommending 25+ grams a day for it, which is five times the standard recommendation. That’s the world we’re heading towards, paying $60 a month for your subscription to “higher cognitive functioning” based on studies that didn’t even have a placebo group lol
For additional information on the topic, interested individuals could peruse Examine.com’s post on the topic (https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/?show_conditions=true)
“Creatine is among the most well-studied and effective supplements for improving exercise performance. It does this mainly by increasing energy availability during high-intensity activity. Creatine may also provide cognitive and mental health benefits in some contexts.”
You’re about 7 comments deep on this post and what, just refreshing to make sure you have the opportunity to correct the record with people who aren’t even replying to you?
Like I said I am referring to the HN discussion that was linked, go take it up with them if you’re in the mood to proselytize. Or go take it up with the many researches who have confirmed creatine’s borderline uselessness. There’s actually a post in my recent comment history w/ a meta analysis link if you want to go check it out. Do me a favor and make a top level comment somewhere else if you want to respond to it, based on your behavior in this thread I’m not interested in discussing it with you personally
The comments section on hacker news already has some rundowns, generally it looks low quality and then the reporting is taking unwarranted liberties on top of it. The supplement industry is desperate to get people to buy this dumb powder since it costs pennies to produce.
The funniest thing to me about the recent push to convince people to take it for their brain health is that they’re recommending 25+ grams a day for it, which is five times the standard recommendation. That’s the world we’re heading towards, paying $60 a month for your subscription to “higher cognitive functioning” based on studies that didn’t even have a placebo group lol
Which study are you referring to?
For additional information on the topic, interested individuals could peruse Examine.com’s post on the topic (https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/?show_conditions=true) “Creatine is among the most well-studied and effective supplements for improving exercise performance. It does this mainly by increasing energy availability during high-intensity activity. Creatine may also provide cognitive and mental health benefits in some contexts.”
You’re about 7 comments deep on this post and what, just refreshing to make sure you have the opportunity to correct the record with people who aren’t even replying to you?
Like I said I am referring to the HN discussion that was linked, go take it up with them if you’re in the mood to proselytize. Or go take it up with the many researches who have confirmed creatine’s borderline uselessness. There’s actually a post in my recent comment history w/ a meta analysis link if you want to go check it out. Do me a favor and make a top level comment somewhere else if you want to respond to it, based on your behavior in this thread I’m not interested in discussing it with you personally