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Comments (266)

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  WhitneyLand
  The article made up the claim it’s not from the paper itself.There was some improvement in cognitive scores, but no placebo group. Without a placebo group, there are a lot of explanations for the data.
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  ven0m
  Not something to worry for the general population, but persons with genetic likelihood of getting Parkinsons should be wary of taking both Creatine and Coffee together. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4573899/
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  cj
  Direct link to the study: https://jpbs.hapres.com/htmls/JPBS_1766_Detail.htmlI wanted to check the dosages they used. Looks like the review includes studies ranging from 5g/day to 20-25g/day.(Typical dosage you'll see for daily use is 5 grams)
• jwr
  The 30% figure seems to be completely made up and this whole article is adfarm-bait.The CABA trial is an 8-week single-arm pilot (no placebo). The study measured cognitive improvement over 8 weeks in a single group — not "slowing of decline versus placebo." There is no 30% figure anywhere in the paper.I'm glad we have AI to quickly read this kind of stuff and check these kinds of claims for us.
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  bmmurphy
  The article's entirely AI-generated; not necessarily untrue but may not have been fully reviewed by an editor.
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  el_benhameen
  Curious if anyone has had hair issues while taking it. I’m aware that there’s no positive evidence for an effect, but there is an at least plausible mechanism. I’ve gone through two periods where I took it and liked the effects, but felt like I shed way more hair and stopped due to that.
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  syspec
  For someone who's always been interested in creatine, but never tried it due to being overwhelmed by choice... what's a standard go to product?
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  kherud
  Feedback about creatine often seems mixed. Many love it, but many also report problems. Just in this thread there are people talking about heart palpitations and sleep problems. I have the theory that these side effects and mixed experiences come from impurities of lesser quality products. Apparently there are mostly two sources: Creatine mono-hydrate which mostly comes from China and "creapure", which is a patented formula known for its purity. Does anyone have insight into how substantiated this theory is? How likely are negative effects because of pollutants/impurities?
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  kbrisso
  I'm 56 and have been experimenting with it. It definitely helps me stay laser focus on a task. I take between 10 to 15 grams a day in multiple doses. It does help with brain fatigue if you don't sleep well either. I'm also on keto diet and it helps me at the gym. Here is the thing everyone's DNA is different - keto works for me because I have tried it on and off. I have way more energy off carbs. I can also tolerate creatine, some people can't.
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  cheschire
  Feels like a sign of the times that I expect half the comments here to be paid astroturfing about how amazing creatine is.
• anon
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  adamking
  Creatine is one of the few supplements I actually notice a difference if I quit taking. Happy to see it’s benefits extend to beyond performance in the gym.
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  comboy
  Since we are throwing in random N=1, it is very well tested and safe yes. But in my personal experience it does limit my creativity somehow. It seems to have like slightly calming/lower anxiety effect, and to me it comes with me coming up with fewer interesting things. Kind of lowering the model temperature if you will. Curious if anybody had a similar experience.
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  cadr
  I feel like for me it would be thwarted by the fact creatine seems to completely mess up my sleep. I don't remember that from when I was younger, but recently tried adding it to my diet and had to bail.
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  brunooliv
  Side question: I've always been a recreational runner, running 3/4x a week, completed a few half marathons, and recently decided to _also_ go to the gym to do strength training as it has a lot of benefits for runners too. Should I consider/take creatine, is it useful?
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  traviswingo
  I wonder how long it’ll take this thread to become a proxy of r/creatine.
• anon
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• Danox
  How do you get to the point A to point B if you don’t study do research and development there are no instantaneous solutions most of the time it’s just long and slow hard grunt work?
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  chopete3
  Most of the human moods, energy levels, immunity, recovery, consciousness can be controlled by chemicals. It is no surprise that continuous use of a chemical will have impact.The worry always is what does that extra chemical destroy as the body doesn't produce it naturally.
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  tacone
  The first time I took creatine (6g IIRC), I actually felt the mental effect just 2 minutes later. A pleasurable sensation of augmented presence and (mental) relaxation.I paused taking that momentarily out of precaution while I wait some physical issue to normalize, but I plan to resume it in some weeks. Also it is considered a very safe supplement.
• solenoid0937
  I get seizures more often when I use creatine. I wonder if it's related to "raised brain energy levels."
• moussore
  Mods can you take this down? This is psy-ops and/or marketing BS.Daniel Okoro is NOT a science journalist - there are no other references to him online except for some Nigerian dude who doesn't match the article's profile. I also saw this on reddit - please keep Hacker News a safe spot :(
• shdh
  Creatine also has a benefit to reducing the symptoms of sleep deprivation
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  Scene_Cast2
  Just beware that for some people (myself included), it causes stomach issues (quite intense in my case). There are mitigation strategies (slowly build up the dose, use more water, take with food, split up the doses across meals, and consider using the less studied HCL variant).
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  t1234s
  All Men should be on creatine daily and lift weights a few times a week.
• ramon156
  I honestly have no idea if it works.First time I took it was for working out. I was a lot sharper, mainly due to working out.Then I took it when I wasn't working out. I had issues with muscles, brain fog, etc.Now I don't use it and have signs of brain fog, I'm going to start taking again, this time without coffee. I do not expect much of a difference, and I expect the same muscle spazms to happen. I have a feeling that stress creates these spazms, and creatine pushes it further
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  jshaqaw
  I usually throw my 5g scoop on my morning coffee where I don’t notice it exists. Any reason not to take it with coffee or am I doing it right?
• DaveZale
  My weight dropped 10%, and my blood lipids and "bad" cholesterol dropped to levels I hadn't seen in 35 years, after 2 years with creatine. Do not overthink this. Just try it, especially if you are 40+
• AndreyK1984
  Now please, start researching TRT too. Just go to pubmed and make a meta analysis of all advantages and disadvantages.
• snitzr
  Bipolar people should avoid creatine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6769464/
• jstummbillig
  Where does the 240 number come from? Can anyone tell?
• dakolli
  I have bad central sleep apnea, and regardless of CPAP I still end up with poor quality sleep unfortunately. I was on stimulants like Modafinil and Ritalin for over a decade, which comes at a huge cost physically, mentally. Its the only supplement I take other than Vitamin D, I'm not some freak biohacker.I've completely replaced stimulant use with 15g of Creatine a day, and 25-30g on days when I feel especially sleep deprived. It has actually changed my life. I decided to try this after reading this paper and will never go back: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54249-9There's lots of interesting literature on Creatine starting to be published.EDIT: Also Creatine destroying your kidneys is a myth (unless you already have kidney issues). This myth is spread because people go to their doctors and get their kidney function tested while supplementing creatine. The doctor will initially be concerned because there will be higher levels of creatine in your urine, which is a sign of kidney disease. However, they will not be concerned if you tell them you're supplementing creatine.If you have excess creatine in your urine while not supplementing creatine then that would be of concern. If you are worried about this stop supplementation a week prior to getting kidney function testing.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10999421/
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  pillefitz
  Unfortunately, I get terribly tired and brain-fogged from even small quantities. Anyone else experienced this?
• ck2
  not sure if I got it from here or reddit but someone made an automated site that gathers all published creatine studieshttps://creatine-sandy.vercel.app/
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  manishsharan
  How do you take Creatine ? And how much for what age group and weight?
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  suzzer99
  Peter Attia is a crap human being for being buddies with Epstein after most of his crimes were already known.But I still trust his analysis more than anyone else at dissecting this kind of stuff and separating the wheat from the chaff. I'll be curious to see if he covers this.
• moomoo11
  i’ll pass on the hair loss.besides i’d rather just avoid brainrot and substances in general
• keybored
  This looks like research just three months too late, to be honest. In the Agentic Timeline I’m not worried about Alzheimers. My Google Glasses paired with ChatGPT can tell me where the power button is.
• MilnerRoute
  What is TheSciVerse.org? The domain was registered 8 weeks ago. Although The Guardian also covered the study...___More recently, attention has shifted beyond the gym. Early research suggests creatine could have a role in cognitive function, with some studies pointing to protection from cognitive decline.“A few bigger studies have brought it into focus,” says [Bethan Crouse, a sports nutritionist at Loughborough University].https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/may/25/is-it-t...
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  SilverElfin
  Has anyone else had GI issues from creatine? Even at low doses?
• oh_my_goodness
  I kind of hate it when people "explain" what happens in Alzheimer's disease. Because we actually don't know that.
• edoloughlin
  “a 30% slowing of cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s patients in controlled trials. None of this is in the marketing on the tub sitting in most gym bags”Why would it be? I’m so sick of reading AI slop.
• cubefox
  There is also strong evidence that the shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine reduces dementia risk:https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/02/could-a-vaccine-preve...Herpes simplex also increases Alzheimer's risk:https://hn.algolia.com/?query=HerpesBut there is currently no vaccine for it.
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  aatd86
  I feel like crap when taking creatine... Actually most of these purported supplements are a no go. Preworkouts would work first session then make me ultra tired, caffeine is fine as long as I 'cycle' it...Wondering strongly if those studies are not just to sell more cheap supplements... As long as for some reason we find that it has some level of effect on most people.It has some effect for sure but not sure it is that positive... Besides, I don't know if it helped jump start the process or not but I build muscle either way, on little protein, no creatine... Carbs seem to be more important actually.Anyway, let me take a scoop of creatine to try again, even though I am unconvinced... Hope sells... :s(I think hydration levels are more important and that is not solved by drinking low mineralized water although I find it has better taste, it gets rid of tiredness)
• anon
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